 |
| After what happened today, my Dinner was so much enjoyable that I did not want it to end |
Well, things are starting to get very busy for me. And I am a little scared. I am scared because of the notion that I would be so 'occupied' with the projects, that I would lose sight of my actual target. I ma scared things can go South very quickly too. I know my Mentor is still waiting for me but everyone has a limit too.
Let me start my week.
I have recently been 'promoted' to be the Coordinator of a Company Event which will take place tomorrow. So, for the last few days, I had to start planning with my newly formed team. This is not an easy thing for me to do when it came to delegating jobs. In the end, I just had to draw on my own experiences (with my former Bosses) and trust that everyone can overcome the challenges faced with the task given.
Do I like it? In a sense, yes! Not only have I never done this before but I can tell you that this is very exciting. As the days goes by, I find myself trying to make sure everyone is up to date, guiding and listening to them and also, brainstorming when last minute changes were made or cracks discovered. Some would listen to me while some would have their own ideas but the main thing was that everyone knows what they are required to do during that Event. In a sense, this is starting to look a like Management!
Although I am still a little behind in reading/feeling how people react to me, I felt that things are moving quite well with most of them being excited with the tasks. There is a feeling which I could not describe today but let me share that experience with you; As I was walking into an office, this girl who is part of my team, was busy with her task. Thinking I was just a normal staff, she waved me off with the usual instructions. However, when she looked up and saw me, both her posture and voice changed. She sat upright, started to smile and immediately brought me up to speed on the Event. And here I am, a normal Engineer.
To be honest, the feedback of fears and stress of this Event was expected. I won't delve much into this but suffice to say (and I could be very wrong too), it could have started when no one in that room could see the whole picture. And we have less than a five daystogo. So, while waiting for the Management to come in, I decided that enough is enough and started to draw The Plan on the Whiteboard. One thing about Mind Maps (as my former Manager taught me) is that you can quickly see the whole picture and fill in the missing pieces just as quick. Once everyone understood the concept, their faces brightened and any doubt that they had earlier was more or less gone. Or maybe I was just imagining things.
But then, a few days later, Magic happened.
In my experience, if a Supervisor/Manager stands next to you and tells you what to do all the time, the result is quite obvious. Since this is a happy Event, I decided to approach it from another angle. Moreover, I do not feel comfortable telling people what to do all the time. I prefer to guide them and more importantly, see them as part of the team. If a person takes the trouble to come over to talk to you and/or praises you, you will definitely feel the difference and the result shows! So, as I took the back seat, I saw a lot of beautiful ideas flowing about and more importantly, I witnessed teamwork. Everyone is happily going about their tasks!
Will this Event succeed tomorrow?
Am I doing this correctly?
I'll just have to trust my Team...
In the beginning, I was just the photographer.
But things changed when I started to draw a Mind Map...
