While working for the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) in 1995, I was promoted to Assistant Grant’s Chief and Interim Grant’s Chief. I could not speak for a few minutes when I was offered both roles. I was both unbelievably excited and terrified at the same time. The circumstances around both positions were extremely complicated.

Regarding the Assistant Grant’s Chief position, I took that position after a person was demoted. This person was very well-liked by the team. He was kind and funny but unable to perform at his expected level. In private, he congratulated me and told me how relieved he was to no longer be in the position. Unfortunately, he failed to correct team members who believed I stabbed him in the back to get the role. I also lost the friendship of one of my co-workers because she was devastated that she was not considered for the position. I was 27 years old and went from peer to supervisor of approximately 20 people with an average age of 40.

Regarding the Interim Chief position, the Chief had become terribly ill and was expected to be out of the office for approximately six months. I was fortunate to speak with him via telephone regularly; however, that was years before the ease of virtual meetings. Most importantly, I wanted to be respectful of his condition.

The Grant’s Section of OCJS was responsible for disseminating funds to organizations in the 88 counties in Ohio. We allocated approximately 50 million dollars from various grant programs. On my team were:

  • Grant Monitors – These individuals worked to ensure the funds were appropriately used. They also provided technical assistance to the staff of grant recipients. Their roles included a great deal of traveling.
  • Data Specialists – These individuals collected data from the programs to monitor performance and create reports for my review and senior leadership team members.
  • Administrative Assistants – These individuals made our work life more manageable.
  • Interns/Fellows – These individuals sat in on legislative hearings on federal grant allocations for each year and created reports that would guide our “lobbying” activities.

During my time in these positions, I learned many vital lessons in finding the perfect balance. In the interim position, I learned the following:

  • To focus on steering the ship in the same direction as when I assumed it.
  • To over-communicate to allay fears of the unknown.
  • Finally, to make moderate changes in order not to overwhelm.

In my new position, I learned the following:

  • To celebrate every victory.
  • To delegate. Which allowed me to mentor team members and utilize their expertise.
  • Conduct listening sessions to allow team members to express themselves.
  • To elevate my work ethic to demonstrate that I was willing to work as hard, if not harder, than my team members.
  • To stay current in my field to be a competent leader.
  • To set boundaries while being transparent.

With my leaders’ encouragement and my mentors’ advice, I surprisingly celebrated many victories. As tough as those times were, the experiences laid the foundation for a long and successful career ahead of me.