Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Meghan Frazer, Operations Manager, LOCKSS Program, Stanford University Libraries, and a current MOR program participant. Meghan may be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.
When I came to Stanford, I left a job where I had been increasingly asked to do more and more higher-level tasks without a salary bump. And I did them because the team and the organization needed it. I covered many manager-level tasks. And then, someone was hired at my level to share the load, and the company paid him more than me despite our equivalent experiences. Still, I stayed, because the team above me promised to fix it and pay me what I was worth. But they didn’t. And so I left, burnt out and depressed.
I share this anecdote to explain why I raised my hand on the second day of our MOR program and asked, essentially, how “Lead From Where You Are” differs from “Do More for Less Money”? My story from my previous role is not unique. Many of us have experienced something similar, particularly among underrepresented groups in technology fields.
Many people in the room responded in various thoughtful ways. One person said, “you’ll need to see how you can make this program work for you.” I took that away and thought about the different things I knew I could apply to my work from session one. I talked about it with trusted colleagues.
Then, we did the 360.
I selected former coworkers in addition to my team and some external partners. I was surprised by a theme that was raised across respondents: I do too much. I cover for people who need to make their own mistakes. I don’t let others fail, and so they don’t learn. I take on too many responsibilities and risk burnout.
When I re-framed the learnings from my first cohort session through the lens of that feedback, it became clear that MOR might save me from myself. I began thinking about how to shift my perspective of my work and time.
Doing lots of line-level operational tasks is comfortable for me. These are problems I know how to solve. Do you need partner communications on issue resolution? I’m your girl. Do you want to know how many top-tier publishers are missing content in our archives from 2017-2019? Give me half an hour with a coffee, a data sheet, and a VLOOKUP, easy peasy.
Do you want new strategic directions for my program? Ahem, um, well, let me…
I’m filling my time with the things that I am comfortable with, but not necessarily the things that my organization needs to succeed. Operational tasks are a crucial cog in the system. They have to get done. But am I selecting the right tasks? Am I delegating sufficiently and effectively? Am I putting out the fire or slaying the dragon?
Looking at my previous work experience through that lens, I think that while I deserved equal adequate pay for my work in that role, I also might have avoided the burnout if I had let go of other tasks as I took on more responsibility, or was more judicious with what I agreed to add to my plate.
Through the subsequent sessions, and meeting with my coach, my project teammates, and my accountability triad, a picture is forming about how I can get from where I am to where I want to be. I am setting goals and working towards a different approach to my work:
- Let go of things I don’t need to do and stop worrying about the things I can’t fix.
- Help my colleagues build up their own skill sets instead of swooping in to do the work.
- Overall, do less.
To be clear, I don’t mean “work less”. The idea is to challenge myself to work on the right things, use my time to think strategically, and do less of what’s comfortable and more of what’s needed. Stop “doing.” Focus on impact. Which of the 65 things on the to-do list actually need me to do them? Which don’t need to be done at all?
It’s a process. It is taking time to reframe my perspective and let go of things. However, the shift in framing will be my biggest takeaway from this experience.
Everyone is always trying to do more with less. I will remember a different mantra to help reframe my thinking: do less, with MOR.
What is one way you could do less with MOR this coming week?
Last week, we asked how you’ve most recently applied the MOR Strategic Planning Model. For those who have applied the model:
- 28% said future direction of my overall team or organization
- 27% said considering evolutions to a new or existing service
- 21% said planning staffing
- 24% said something else
That’s the beauty of the MOR Strategic Planning Model: it is flexible and meaningful enough to apply across a broad range of contexts to aid in our strategic planning. Whether or not you have applied the model recently, what’s a topic that deserves more of your strategic thinking this fall that could benefit from using this model?