Learning to Lead When You’re Used to Doing

Nine months into my first position as a Parks and Recreation Director, one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that working harder is not necessarily the same thing as leading better.

That sounds obvious when written down. In practice, it has been much harder to learn.

Parks and recreation professionals are often doers by nature. We solve problems, run programs, communicate with residents, manage facilities, work with vendors, respond to the unexpected and step in wherever we are needed. Earlier in our careers, being the person who can figure things out is often one of the ways we demonstrate that we are ready for greater responsibility.

Then leadership asks something different of us.

I have found that one of the biggest adjustments in becoming a director has been redefining what it means to have a productive day.

The Temptation to Jump In

There is no shortage of opportunities for a Parks and Recreation Director to get into the weeds.

A facility issue develops. An event needs attention. A resident has a question. A contract needs to be reviewed. A decision needs to be made quickly.

My instinct is often to jump in.

Sometimes that is exactly what the situation requires. Parks and recreation departments are collaborative environments, and titles don't prevent any of us from moving tables, answering phones, helping at an event or solving an unexpected problem.

But I have also learned to ask myself another question: Am I stepping in because I need to, or because doing the work myself feels familiar?

For much of my career, getting involved was how I added value. Leadership requires me to recognize that my value can also come from providing clarity, removing obstacles, asking the right questions and giving other people room to use their own expertise.

Being willing to do any job remains important to me. Learning when my involvement is most valuable is a newer skill.

Creating the Conditions for Ownership

One of the most important shifts I am working on is moving from asking, "How am I going to get this done?" to asking, "What does the team need from me to get this done?"

Sometimes the answer is a decision. Sometimes it is additional information, resources or support. Other times, the most useful thing I can provide is simply clarity about who owns the next step.

That has made me think more intentionally about how responsibilities are communicated.

Who is responsible for making the decision? What decisions can be made without checking with me? When should I be brought into the conversation? What does success look like?

When I haven't made those things clear, I can't expect everyone else to somehow know what I had in mind.

I've also had to become more comfortable with the fact that someone else may approach something differently than I would.

There is a difference between something being done incorrectly and something simply being done differently. Leadership requires enough trust to recognize that distinction.

And often, someone else's approach may be better than mine.

Systems Create Space

My first year as a director has also given me a much greater appreciation for systems.

Parks and recreation departments deal with an enormous number of recurring responsibilities: weather decisions, staffing, facility maintenance, programs, events, rentals, contractors, communications, budgets and emergencies.

Without some structure, even routine responsibilities can require repeated conversations and decisions.

A relatively simple process can make a significant difference.

Instead of deciding from scratch how a recurring situation should be handled, we can establish expectations in advance. Instead of relying entirely on institutional memory for seasonal facility needs, we can build calendars and checklists. Instead of waiting until an event is approaching to determine responsibilities, we can clarify roles earlier in the planning process.

Not everything needs a policy, procedure or flowchart. Parks and recreation will always require judgment and flexibility.

Good systems aren't intended to eliminate that flexibility. They create more room for it.

When routine responsibilities have structure around them, the entire team has more capacity to focus on the situations that genuinely require creativity, collaboration and judgment.

Asking More Questions

Perhaps one of the simplest changes I have been working on is asking more questions before offering an answer.

When a challenge comes up, it is tempting to immediately start generating solutions. After all, problem-solving is probably one of the skills that helped many of us move into leadership positions in the first place.

But there is value in asking:

"What do you think?"

"What options do we have?"

"What do you need from me?"

I've been reminded repeatedly that leadership does not require me to be the person with the best idea in every conversation.

My colleagues bring their own experience, expertise and perspectives to our department. Asking questions gives those perspectives room to shape the solution.

It also makes the final result something we developed together rather than something that simply came from the director's office.

Leadership Still Means Showing Up

None of this means directors should remove themselves from day-to-day operations.

In many municipal parks and recreation departments, that wouldn't be realistic or desirable.

There will always be days when I am moving equipment, helping with a facility problem, working an event or filling an unexpected gap. Those experiences keep me connected to the work our department does and to the people doing it.

The distinction I am learning to make is between supporting the work and automatically owning the work.

Those can look very similar in the moment, but over time they can create very different organizations.

If I automatically take ownership whenever something becomes difficult, I may solve today's problem. If I instead provide the support, resources and clarity the situation requires, I may help strengthen the department for the next problem as well.

Redefining a Productive Day

I am still learning all of this.

There are days when I catch myself getting too far into the details. There are processes I wish I had established sooner. There are moments when I realize I could have communicated expectations more clearly.

I've come to see those moments as part of learning a new kind of job.

For years, I could look back at a productive day and point to what I had personally completed: a program planned, a communication sent, a problem solved or a project moved forward.

Leadership makes productivity harder to see.

A productive day might mean clarifying a responsibility. It might mean asking a question instead of providing an answer. It might mean connecting someone with the resources they need. It might mean creating a process that makes everyone's work easier six months from now.

Or it might mean stepping aside and watching a capable colleague handle something without me.

That last one can be particularly difficult for someone who built a career by being a doer.

Nine months into this role, I certainly haven't mastered the transition from doing the work to leading the work. But I understand the challenge much better than I did when I started.

I'm learning that leadership isn't about making sure I personally have a handle on everything.

It's about helping create a team, a structure and a culture that do.