Many Hands Make Light Work

 I wrote the title of this post a full week ago and was amused to see that between writing the title and finally writing the post, the exact same phrase was used in the exact same context in which I intended it.

What is that context?  Planning a Toastmasters Division-level speech contest for two different Divisions as part of a single event.  A speech contest is quite an affair in and of itself, but double the contest means double the fun and potentially double the work.  Fortunately, I was far from alone in planning this event.  Double the contests also means double the pool of potential helpers, and the helpers were amazing!

The biggest challenge for me in planning this event was giving up control and letting others do what they were meant to do.  If I had tried to do it all, it would have been far too much.  (Plus the guidelines of the contest make it so that I wasn't even allowed to "do it all.")  By dividing up tasks between a contest chair, Toastmaster, chief judge, logistics coordinator, and tech team, we were able to each take on a more manageable chunk of the work.  As a result, the contest ran smoothly with only minor hiccups and everyone who participated seemed to have a wonderful time!

How can I apply this experience outside Toastmasters?  In my job as a computer programmer, I tend towards wanting to do all the work (the coding) myself, but I need to remember that things run more smoothly when we divide up the work into manageable chunks and each person does their piece.  Both in running a Toastmasters event and in coding a complex website or application, if just one person tried to do it all, it would be too much.  

Dividing up work does not mean a lack of coordination and collaboration.  In fact, having a team instead of an individual work on something unlocks the potential for collaboration.  Trying to complete a project entirely by yourself means there is no one to say, "Have you considered this?" or for you to ask, "Does this make sense?"  In planning the speech contest, there were sync-ups and phone calls.  In my day-job, there are stand-up meetings and code reviews.  In both cases, I would be terrified if no one was there for me to bounce ideas off of or from whom to get advice.  Many hands not only make light work, but increase the confidence in the quality of the work!

The next time I try to take on a project all alone, I hope I will remember this experience of helping plan the double-Division speech contest.  I think it is fitting that both I and the logistics coordinator for this event declared independently but the same, "Many Hands Make Light Work."