: Message posted on Stardate 06071.1 at 0225 hours
: Posted by Fleet Admiral Jen Herr (President) in response to earlier message.
: : Message posted on Stardate 06071.0 at 1759 hours
: : Posted by Sarah Hemenway (Presidential Candidate) in response to earlier message.
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: : Command Minute Taker is a description of the requirements of the position. Other people have held a "Command Janitor" position with no duties. I was told that I would be notified as to what discussions would be minuted and I was also told that they would be started by the formal proposal statement listed on the MOTD. I only archived the discussions that I was directed to by the President. Based on the Library records, I completed the Alpha Alliance one on March 9, 2006 (as newly appointed "Janitor") and the IRC RPG one on January 26, 2006 (for Danny, as an example). It's impossible to judge when these were added by the file creation dates on the Library files, as an entirely new copy of the Library is uploaded each time something is modified. Since the President is the one responsible for Command and the appointed moderator of the Command Ship, it would be inappropriate for me to minute a discussion that hadn't been offically declared concluded. Therefore, I included the position on my job list because I've been willing and ready to archive any additional discussions indicated to me. I've received neither no e-mails or IMs or posts elsewhere that would lead me to believe either that I had been removed from the position or that there were discussions for me to archive.
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: I'd just like to clarify because I'd like as simple an answer as possible. My question was whether the job not getting done was my fault for not following up with you, or your fault for not doing it. Am I correct in extrapolating from your answer that you think it's my fault for not giving you clear instructions?
I think that demanding blame be chosen for things is a sure-fire way to end up with hurt feelings and bruised egos, a feeling that Jack and I would like to lessen in STF. I'm more concerned with righting a situation then assigning fault. That said, I believe that the situation could have been better managed by clearer expectations on both of our parts.
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: Of course I cannot post our IM about the situation here, but if you'd like to reread it, it's from Monday, March 6th. I clearly asked if you had questions, twice, to which you replied you did not. Never once did I infer which future discussions would be archived; I simply asked if you would be able to go through our Command back logs and archive the past discussions, to which you replied yes, but that it might take awhile. I thought you were working on it.
As I stated above, at that time, there had been two discussions that followed the format you explained to me. Both of them are currently in the Library archives. If there is a formal discussion I missed, please do point it out so that I can get the archives from Robert and remedy the situation; as I've said before, I'm only human! <G>
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: I'm just trying to understand your viewpoint, because I find some things that conflict with what you say and what you do. For example, you've recently mentioned that you have no intention of micromanaging your cabinet, yet for the position of Command Janitor, it seems like you thought I should have micromanaged it?
There is a very clear distinction between micromanagement and setting expectations on both parties' behalf. My understanding in this matter was that discussions to be recorded would follow a clear format that you, yourself, designed. They would be closed with closing commentary by yourself. Based on that, I did the two historical discussions, then waited for another one to occur (which did not). If there was an issue with this, it is certainly not micromanagement to say, "hey, are you recording this?" It *is* micromanagement to ask daily the status or to bypass that person. If you wait to mention that something is a problem in a public venue, rather than approaching it months back, it could be perceived as bad management practice and is nearly as bad as micromanagement. This all comes back to good communication between the parties. :)
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<snip to save those poor fingers>
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: How do you plan to keep informed about your cabinet's actions? Do you plan to ask them for any specific projects or display an agenda? Do you plan to participate in discussions? If you answer yes to any of these, where does the line between doing your job properly and micromanaging lie? And is that line subjective or objective?
Yes, I do plan to ask for an agenda, to be displayed publically on the department MOTD and to be updated as required. I also intend to participate in any discussion where I feel that I have an opinion to offer (not just because I'm President) just like any other member should. I believe that the line between doing your job properly and micromanaging often begins with yourself and the people you "hire". When I form my cabinet, it will be with people that I can trust to get the job done, whatever that job may be. There will be clear expectations of how we want to be informed, but then, it's up to the cabinet members to do what they need to do. They will have our support and whatever help they need from us to make it happen.
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: If you answer no to all... what are your expectations of action within the cabinet? Should they be working on ways to improve their Department/Fleet, or is just keeping the wheels turning good enough?
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: I appologize to everyone's scrolling fingers but I really want to figure out who to vote for! Thanks!
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: Jen
My basic expectations for every member of the cabinet is that they'll do the job set out in FCOMM (for the Fleet Commanders) or their department charter edict (for the QDirs). That is their first priority: the functioning of their department/fleet (keeping the wheels turning). Then, they look for room for improvement. Honestly, in some cases, there might not be huge amounts of improvement needed. There is no reason to invent work just to say you're working; that's a waste of everyone's time.
Thanks for your questions, Jen.
Sarah
Hemenway/Dipper: It's YOUR club!