So the intent of this blog is to provide an opportunity to reflect on what's new, exciting, challenging about becoming a manager at this time (of my own life and the life of this institution), and in this place. I have a mentor - we'll call him Kevin - an experienced manager who has also been in this institution a long time...longer than me, in fact. Although he was assigned to me, I could not have picked a better one because Kevin is one of those managers that many would choose to model themselves on as a leader, colleague, and educator. Add to this the fact he is a genuinely enjoyable person to be around and it's an ideal match for me*. We are going to meet regularly to track my development as a new manager and from those meetings and my experiences, this blog will capture some of my thoughts about this evolving role.
Writing - and blogging - is probably the only way I find to reflect and to organize my thoughts into a cohesive narrative. I'm prone to rambling, to jumping from one idea to another - but writing in a reflective manner like this forces me to organize, prioritize, categorize, and to try to tell a story that others can follow. So this is the beginning of the tale and in future blogs, I will develop that story, and through the next year will track my journey as Manager for Program Development. In the coming weeks, I will look at the evolution and current state of this institution and this department, the (somewhat evolving) role that I have been asked to take on, my strengths (and opportunities) as a manager, and the work I must undertake to become the best I can be in this role. It's a story I am delighted to be telling...
* Kevin was kind enough to arrange for my new office signage shown above - you should note that Kevin was formerly in this office (and holding this prestigious "title"), which is positioned directly across from the lunch room.
