Let me elaborate. When I started working in Mongolia way back in 2008 and was tasked with establishing an NGO and setting up pretty much everything necessary to run it my mindset was pretty simple. Do everything yourself, and do it well. Because there was nobody else. I would be learning how to formulate letters and documents to comparing car spare parts prices at the market, and everything else in between which included being a tour guide to our rally teams, talking to customs people about vehicle imports at our Western border crossings, meeting with child protection NGO staff to establish new projects, visit orphanages to understand what is a realistic way to help, give workshops to horse trainers about why it’s important children do not miss school, and designing certificates and trophies for people who make it to Mongolia in one piece. Working at all levels was tough but also meant there was no ‘management’ necessary.
Later on, when I started working in a small team at an international company with more people, managing expectations, skills and internal politics also taught me ways of working at a different level, where work load sharing became an important understanding. When there are more cooks are in the kitchen coordination, communication and schedules can become crucial to getting things done. At this point I would say I learnt my strengths and weaknesses, and in an effort to accomplish tasks at hand, accepting the things I cannot do, or at least well, meant I had to know when to listen more. This was especially important for me because I was continuing to struggle with local knowledge, some cultural aspects that glue local staff together, on top of trying to adopt the culture of our Japanese investment company and their country.
Eventually, when I starting working at a higher management level at another company this workload sharing became a way to be more practical because I would start to learn to delegate tasks towards my team and focus on those only I can do, or better yet, that no one can do. So smaller, yet still significant, tasks were allocated and then checked. Challenges that arose here was facing external forces that would be important part of our operation. Local authorities, organisations and agencies that would approve permits and certificates. Many meetings and appointments were with people who took their cues from the way we appeared, or what we said or what was insinuated. And in the case of Mongolia, gauging what a phone conversation meant, or how many people to take into a meeting, who would knock on the door of which officer all turned into almost a kind of game.
Executive level is another step up but I have struggled quite a bit here because I was still somewhat in a mental state of getting things done myself, and paying attention to smaller details, and not allowing myself to relax and take a deep breath and look at the bigger picture. Furthermore, the idea of giving tasks and ‘orders’ as some Mongolian executives would say, made me feel squeamish and a little embarrassed sometimes, especially if your subordinate was much older than you. Navigating the linguistic mine field of saying ‘та’ but also giving out tasks, and in many cases, reprimanding and then correcting a course of work had me feeling all sorts of uncomfortableness. I am someone who respect our customs of addressing older people properly and I’m sure there are many people who struggle with this too. Besides the internal issues, expanding my mindset at this level has been liberating when working because it can align nicely with your thoughts if you are a naturally optimistic person. You feel anything and everything is possible, and that is a blessing and a curse in disguise. Because what happens when you are going through some crap in your personal life and are just not in that mood to lead and encourage your team every morning?
And all these questions and issues pose the greatest challenge when you start it all yourself and have to become the tasker, the team player, the manager and the executive at the same time. There are bookshops full of books on starting your own business and the challenges and the ‘secrets’ to doing it well, and I have read some but not enough. What I have been rolling around in my head recently is the particular challenge of being an executive whilst starting a new project, whilst managing an older venture. It may not be a smart way to live and work but I love it no matter what so it’s not a question of whether it’s too much, just a matter of how to do it well. And one step I have been learning to take very slowly and sometimes without much confidence is knowing when to put on which hat during the heavily loaded work day where decisions have to be made quickly at various levels of thinking.
At the new project I really must get into the nitty gritty of the work at hand and be completely immersed and comfortable with the task at hand. At management level of my business I need to be thinking of ways to push the business forward and look at the numbers closely. At executive level of my job I must be looking out for my team, the direction of the company and ways to improve current situation-must be growth oriented. Oh, and at the team player level-have to keep in mind being open to new things, discussions and making decisions together. This is my weekly family meeting time around the dinner table with my boys. So perhaps, the old saying has many truths because double-wearing a hat won’t be practical at best, costly at worst. However, if you’ve weathered enough cold and hot seasons, knowing how and when to swap them around is the only way to look forward to each new day.
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