The Quest for Arundo Eradication on Arcade Creek Continues

TGIS (Thank God It's Sunday). I kind of thought that, when CTI ended, I would have more time for rest and relaxation but that has not been the case. Our sponsor is working on a grant that expires on November 22nd, so we've been working six days a week in order to remove all of the Arundo clusters in the Arcade Creek corridor. Although working 8-9 hours for 10 out of the last 11 days has been tiring, we're wearing it as a badge of honor - especially as the other teams on campus took two day weekends as well as Veterans' Day. The result of working so much is that we're two days ahead of schedule for Arundo removal, and will easily finish before the terms on the grant money end.

As a team leader, it's been rewarding to see my team start to manage itself a little bit on the work site. Each person has found a niche in which they feel comfortable working, and the process behind cutting, stacking, hauling and loading the canes has begun to work itself out. That said, I still have a few people on my team who require much of my time. One of my 18 year-olds, Ashley, constantly asks questions. Not just about things related to NCCC, but questions like: "Hey Josh, is the zoo free on Sundays?" or "Hey Josh, what do I do if I'm out of toilet paper?" (she texted me the second question while I was writing this). It has been quite a test of my patience to constantly be asked questions to which I would naturally try to find the answer out for myself before asking. As much as I like to have all of the answers, I'm at the point where I may have to point out (hopefully not in an overly passive-agressive manner) that there was this wondrous network called the Internet that was invented about 15 years ago and that, when paired with a web service called "Google," can display an astonishing array of information - much more than any single human brain could hope to contain.

In other news, I've become much more comfortable with team management tasks like paperwork, running meetings, applying discipline, diffusing conflict, delegating tasks, etc. It's hard at times to maintain an emotional distance from my team members which allows me to relate to them without compromising my ability to set boundaries and light a fire under them when needed. I do feel that they like and respect me which is an awesome feeling. So far so good!