a boss.... me?

I had never been anyone's boss before I started working for Sseko. And I've come to realize that being a boss is not easy... but not in a bad way. Managing the Sseko ladies has been both challenging and extremely rewarding.

This past week we started doing employee reviews with the women... it was the first time we had tried anything like this and it was a really great experience. It gave us the opportunity to tell them areas they needed improvement, but also to praise areas of excellence. And let me tell you, we have some praise-worthy employees! Over the past 6 months, and especially in the last weeks since we moved to the new workshop, we have seen them really step up their game: busting out record-breaking production numbers, catching quality issues early, working overtime to make sure goals are met... They really are awesome and such a pleasure to work with.

It's funny though to reflect back where we were a year ago with some of these same women... And where I was as a manager... And I think those reflections are really revealing. It's not like there has been some massive transformation or dramatic change because things were a wreck a year ago. No, no.... nothing like that. The Sseko team in Uganda was great last year, but this year things are just so much better. And I really think a lot of that is due to the attitude change Julie and I have had as managers... Last year we tended to think "Well, we've never done this before... so .... I guess we'll do it this way." But this year we have been operating with much more intention and confidence..... and vision.

As a management team we read a book called Switch (I highly recommend it!), that really had a big impact on us and the way we viewed our position as managers. The book is about creating change, when change is hard. It gives some really simple steps to follow that make so much sense when you think about them and put them into practice. Things like "smoothing the path"... for us, that meant if we wanted our employees to follow the rules we set, we had to make it easy for them to do their jobs well and follow the rules we put into place.

I think we saw the effects of this most strongly with our newest class of girls from Cornerstone Leadership Academy. The first step to smoothing a path is making a path. That means providing some kind of structure. And let me just say that nothing makes me feel more like I can relate to how it must feel to be a parent than when I think about creating structure.... With kids and with employees I think it's the same principle: they can be smothered by too much structure, but might walk all over you if you don't give enough. But, I've seen firsthand, that when you give them just the right amount, structure is freeing and they really thrive in it. This year when we had orientation for the CLA girls, we handed them a Human Resources manual, we had training stations sets, we had protocol, we had expectations, we were organized and professional. How have they responded to what we presented them with? They respect it. They take us seriously. They take their jobs seriously, and take pride in their work. It's amazing.

When Julie and I sat down to discuss the reviews for the CLA girls, for each one we couldn't think of any instances of behavioral issues or rule-breaking.... For each girl we said: "She works really hard and is a great addition to the team." And that is partially due to the fact that they are awesome girls, but also I think part of it is because we set them up to be awesome employees. And when you get to do employee reviews like that, it makes being "the boss" so much fun.... because I get to sit across from each of them and say "job well done!"

I still have SO much to learn about being a manager, but I am incredibly thankful for what the past year of being a first-time "boss" has taught me.... and that I still have time with the Sseko ladies to keep learning from my experiences with them... so, so thankful.