Can they do it without me?

We Do This Every Day - OG Ep. 3 - 2025

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Feb 13, 2025

Greetings WOL Friends!

So, did Olivia use ChatGPT for the last week’s post? I guessed correctly. Read this edition to see if you guessed correctly.

Last week we hosted an information session for school counselors about getting students registered for their World Language courses. We are glad to share the video with you or you can set up a time to talk with Olivia using this link (Book time to meet with Olivia).

Best,

Pat

Can they do it without me?

If the Prime Minister of New Zealand can step away from her job to have a baby, I can step away from mine, right?

I remember reading years ago that the Prime Minister of New Zealand had given birth -- the second time an elected head of government gave birth in office. (The first was Pakistan's Prime Minister Bhutto.)

And still, as I prepared for the birth of my second child this past September, I worried: What will happen to my responsibilities in my absence? Who will take them on and how will things run without me?

But if a Prime Minister can take leave and the country still runs, I should be able to step away from my position as a supervisor of virtual programs… right?

Preparing for an administrator’s leave

What does the preparation look like for someone whose position “does not need a substitute” as our absence management system reminds us each time an administrator takes time off?

We actually did hire a “substitute.” We were so fortunate that our organization supported a 10-hour/week addition to our team. My former colleague, Anita Young, jumped on board to help cover some of my supervisory duties for the months I’d be out.
Put systems in place: An upcoming leave is a great opportunity to refine existing systems—or even establish new ones. Knowing that we would be “down a woman,” we created a chronological spreadsheet for tracking school year milestones and communication with districts. This made the work more transparent as several individuals (most notably Erin Siverd!) stepped in to assume my responsibilities.
Write Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): We had also begun this initiative well before my leave. But my leave helped demonstrate the importance of written processes so that repeated tasks can be performed efficiently by whoever is available.
Streamline communication: We have been shifting towards the use of a Help Desk for inquiries and troubleshooting. But my anticipated leave helped demonstrate the urgency for a streamlined system for communication. My away messages directed people to that system so that services could continue seamlessly.
Stopped adding new things to my plate: This may seem obvious, but it’s so easy to end up in a meeting planning something that is three months down the road. In my last month of pregnancy, I stopped playing a significant role in any new projects.

“What if they do my job better than I do?”

Stepping away from a position comes with some uncomfortable feelings. If you’ve ever taken an extended leave—or even approached retirement—these might be familiar.

We may worry that our work won’t get done, but the bigger fear is actually that it will—and maybe even better than when we did it! What if they manage just fine without me?

And yet, that’s exactly what we want. It’s what is best for our students: We want the institution to be able to continue to serve the students well regardless of who is present. This doesn’t mean that our unique skills and voice are expendable; but rather, that we have created a leadership environment that is stable and agile, able to adapt to the coming and going of individuals without losing its essence. This is not a cult of personality; it is a dynamic institution.

So, can they do it without me? Yes, absolutely! And that is exactly how it should be.

An acknowledgement

When one administrator is on leave, even if some additional help is added, it inevitably puts more stress on the remaining administrators. So, I want to acknowledge my colleagues who have all graciously assumed tasks in my absence.

Thank you Melissa Henderson, Erin Siverd, Lauren McMinn, Sonya Yoder, and Pat Mulroy for all the things you picked up so I could be fully present for my growing family. It was truly the greatest gift.

Learning from each other

This is another area that could benefit from some more transparency (see my blog last week on transparency in use of AI). Perhaps you have navigated this in your institution.

How do you prepare for an extended leave of an administrator, in a virtual environment or otherwise? What do you think makes your institution strong enough to continue to operate smoothly through these times?

Share your tips!

AI use Disclosure: I did not use AI to write last week’s post (about using AI!). For this post, I put AI in an instructive position. I asked ChatGPT to share broad suggestions on tone, clarity and sentence structure across the entire post, but not to give me any specific edits. Then I made my own revisions based on those broad observations. I really like this approach so far. It is making me a better writer.