Hello! It’s been a while and this one’s out of the usual topics. Here’s a short intro to what I’m planning to write about once in a while, hopefully some in the next few weeks.
I don’t really know when it started but ever since I could remember, I would always lean towards making sure things run without me. When things don’t run without me, I really don’t like it! I feel like I’m stuck and I am not allowed to even get sick and I feel like I’m not doing my job properly. Does that even make sense to you? Surely there are seasons in the workplace when a task can’t be done by someone else, say, in start-ups or when your function is new, and of course, there are certain things you really shouldn’t delegate. But somehow, I’ve always constantly worked my way out of my job and hopefully have encouraged others to do the same.
Probably I was trained this way in my first two jobs that I brought this with me to being an administrative staff in a church organization. Or maybe I was just lazy back then that I would always look for ways to arrive at the same results in the most efficient way without compromising quality and accuracy. Come to think of it, my favorite subject was Math because I can arrive at the same result (goal) even if my process is different or shorter (efficiency). Then when I worked in a church organization, the “lead to leave” principle was all the more inculcated in the wirings of my brain, even more so with the reality that God can call people to a new direction anytime.
Job aids, systems, tools, productivity, efficiency, effectivity, business continuity, organizational structure, staff development, team development, purpose-driven… these are things that I exhale! Well, more like.. burp? Haha! Uhh, no, I’m NOT perfect on these nor am I a market leader in these, but people working with me most likely hear these kinds of things from me frequently: What is the purpose? What is the goal? You can’t know what you want if you don’t define the purpose. Just tell me the goal and let me take care of the details. Where is the project brief? Do you have a documentation of your process? Document your process and share it with others! Upload them in Dropbox! We have a documentation in Dropbox, you can check it there. Who’s your first back-up? Second back-up?
I’ve been asked to help people grow to think this way so I hope that writing about it helps (me, more than others actually). It’s kind of a jumble in my head right now but I’m thinking about blogging some of these in the next few weeks and hopefully make working your way out of your job less of a concept and more of a tangible, practical advice (which I have to constantly remind myself too). These all add up to organizational sustainability. Nope, that doesn’t mean an organization that’s environment-friendly. It means that the organization is stable and adaptable so that it does not die despite growth and change.
Hopefully, I can organize my organizational sustainability thoughts to come up with some posts. If you have any suggestions where you want me to start, just send me a message or leave a comment and let’s see where that leads. Haha!
