It shouldn't take more then an hour or two at most per day for correspondences and maintenance. Do you have a list of common tasks? Maybe we could offer suggestions to cut down the monotony. Perhaps there are "technical" positions available that you could offload tasks onto? Something that doesn't require a high level of communication skills (which is IMO the reason they aren't being filled right now).
That's an awfully big statement considering you don't have any idea about the internals about the cga and toj at Tek's level. I know you have some responsibilities for toj but those don't begin to approximate Tek's responsibilities. Same goes for mine..while i ahve a higher level job it's minor in the grand scheme of things in terms of what all Tek has to juggle.
I didn't take any offense at VK's comment because I didn't believe any offense was intended.
VK's right: There are things I could to do better organize my online responsibilities and delegate them to others. The trouble lies in the fact that
I'm the only one who can train most new staff members. That's not a statement of pride; it's a simple fact that much of the vision and framework for the Alliance is trapped in my head. I need to set aside the time and document my ideas and plans. I tend to push documentation to the bottom of my task lists because I don't enjoy doing it. I've worked before as a Technical Writer and it was a fine job, but it was still work. Still, I need to suck it up, sit down, and get to writing.
One thing that has helped immensely in managing Tribe of Judah has been appointing Elihu as Staff Manager. Yes, he's my best friend of 19 years, so I'm going to sound biased when I say that he's been a huge help. I don't want anyone to get the idea that I just promote my friends and "favorites." I'm willing to give any active community member in good standing a chance to get involved and help out. To be overly picky when we're understaffed would be counterproductive and, quite frankly, stupid. It just so happened that I needed someone that I could trust to stick around after I invested several hours in training, Elihu was willing to serve in the role of Staff Manager, and I knew I could trust him to stick around.
I know I'm rambling a bit, but I wanted to explain my thought processes so no one assumes I'm burning out or, worse yet, downright lazy. It's true that I delay tasks from time to time, but I try to maintain a balance between work and pleasure. "All work makes Tek a dull boy," I would say. There have been seasons in the decade I've led Tribe of Judah where I spent what I felt was too much time on administrative tasks and not any or enough time playing games with fellow members. Once I recognized I was burning out,
I decided to make my best effort to balance work and fun. After all, I don't get paid a single cent for any of this--which brings me to my next point.
As much as my heart is with the Alliance and Tribe of Judah, God, my family, and my vocation come first. Right now, I'm unemployed. That means my job is finding a job. The modern job search is a bit like gambling using time as currency: You can pull the lever, but you're not in control of whether that employment slot machine hits all 7s or not. After a while (say, 16 months), you might start thinking the machine is broken altogether.
Another issue contributing to both the Alliance and Tribe of Judah being understaffed is that
all positions are volunteer positions. An employer can motivate employees with incentives or, failing that, the fear of losing an income stream. In my role as President, I ask people to invest their time and energy in helping build an online community dedicated to Christ, knowing that there will be no monetary gain and no threat of loss if work is performed unsatisfactorily or not performed at all. When explaining my situation to a Tribe of Judah member, the member commented that leading ToJ sounds like trying to herd cats. It's a fitting analogy.
I don't mean to imply that I don't love leading both the Alliance and Tribe of Judah. I don't resent my position or responsibilities as President. I just wish people were a bit more eager to step up and help--though I understand why they're hesitant. Many community members with the character I'm seeking for staff positions are already involved in their local churches and communities. Most of them have jobs and families which rightfully come first.
I also have to take care not to overload the community currently serving on staff. Having learned from past experiences,
I have an informal rule that no staff member can occupy more than two staff positions. It's the reason the CGA Accounts Manager and CGA Staff Manager positions are still available even though Hescominsoon (who serves as Forums Administrator and Server Operator for the Alliance) volunteered for both. In addition to making sure I don't burn out,
I have to take every reasonable measure to ensure that my staff members don't burn out, either. It may sound like a noble effort on my part, and perhaps in part it is, but my primary motivation is in wanting to keep my staff members from quitting suddenly (something that has happened all too frequently over the last decade) and suddenly inheriting a load of work that I had previously delegated.
In the end, I work with what I'm given. It's all I can do. I've decided that if the community isn't willing to make the effort, then I'm not going to run myself ragged working toward goals that others don't care about. That's not intended as a slam on anyone; it's simply a realistic assessment of my limited influence as President. Yes, I set the vision and guidelines for the Alliance and Tribe of Judah, but I can't force or even threaten people to help. That's up to the individual members.
If you somehow managed to read this entire post, then I congratulate you. I hope it gives community members a better idea of where I'm coming from and a better understanding of why growth in the Alliance is sometimes slower than we'd like. It isn't meant as a list of excuses;
there are definitely areas where I could improve. Time management, organization, and self-discipline come to mind. But there's also a limit as to what I can do without more people willing, capable, and committed to supporting me, as President, and this entire community.
I feel this post, as long as it is, would be incomplete without mentioning that the Help Wanted thread, as always, can be found
here.
