Junior League Dream Work Team
Three days into the new fiscal year; with a brand new President… I declare today as “clarity” day for the staff at the Junior League of Raleigh!
Without warning or planning, all staff showed up in matching attire. I noticed this immediately and started yelping, “Yipee!! Today is the day of clarity!” I got the normal what-the-heck-is-she-talking-about-now looks, but those looks and thoughts are completely normal and completely expected. I accept the charge that my first thoughts are not what happened and who did it. My first thoughts are how did it happen and how not to do it again. Documented. Repeatable. Measurable. Perfect. Automated. Unto the Lord. Continuously Improved processes. Operational efficiency. –that’s my wheelhouse; my funhouse. #loveit
For whatever reason, I tend to think of almost everything in an operational capacity; even taking the trash to the road or grocery shopping, which is one of the most inefficient processes I can think of. Let’s look at the process of putting mustard on a turkey sandwich, for example. Off-the-shelf, into-the-cart, out-the-cart, onto-the-checkout, off-the-belt, into-the-bag, off-the-checkout, into-the-cart, out-the-cart, into-the-car, out-the-car, into-the-house, out-the-bag, into-the-frig, out-the-frig, onto-the turkey. Seriously? For one item? What if you have more than one item? Go ahead, multiply all of those items by each step. Yes, I know, sometimes you get to “batch” steps because you can put more than one thing in the bag and you can put all of the bags in the car, but this is MY rant so I get to be as extreme as it takes to make my point. Ya dig? 🙂
Operational efficiency is thinking things like, “Is that the best use of our time right now?” or “Is doing this or that the most efficient way to get the job done?” or “There has to be a better way. Time-out. Let’s find it.” Believe it or not, it is not a conjured activity or something that I have to think about. It is automatic and perfectly aligned with my purpose. My purpose is to design and describe systems of progress. In this Tony Robbins video he talks about the long-term formula for what creates happiness.
“All of us at some level, to feel alive, have to always
feel like we’re growing. When people ask me
what does it take to be happy, I always tell
them one word; progress.” ~Tony Robbins
Sometimes when an organization has challenges, it is not the people. It is the process and in those cases when it IS the people, my first response is to check out and move on to a problem that has a black and white agenda or one that is shovel-ready for a solution. A problem that has a black or white agenda is one that when solved ceases to exist. A problem with a shade of grey agenda does not want a solution, it wants an influence; a manipulated outcome. Not my circus. Not my monkeys. As Myron Golden says, Time is not money. Time is more valuable than money. I just believe that it is a complete waste of time to solve a problem that you believe has a hidden agenda. Besides, this quote makes sense to me… just sayin’.
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I hereby appoint our team into the performing stage of team development. Kudos to the Administrative Director for assembling a team that on some wavelength (though perhaps only in my imagination) we are in sync! Unified. We have an awesome leader and a dedicated staff of fabulous women that support a 1,500+ powerhouse membership. The day of clarity is especially great since June 1 was my one year anniversary as the Administrative Assistant and Rental Coordinator. I call it my volunteer pay job… meaning that I resigned as a member to volunteer to be paid non-profit wages to continue to be a part of the Junior League of Raleigh which is truly a winning team on an inspired mission!
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