COPING WITH THE DIRTY WORK Or When People, Papers, Meetings and Pressure Collide

“There are three constants in life... change, choice and principles.”

Stephen R. Covey

Dirty work does not mean work that you totally abhor or a misdeed and dishonor in the service. In public managers’ parlance, it is the hundreds of people you need to talk to, dozens of meetings you have to attend, the tons of paperwork you have to finish and the pressure of multitasking that come with the territory. This, the administrator should learn to live with or to put it more plainly, to survive with dignity and composure.

They say that the true test of a leader is in how he performs under pressure. This, in many ways, is the life of a public administrator. We are not only expected to live with the dirty work, but to thrive under it and to shine when all options seem dim.

Here are a few real-life lessons in the area of people, papers, meetings and pressure.

Your Precious Signature and Initials

Had I known at an early age that my job would be like this, I would have shortened my signature.

This is the stroke of realization that never fails to dawn on me whenever I sign thousands of appointments of contractual public school teachers charged to local funds, piles of vouchers and other official documents; hands throbbing in arthritic-like pain. I could just swear I would fill up a 2-storey building with documents I signed in the past 17 years.

Well, that’s part of the job. Considering the fate of managers who got to the bitter end of being misrepresented or worst, robbed of their identity by forgery, I’d settle for arthritis.

Some governors/mayors have the luxury of having trusted people who act as their “golden hand”—people with talent for copying their signatures and thus, relieving them of the boredom and inconvenience that comes with paperwork. Unfortunately, “golden hands” are a big no-no for administrators.

Besides the fact that “human stamp pads” are prone to abuse, administrators also act as safety barriers that protect the interests of the chief executive and the integrity of public service. We are expected to know everything about every single transaction the LGU and the chief executive enters into. And for a very good reason—when an official document backfires, the administrator gets the flak because it bears your signature and/or your initials.

But just how can public managers, whose time and attention is so precious, make signature sessions easier, faster and safer?

The best way to make sure that you affix your signature only in documents that have been thoroughly screened for consistency and legality is to develop your own trusted staff. These are people trained and trusted enough to give you “for signature” documents that had passed the necessary processes and scrutiny, thus, saving you precious time, you could otherwise spend on scrutinizing it yourself.

Establish a system that would set parameters for complete staff work and classify your documents as to what your staff could analyze and recommend for your signature, and what only you could decide on.

Short and Sweet Meetings

Conduct short, focused and well-directed meetings.

Experience has taught me that in this job your “meeting request list” and invitation for meetings can get so long. Your office should have a small meeting table and an adjacent conference room. This way, you can manage and attend to two meetings at the same time. Remember: your time is precious. Sometimes, all you have to do is start off one meeting by setting its direction and clarifying its objectives, then return when it’s decision time. In between, you can sign documents or even make some phone calls.

But, what about meetings that drag on and you’re the only person who can settle the score? Management guru Stephen R. Covey stresses on the essential benchmark for a successful agreement to end meetings—win-win or no deal. Make it a habit to see through the multiple interests and opinion of people to identify that sweet spot of “smart compromise” and balance. Not to forget of course is to consider what is legally acceptable. In the end, it should be your institution’s mission and values that a decision should serve.

It’s physically impossible to attend to all invitations for meeting. Choose strategically and attend only those that need your personal presence or those that constitute your top priorities. Send an able staff to the other meetings instead.

I am reminded of a story of Dr. Alex Brillantes, Dean of the UP National College of Public Administration, about one of his colleagues in government who said in jest that at the end of the road, he wants his epitaph to read D.O.M. or Died of Meetings. Indeed, the stark reality in a public administrator’s life is the overabundance of meetings.

People, people and more people

In my early years as administrator, I was accessible to all people. However, I soon realized that if I meet people everyday, I would eventually miss out on the more important concerns.

Talking to people is just one of the many things an administrator must attend to. If possible, delegate this job to those who you think have the gift of gab and passion for people. Attend only to those clients your people cannot handle. However, this also depends on the size or expanse of your locality. If your LGU is small, then this job is manageable.

It may be a different situation when you have plans of getting into politics. You may want to spend more time with the people and provide that personalized style of management that normally gets votes. Generally, however, you could use more of your time getting results that really matter in the execution of your administration functions.

Putting First Things First: Principled Mastery of Time

Covey, who is one of the most prolific writers on management and change in the classic The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective People talks of the dictum, “Putting first things first.” He says that the key to prioritizing is to “organize and execute around priorities”.

But how exactly do we define what our priorities are? Are these the urgent “stick-ons” that stare us blankly from our to-do board? Or the daily commitments that jump out of our handy calendar, barely a minute before deadline?

Covey observed that in our daily dealings, the urgent matters are usually quite visible. And they press on us to attend to them. But so often, they are unimportant.

Importance, according to Covey, has something to do with results. To quote him, “If something is important, it contributes to your mission, your values and your high-priority goals”. Pressure demands that we react to urgent matters. On the other hand, important matters that are not urgent require more initiative, more pro-activity.

Look at the non-urgent, but important task of cleaning up your real property tax base through computerization for example. It may not seem urgent at the moment but consider the tremendous boost to long-term revenues if your real property records are spic and span and computerized. Bulacan did. And the provincial government continues to benefit from increased revenues to this day.

At an internal level, you may consider going for that long-delayed teambuilding activity for your staff or fellow department heads, which could result to higher levels of efficiency and teamwork. How about that repeatedly postponed visit to another LGU to see in action a best practice which you have been wanting to replicate in your LGU?

These are just some of the important, high-leverage activities that we tend to put off for another day, until problems catch up on us.

The key, Covey says, is “not to prioritize what is in your schedule but to schedule your priorities”.

Covey says that principle-centered leadership and personal management builds on what is “important” because this is the only way to lessen if not eliminate now what could become crises and pressing problems tomorrow. Again, a timeless, practical lesson surfaces—“what you put off today could just come creeping around later”.

Role-Driven Schedule

Other than the daily to-do list, I adhered with the Covey discipline of jotting down and processing my “to-do list” on a weekly basis. This allows me to keep track of results through a “shortlist” of priorities. But how does this differ from the regular weekly tab of commitments and deadlines?

Following Covey’s model, I first define my “declaration of my highest, principled goals”. From this definition comes the different roles I choose to play in furtherance of these goals. This may be as a coach to my staff in implementing important measures in the organization, confidante and counsel to fellow department heads in pursuing priority concerns of the province, alter ego to my governor, and wife, mother, daughter, book writer, and a Catholic. These roles, then serve as the framework and guideline of my professional and personal timetable for the week.

The amazing thing about a role-defined timetable is that it is easier to arrive at a real work-life balance. The once rigid, day-to-day grind becomes more flexible as I came to realize that I am using “a compass pin that gravitates to relationships and principles” instead of “a roadmap of daily milestones that point only to the end of another day”.

One-at-a-time Doesn’t Work all the time

Just like two heads are better than one, two phones always beats one. Two service providers, one for each phone do not only make for a more organized contact list. It also provides you more flexibility and reliability in case one service provider conks out.

The flexibility of two cellular phones is important because the job of an administrator requires you to attend to multiple tasks and situations. And in many cases, all at the same time!

The key to keeping your focus is to “compartmentalize” your mind so you can process different situations simultaneously. There are situations that you just cannot attend to one after the other.

Take for example the classic work-family dilemma when demands in the office just happen to come when emergencies at home are at their peak. Or it could be multiple crises situations at work, when a problem at the local hospital occurs with a commotion in the jail in progress and distress call from a friend whose son figured in a vehicular accident.

These are situations when your cell phones and your telephones come in handy. A simple call to comfort your sick child can sometimes put everything in its place instantly, giving you precious peace of mind and composure to get back to work. The miracle of telecommunications is in the pace and speed solutions to multiple problems can be dispensed.

I know of a friend who puts off her cellular phone when she gets to the office because she said, she doesn’t want to be rattled by multiple demands. It all really depends on your work style and how you believe you could be more effective. I prefer putting it on silent mode instead so I can just check on it once in a while and choose what concerns I can respond to immediately.

Delegation

The 7 Days to Powerful Teams booklet by Gary Yardley and Jan Kelly says, “delegation is a testament to our knowledge and faith in people”. It takes a lot of trust in your people and a keen familiarity with what they can do to be able to delegate successfully and promote co-ownership and commitment to results in your team.

With the volume of workload an administrator handles and the increasing demand for quality performance, we have to hand over some responsibilities to ensure that the job gets done in time. We have to consider, however a few factors.

Consider first the work to be delegated. Ask yourself, “What are the benefits if I delegate this? What else could I attend to after I delegate this?” Take a good look at the person(s) receiving your delegation. What skills or attributes are needed to get the job done? Who has these abilities? What do they need to get the job done? How would they benefit from the job?

Also, consider the time and manner of delegation. When is the best time to delegate? How do we transfer, motivate, support and guide? How do we reward? How do we make them accountable to results?

Work Up the Staff

The administrator’s job requires both “thoroughness” and urgency. Sometimes these two requisites are at loggerheads. You do not have the luxury of time to process, all by yourself, data to help you arrive at quick and right decisions. Here is where complete staff work helps you.

Train your people to be thorough with their work, especially, with documents that ultimately make it to your desk.

In a typical government office, you may lack people with appropriate skills at the onset, to do thorough documentation, research, analysis of issues and recommendations. Training people requires a level of strict compliance with a standard that only you can set. Make it a point to teach your staff how to team-up with each other to produce end documents that make your decision-making easier and more informed.

Survival Tips for the Worn-Out

Nourish Your Body and Mind

If possible have a small refrigerator in your office where you can store juices and other food stuff to get you through the days when you can’t leave the office for a bite. We need lots of fluids to last an exhausting day. It also helps to keep a fruit or a chocolate bar handy to perk you up when energy levels need a little boost.

Keep your favorite music ready to lighten up your room when the air gets too thick for comfort. Easy, soft music helps you get back to your calm and objective mood. But never let a good tune distract you from being alert and analytical.

Learn to do some stretching whether you are sitting down or standing up. Remember those neat exercises they teach on airplanes? Keep the blood flowing even when you are stationary. It aids the brain in processing the endless flow of data.

Buy a footrest. There are units designed with pressure exercisers and foot rollers. Instead of fidgeting during tense, all-day meetings, you could rest your bare foot on these things and get the relaxation you need any time.

Keep a Reminder of Happy Thoughts Nearby

In our 5S Guidelines for Housekeeping, display of photo or any memorabilia on top of the table would mean a demerit in points. So I put the picture of my family in the wall instead.

In my office wall hang a calendar picture of my 3 boys and my husband, beaming with smiles at me when I take my seat to begin the day’s work. They smile at me throughout the day, no matter how toxic the day becomes; reassuring me every moment that there is a family I can come home to when the long day ends. After all, they are the primary reasons for all my hard work; a constant reminder to me when I feel a “burn out” coming that there are people who need me. People who love me and who I love most.

Others may not prefer “people pictures”. If it’s your pet cat or dog that keeps you smiling throughout the day, then by all means, hang it in there! The point is, keep the people and things that make you tick within glancing distance. Many times, your job does not spare you a moment for yourself and the people who matter to you. Keeping them nearby provides you re-energizing moments with them. Or your drawer would also be a fine alternative.

See the Whole Picture from the Balcony

When we are caught up with all the work and action, it is normal to feel unity with our co-workers and team mates, to be with the flow and momentum. However, as an administrator, we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture.

Heifitz and Linsky in their landmark book Leadership on the Line, talks about detachment or “returning to the balcony once in a while to see what is going on down on the dancefloor”. This very graphical metaphor of a busy, swirling ballroom dance could compare to the real-life commotion of work where, as a team member, a leader is also expected to join the action on the field. At this level, we may get lost in the symphony of activities, and lose sight of the higher objective.

The authors advise that, though leaders should be an integral part of the action, we should regularly return to the balcony view of things, where the vantage point is more expansive.

Practice the 3 Rs: Read, Read and Read!

Management books are in abundance both in bookstores and on-line. With the Internet, you can easily track the latest works of best-selling authors and management experts. Even the classics continue to be quoted and used as reference materials in more recent publications.

A good way to start the habit of the 3 Rs is by reading Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly-Effective People and The 8^th Habit and Heifitz and Marty Linsky’s Leadership on the Line (Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading).

If you have already read these books some years back, it would be good to go back to their timeless lessons, and reflect on them from the perspective of your new skills, knowledge and experiences.