It’s difficult to give a description of what my life looks like since the program is infamous for its flexibility.
I couldn’t even give you a week by week or day by day description of what my days or weeks look like.
The main job for team leads is to make sure that work is being done and that everyone has work to do. I’m currently in my 2nd round (out of 3) in my service year. During our first round, the team helped out with the floods in Colorado working out of the Joint Field Office. This round, we’re working out of the FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC.
The Challenge: The most challenging parts of a round are the first two weeks and the last few days before heading back to campus. However, this appears to be a common theme amongst Team Leads, the stress from the flexibility of travel days.
Week 1 & 2: During Week 1 and 2, the team is trying to find the most efficient routine. The routine is a foundation of expectations for the rest of the round and the biggest challenge. Teams may begin to struggle as they figure out what’s comfortable and what’s not, but it’s important to have an open line of communication between everyone (not just the TL and the members, but between members as well). Even though I have a “high functioning” team, we still struggle when it comes to communication, but we’re working on getting better at it. I believe effective communication is the main determinant in the success of an organization. I’m not too worried because that’s perfectly normal.
Travel Days: I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of road trips. Sitting in a 15 passenger van with 9-10 other people as well as luggage (for 8+ hours a day sometimes) isn’t my number 1 method of traveling. That’s pretty much it.
The # 1 Priority: Perhaps it’s due to the way I was raised or maybe it’s the horror stories told during TLT, but my number one priority as team lead is to ensure the safety of my team. What’s great about Otter 6 is that they’re really good about making sure that everyone is safe. The team is comprised with some of the most selfless and caring individuals I have met in my life. What can I say? I got lucky. :) But no matter how great a team can be, due to the fact that there are many people on the team, it still has its difficulties. All the members are leaders in their own way with their own style and being able to find common ground is a constant challenge. BUT IN A GOOD WAY! Challenges are a catalyst for growth and I’m definitely in support of personal growth and development.
The “Struggle is REAL!”: On another note, coming into this position, I had no idea how many questions I would have to answer. I think that’s the REAL struggle: answering all the questions daily and nightly. But I think anybody can be an Otter 6 TL if they’re okay with answer a multitude of questions because the members of Otter 6 have inquisitive minds. If they can’t do something, they’ll ask “WHY NOT?!” and that’s okay because it motivates me to think creatively as to how I can make things work for them. OPTIONS! Otter 6 loves options. Or maybe that’s just me.
The Motivation: It’s not difficult being an Otter 6 TL…really and truly. What’s my motivation? Otter 6’s ability to tackle challenges head on even though it might be the craziest idea and to be able to see the value of everything we do. That inspires me to be brave and open minded. The ladies & gents of Otter 6 are so inspirational, but like I told you, I got lucky!
So the life of being an Otter 6 TL varies from day to day, but, essentially, we’re all just a group of individuals trying to do some good in the world and make our mark. And that’s all I have to say about that.
I couldn’t even give you a week by week or day by day description of what my days or weeks look like.
The main job for team leads is to make sure that work is being done and that everyone has work to do. I’m currently in my 2nd round (out of 3) in my service year. During our first round, the team helped out with the floods in Colorado working out of the Joint Field Office. This round, we’re working out of the FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC.
The Challenge: The most challenging parts of a round are the first two weeks and the last few days before heading back to campus. However, this appears to be a common theme amongst Team Leads, the stress from the flexibility of travel days.
Week 1 & 2: During Week 1 and 2, the team is trying to find the most efficient routine. The routine is a foundation of expectations for the rest of the round and the biggest challenge. Teams may begin to struggle as they figure out what’s comfortable and what’s not, but it’s important to have an open line of communication between everyone (not just the TL and the members, but between members as well). Even though I have a “high functioning” team, we still struggle when it comes to communication, but we’re working on getting better at it. I believe effective communication is the main determinant in the success of an organization. I’m not too worried because that’s perfectly normal.
Travel Days: I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of road trips. Sitting in a 15 passenger van with 9-10 other people as well as luggage (for 8+ hours a day sometimes) isn’t my number 1 method of traveling. That’s pretty much it.
The # 1 Priority: Perhaps it’s due to the way I was raised or maybe it’s the horror stories told during TLT, but my number one priority as team lead is to ensure the safety of my team. What’s great about Otter 6 is that they’re really good about making sure that everyone is safe. The team is comprised with some of the most selfless and caring individuals I have met in my life. What can I say? I got lucky. :) But no matter how great a team can be, due to the fact that there are many people on the team, it still has its difficulties. All the members are leaders in their own way with their own style and being able to find common ground is a constant challenge. BUT IN A GOOD WAY! Challenges are a catalyst for growth and I’m definitely in support of personal growth and development.
The “Struggle is REAL!”: On another note, coming into this position, I had no idea how many questions I would have to answer. I think that’s the REAL struggle: answering all the questions daily and nightly. But I think anybody can be an Otter 6 TL if they’re okay with answer a multitude of questions because the members of Otter 6 have inquisitive minds. If they can’t do something, they’ll ask “WHY NOT?!” and that’s okay because it motivates me to think creatively as to how I can make things work for them. OPTIONS! Otter 6 loves options. Or maybe that’s just me.
The Motivation: It’s not difficult being an Otter 6 TL…really and truly. What’s my motivation? Otter 6’s ability to tackle challenges head on even though it might be the craziest idea and to be able to see the value of everything we do. That inspires me to be brave and open minded. The ladies & gents of Otter 6 are so inspirational, but like I told you, I got lucky!
So the life of being an Otter 6 TL varies from day to day, but, essentially, we’re all just a group of individuals trying to do some good in the world and make our mark. And that’s all I have to say about that.