I AM currently attending a course divided through a series of modules on supervision and management. As a young administrator, the more that you get inputs and insights, the more that you get to realize that there is so much that I should be learning in my work.
One of the things that I have discovered in undergoing in this course is my inclination to be task-oriented. While this can be good since I am particular in being able to reach deadlines and accomplish tasks, more often than not, I have the tendency to forget the human aspect of my role. With the desire of meeting targets according to expected specification, I realize that I become less attuned to the welfare of the people I work with.
With the suggestion given by one of our speakers, I gained an insight on how important having one on one sessions with my colleagues especially those who I directly work with. Just this week, I have talked with four of my colleagues and I saw firsthand the wisdom of going through this activity and how it can help me with my role as administrator.
For one, through our conversations, I would enrich my own level of empathy. Being aware of the unique struggles and challenges of my colleagues, I gain a better appreciation of their context thereby helping me enrich my own level of consciousness and sensitivity towards them.
Through our conversations, I can see my colleague not just how they are as workers, but also their personhood. As such, I get to realize that most of the time I see and treat my colleagues through the level of their work. Because of this, I was not able to maximize their potentials because I was too focused with my created perceptions of them not realizing how much more they can give to the organization.
Second, I get to appreciate their innate goodness even more. I realized how my colleagues are essentially good. But certain circumstances and pressures lead them in doing things or lead them from not doing certain things. Knowing their vulnerabilities and the things that trigger their choices and actions are crucial because not only am I a leader of having tasks done but also a leader of empowering people.
In order to empower others, there is a need to understand where your colleagues are coming from and what are their innate potentials. You cannot empower others without understanding the context of your colleagues. Knowing the context of your colleagues cannot be discovered just by observing them. The effort to know your colleagues comes from a conscious effort and time to converse and understand.
Lastly, having one on one conversations with my colleagues allowed me to reflect even more. With the fast paced work schedules and demands at work, most of the times our work environment has disabled us to create a certain pause to process our experiences thereby putting us in an area of working mindlessly.
With our conversations, I see a lot of their stories connected to mine. Seeing these connections allows me to appreciate my connectedness with my colleagues, which is an effective way of enriching relationships. These relationships furthermore enables collaboration and integration, which are essential in creating a healthy work environment.
This makes me believe that the roles of administrators are not just about meeting targets and accomplishing tasks. Effective organizational leaders must know how to create opportunities to understand and empower colleagues for the benefit of the organization.