-
82
-
A roller coaster ride
I have never been one for amusement parks, or more specifically the rides at amusement parks, especially the roller coasters rides. My husband however, loves them! So whenever a group of us friends decide to go to an amusement park, I take along a nice book to read. Whilst they enjoy themselves on rides, I find a perfect quiet spot to catch up on and enjoy myself with some long outstanding reading.
My learning journey with Gender Links (GL) over the last year and five months can only be described as a long (yet often it felt very short), often very exciting and also very terrifying roller coaster ride. Having been promoted to the Gender and Governance Manager after ten months of finding myself in the Local Government Programme Manager post - this was a ride that I was very excited about but also at the same time extremely terrified of. Managing a part of a programme is very different from managing all of the parts of the Programme. This journey has not only taught me a lot about myself but also about the constant need for me to up my game in terms of managing people, the workload, finances and all of the systems put in place by myself and others. This is necessary to ensure that I do not get overwhelmed by everything at once. By everything at once, I mean the ups, downs and side turns of this ride.
During May of this year, the Gender and Governance programme of GL reflected on our work done over the last couple of years and we then decided to change our approach through the new Centres of Excellence for Gender Mainstreaming in Local Government (COE) approach. This activity really helped to apply myself as a manager, to think about things more conceptually and strategically to ensure that things make sense to me and all other parties who would eventually become part of the COE process. My financial management skills has also improved dramatically as I have had to apply myself more to the financial aspects of my programme to ensure that as the programme manager I understood all budget lines, donors' expectations, etc.
One of the turns that the roller coaster took was also was our Swaziland country facilitator's resignation. This turn taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me that although we are happy that Jabu is now able to grow in a different position with more responsibility, I have learnt that the growth of one individual should not be seen as a disadvantage or a gap that needs to be filled within an organisation. It should be seen as a tool for us, a network that we can tap into when the need arises. We now have a familiar person in a post and organisation that we might one day need to work with. I learnt that there is always an opportunity in another person's growth because my promotion was also an opportunity for me and GL as a whole.
My journey, through my work at GL, has thought me that it is important to take some time out regularly in my work and personal life (even if it means closing my office door) to reflect on processes that changes the way I do things and also think about things. This will only benefit me as an individual but it will also benefit those that I am responsible for and who I manage as well as in my personal relationships, as I constantly need to give them my best to ensure that I always get their best.
So this learning journey has thought me (1) to prioritise my reading time differently, no more reading at the GL amusement park, (2) roller coasters are not as bad as I thought, it is really how you conceptualise and strategise around your understanding of it.
Therefore I am motivated by the word of Stacey Charter: "Life can be like a roller coaster...And just when you think you've had enough, and your ready to get off the ride and take the calm, easy merry-go round...You change your mind, throw you hands in the air and ride the roller coaster all over again. That's exhilaration...that's living a bit on the edge...that's being ALIVE." - that is my definition of a learning journey with GL.
Abigail Jacobs-Williams is the Gender and Governance Manager at Gender Links.
Files to download:
More Interesting Topics
Organization:
