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"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of Life’s
coming attractions."

Albert Einstein


Dirty work does not mean work that you totally abhor or a misdeed and dishonor in the service. In public managers’ parlance, it is the hundreds of people you need to talk to, dozens of meetings you have to attend, the tons of paperwork you have to finish and the pressure of multitasking that come with the territory. This, the administrator should learn to live with or to put it more plainly, to survive with dignity and composure.

They say that the true test of a leader is in how he performs under pressure. This, in many ways, is the life of a public administrator and manager. We are not only expected to live with the dirty work, but to thrive under it and to shine when all options seem dim.

Here are a few real-life lessons in the area of people, papers, meetings and pressures.

Your Precious Signature and Initials

Had I known at an early age that my job would be like this, I would have shortened my signature. This is the stroke of realization that never fails to dawn on me whenever I sign thousands of appointments of contractual public school teachers charged to local funds, piles of vouchers and other official documents; hands throbbing in arthritic-like pain. I could just swear I would fill up a 2-storey building with documents I signed in the past 17 years.Well, that’s part of the job.

Some governors/mayors have the luxury of having trusted people who act as their “golden hand”—people with talent for copying their signatures and thus, relieving them of the boredom and inconvenience that comes with paperwork. Unfortunately, “golden hands” are a big no-no for public administrators. The risk is too big for others who still do this.

Besides the fact that “human stamp pads” are prone to abuse, administrators also act as safety barriers that protect the interests of the chief executive and the integrity of public service. We are expected to know everything about all transactions the LGU and the Chief Executive enters into. And for a very good reason—when an official document backfires, the administrator gets the flak because it bears your signature and/or your initials.

But just how can public managers, whose time and attention is so precious, make signature sessions easier, faster and safer?

The best way is to make sure that you affix your signature only in documents that have been thoroughly screened for consistency and legality is to develop your own trusted staff. These are people trained and trusted enough to give you “for signature” documents that had passed the necessary processes and scrutiny, thus, saving you precious time, you could otherwise spend on scrutinizing it yourself.

Establish a system that would set parameters for complete staff work and classify your documents as to what your staff could analyze and recommend for your signature, and what only you could decide on.

Short and Sweet Meetings

Conduct short, focused and well-directed meetings.

Experience has taught me that in this job your “meeting request list” and invitation for meetings can get so long. Your office should have a small meeting table and an adjacent conference room. This way, you can manage and attend to two meetings at the same time. Remember: your time is precious. Sometimes, all you have to do is start off one meeting by setting its direction and clarifying its objectives, then return when it’s decision time. In between, you can sign documents or even make some phone calls.

But, what about meetings that drag on and you’re the only person who can settle the score? Management guru Stephen R. Covey stresses on the essential benchmark for a successful agreement to end meetings—win-win or no deal. Make it a habit to see through the multiple interests and opinion of people to identify that sweet spot of “smart compromise” and balance. Not to forget of course is to consider what is legally acceptable. In the end, it should be your institution’s mission and values that a decision should serve.

It’s physically impossible to attend to all invitations for meeting. Choose strategically and attend only those that need your personal presence or those that constitute your top priorities. Send an able staff to the other meetings instead.

I am reminded of a story of Dr. Alex Brillantes, Dean of the UP National College of Public Administration, about one of his colleagues in government who said in jest that at the end of the road, he wants his epitaph to read D.O.M. or Died of Meetings. Indeed, the stark reality in a public administrator’s life is the overabundance of meetings.


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