By Jennifer Dunlap, CF APMP
I must admit: I consider myself to have an “A” type personality. What does that mean to me? I am competitive, organized, and a perfectionist. In many ways, I believe these traits have driven my success as a proposal manager. It has also made me a bit of a workaholic and I take on a lot of unnecessary stress.
I suspect many of my fellow proposal managers can relate to my point of view and have suffered from high stress. So how to be effective in the high-demand, fast-paced world of proposal management without losing work-life balance? Well, here are a few things I’m trying. Call it my three-step program.
First, I took a hard look at what is bringing me the greatest stress at work. For me, I needed to acknowledge I am not and cannot be in complete control of every aspect of a proposal. Yes, it is key to take ownership of the outcome of your work, but I realized I was seeing each RFP as “my” responsibility. With coaching from my amazing manager, I am learning to see my role in a different light. I am just one member of a team of people responsible for a successful outcome. That team may just be two or three people, but it’s a relief not to carry around the idea it’s all up to me.
Second (this is a hard one for me), I needed to learn to simply let some things go and leave them in others’ capable hands. I’ve recently gone from being the sole proposal manager at my company to a team of three that is, thankfully, continuing to grow. I trained and mentored a new higher last year and quickly realized I was struggling with not being a helicopter parent for her. I showed her the ropes and what worked best for me, but then tried to empower her to stand on her own two feet and manage in her own style. As a result, she stopped worrying about “doing it wrong” and has become a great colleague and teammate who I can always count on. My stress level has decreased twofold as I now have someone to lighten the load and collaborate with on difficult bids. I hope she is finding her work more satisfying as well with me not looking over her shoulder. I think this kind of approach is very effective in managing people. I would like to be a proposal director and believe this has been a very valuable lesson for me to prepare me to be a better manager.
Third, I have discovered how to ask for help. I’ve always been proud to be able to troubleshoot and deal with things on my own, as I bet most of my colleagues in proposal management are. We all need help sometimes, even just to have someone as a sounding board. I was so fearful that reaching out and saying I was overwhelmed meant I was weak or “admitting defeat.” Once I started admitting to myself it’s okay to feel lost sometimes, I was pleased to realize I have amazing colleagues I can turn to for moral support.
Proposal management is a challenging career that I love. I also recognize the enormous benefits of having life-work balance. I am still very much a work in progress but am happier and more hopeful than I’ve been in years.
Jennifer Dunlap, CF APMP
Senior Proposal Manager
Jennifer is an accomplished proposal manager who is well-versed in writing and editing responses. She has the ability to consistently produce quality results in a fast-paced environment, prioritizing appropriately to manage multiple quick turnaround projects simultaneously. Jennifer is responsible for establishing her firm’s guidelines, vision, and financial outline for completed proposals.
