Standard 18

Administrative
All the theory and interpersonal knowledge in the world does not equal success in the professional world of Human Services. The skills that are needed to actually perform job tasks are just as vitally important. Among these are administrative skills. Every individual has their own mix of strengths and weaknesses in the work place. The hope is that those mixes of skills include proficiency in the administrative aspects of performing job functions. There are knowledge and theories of learning behind building those skills.
For me, part of that learning journey was gaining a working knowledge of how non-profits are organized, some of the roles within and how different people work together to keep organizations performing. I learned a lot about non-profit board governance through observation. My evidence of learning and observation exists within a reflective paper. (Appendix T).
It is also important for professionals the deliberately consider their personal understanding of management, and their own management style. That is exactly what I’ve done within the pages of Appendix U. Considering my own past experiences within the professional world and past and current theories of management something of a personal style begins to emerge.
I was able to utilize some of my administrative knowledge, skills and experience through being hired for my paid internship as a program coordinator. I had many opportunities to utilize my skills with managing people in order to complete the goals within my position contract.
That job came at a perfect time for me. I was able to work with youth and show my strengths to myself and others when it comes to program and event implementation. I honed my facilitation skills with weekly meetings, and bookkeeping for program participants. I was also working in an office with other professionals in the field. I was able to begin to see some of my shortcomings as a professional. Areas in which I need to improve. One area is in delegating tasks. Rather, having a realistic understanding of what I can accomplish in my time. Many things come up that I know I can do, and then I run out of time. It looks like I just need to delegate, but more, I need to have a better understanding of how much time things take so I can manage that time and delegate before the task is due or over-due. Also, working within an office of overlapping jobs and efforts, the vital importance of communicating the progress of work and projects became apparent. Over my time in that position I improved my communications and status reporting awareness exponentially.
Ultimately, I completed my internship portion of that position, and ended up canceling the remainder of my contract for the job as a mutual decision between my supervisor and myself. I lost my job. Through a mixture of budget cuts, reassignment of contract hours, and the issues in my personal life interfering with my job performance.
One thing I have learned is that I very much value a job where I can go to work and leave when my hours are done. When my job requires me to be continually in touch and following up on tasks outside of my hours, I just can’t keep up. At least in this time of my life, with school coming to an end, learning to transition my daughter into having two households, and managing my personal life both with my ending marriage and my new relationship. All my other peripheral concerns are still very much there, like my un-accepting family of my lifestyle change. (They –not all- don’t like me being gay and cannot accept and bless my new life – yet they still expect me to make time for maintaining a relationship with them and spend time with them that doesn’t include the “gay part”) I am still learning to deal in my own way with the grief associated with my brothers and my cousin’s death, as well as my dad’s continued talk of “kickin’ it” . I feel as though I’m on a perpetual roller coaster of emotions tied to grief.
In all, I’m very thankful for my internship and job opportunities to learn about myself, and more of my strengths and weaknesses associated with the nuts and bolts of professional work. My goals are partly to learn how to separate my professional life with my personal life, but also, and maybe more importantly, find a job that does not require so much constant awareness and effort during other important parts of my life.
I am well on my professional journey, and have gained awareness of myself, my capabilities, and the types of jobs that I can work with. I don’t believe this learning and process ever comes to completion, so I feel sufficiently ready, administratively, to actively seek and thrive in the field of work.