Letting Go - Part 3 of 3

Letting Go (of projects, ownership, and the next chapter)

This third part is more personal. It’s about letting go of work you care about and accepting that you won’t see it through in the way you originally imagined. It is the handover.

I’ve put a lot of time and energy into this hospital project. Many evenings, meetings, conversations, write-ups, and much mental space. I care about the tools and processes, but more importantly I care about the people using them—the nurses, surgeons, coordinators, and admin staff — and the patients. I care about what it means for them to have systems that support their work and their patients.

It isn’t easy to hand this off when it means so much.

Not Seeing the Finish Line

Part of the difficulty is attachment. I invested deeply in this and want to the end. I'm built that way. You want to finish the work before leaving. We made real progress, but we are nowhere near a long-term solution and I won’t be the one carrying it onward.

Because I really believe in the work being done here in Africa, it is time to hand it off to someone better, someone who can dedicate time and energy for the long haul. If I believe in sustainability, I am not it.

Most Projects Don’t Start and End With Me

Very few of us get to take a project from the true beginning to the true end. Especially here, where many volunteers rotate in and out. Leadership, priorities, and structures shift.

I’ve begun asking questions like: “Was I helpful in the time I had?” or "Did I make a difference?" When I look at the work that way, I see a lot to be grateful for. We reduced some of the administrative load. We made things easier to manage. We highlighted problems. We brought clarity to a complicated area. And we learned a lot along the way.

What Was in My Control—and What Wasn’t

Some of the challenges were tied to broader issues—silos, communication patterns, poor systems/tools, and structures that existed before I arrived and will exist after I leave. Those aren’t things one person can change. I can suggest improvements and model change, but I can’t reshape the whole system. Also, to think it is all on me is naive, stupid, and arrogant. There are many, many great people working to improve the organizational health.

So part of letting go here is simply accepting that I played my part, and now the work moves on to someone else.

As I hand this off, I’m trying to keep a few thoughts close:

• I did what I could
• I learned from it
• I hope the next person can take it further
• I am cheering them on

And I’m at peace with that. 

I hope you can let go and appreciate the difference you make in your world.