Disclaimer: today's post is largely about Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland. There's a good chance that what I'm talking about applies to management in other organizations, but this entry will be more focused on the process at BGCP.
There are two groups of staff at Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland. On one hand, we have the Administrative staff: various executives, officers, and coordinators (and the VISTA team). On the other, we have Program staff: these people work in the Clubhouses and are dedicated to day-to-day delivery of program to all of BGC Portland's kids.
The problem is this: there is a gulf between the two groups. The Admin staff spend most of their time in their offices working to keep the back end of the clubs running. They are not able to spend much, if any, time working with the kids and the Program staff. This is no one's fault: their job is vital to keeping the organization running smoothly and they take it seriously. I know that many of them, myself included, would love to take more time out to spend working directly with the kids. After all, the desire to help kids grow and succeed is the glue that sticks everyone here together.
What isn't apparent to most Admin staff though, is how huge the gulf seems to those on the other side.
