Sylvia's Journal

We have been using the words ‘until the dust settles’ quite a bit lately. The top tiers of the ministry are not fully staffed and there are, as my African wisdom calendar said, many rivers coming together creating turbulence (or dust).

But today it felt as if a giant new vacuum bag full of dust was shaken out over the ministry. None of the new dust is likely to settle soon. The whole place was stirred up by a new org chart that was activated today by the country’s presidential team, producing major changes in reporting relationships – some logical and long overdue and some incomprehensible.

Apparently new org charts are produced repeatedly and once in a while one is approved after much haggling between power broker. Org charts are always about territory and territory means power and the ability to put your friends and family in positions that get nice salaries. This latest org one appears to have its origins in various power battles between people within the ministry and between various government structures that have something to do with staffing, salaries and rules about transparency and equity.

Some people lost whole directorates, others gained new departments, some were split in half and lots of people were unhappy. Since the dust is not settled, and it is weekend in Afghanistan, we don’t quite know all the implications of these changes in the boxes and lines on the org chart. Time will tell but messy it is for sure.

We did get another audience with the chief doctor and her staff and I got to talk about senior leadership challenges, the spiral of visibility and vulnerability that women leaders at the most senior levels get caught in, the balancing acts at the top between the urgencies of now and the necessities of the future; attention to the loud voices of those with power and the absence of voices from those to be served. I am glad it’s not my job.

My boss offered my assistance ‘day and night’ to which I protested. As it turns out this is a literal translation of the Dari expression that means anytime. But first it is weekend. Friday is off for everyone.