Story #9: 6 Reasons Why I Was Able to Create Interesting Projects in One Year After Becoming an Ikoma City Employee as a Professional Talent (Side Job/Telework)

The recruitment poster for Ikoma City staff was incredibly wonderful.

It was so wonderful that I was always envious, thinking, 'I wanted to be on that poster too!'
Therefore, even though I wasn't asked and no one interviewed me, I would like to speak as the unofficial 9th staff member.

First of all, I will list a few premises.
■ I truly had no connection or ties to Ikoma City.
■ Joined the office on April 1, 2020, as a member of the Educational Reform Section, Educational Guidance Division, Department of Education and Children, Ikoma City.
■ Contracted as an accounting-year appointed employee for two days a week (consultation for renewal every year).
■ Combining the management of my own company with being a public servant.
■ Basically teleworking, but going to Ikoma once a month (for 4 days at a time).
■ On April 1, when I joined, school closures had already begun, and I was only able to visit schools in the summer.
■ There are no 'tasks that must be done.' I create my own work.
■ Results of one year.

1. The speed achieved precisely because of telework

On April 1, 2020, I greeted everyone feeling like a transfer student, while nervous.
The Department of Education and Children, which I visited for the first time, looked incredibly busy.
With the decision for school-wide closures, teachers were creating video lessons, preparing homework handouts, setting up computers and Wi-Fi, and handling disinfection and staggered school attendance. Even though the situation was such that they 'would even borrow a cat's paw' (meaning they were desperate for any help), I didn't feel like I could even fulfill the role of a cat's paw, so I sat there small.

If I had been working inside the city hall, I think I would have been desperate to become the 'cat's paw needed right now.' I would have thought that I should use my time and energy for 'what is in front of me right now' rather than my own mission of long-term educational reform or exciting career education.

For better or worse, because I was teleworking, I couldn't physically be a cat's paw, and being away meant I didn't feel the tension of the field. Therefore, I was able to push forward without wavering from my mission.

Once a month, when I went to Ikoma City, I would listen to the needs of teachers and the community, then return to Nagareyama and create plans through telework.
Thanks to this way of working, I was able to concentrate my energy without wavering.

2. The speed achieved precisely because of having a side job

Online school trips are a good example of this.

I conducted one at my own office in Nagareyama City, and showing them the news and results of that led to the decision to hold an online school trip at Asukano Elementary School.

Trying new things in the private sector -> bringing the results and know-how to implement them at school. By creating this cycle, I was able to realize new projects with a sense of speed.

3. The speed achieved precisely because it was during COVID

Due to COVID, the shift to online in schools progressed at an incredible speed.

The field where I, who had been training teleworkers and creating environments in business, could show my skills was right in front of me.

This had a major impact on the speed of this past year.

4. The speed achieved thanks to the teachers in the field

I have never proposed a plan to a school saying, 'I want to do this!'
I thought of plans based on the wishes of schools and teachers who said, 'I want to try something like this.'

*The above is an interview article with a teacher.

If no one had called out to me, I wouldn't have been able to do anything.
It was precisely because the teachers and schools in Ikoma City had a strong desire to 'do things for the children' and had the energy to execute them that I was able to run forward.

5. The speed achieved thanks to the existing staff

Mr. Ogaki, the Ikoma City Public Relations Manager, who had been reading my blog for a long time, invited me to give a lecture in Ikoma City with a passionate love letter, which became the trigger for me to apply for the professional talent recruitment. When I go to Ikoma, she introduces me to various people, both inside and outside the city hall.

I just sit there smiling, and Ms. Ogaki gives me the best pass by saying, 'Ms. Ozaki is truly amazing. Please tell them that story!' and I just have to kick it a little to get a huge amount of trust points from the people present—it's the best game system.

I was able to receive, even if just for five seconds, what she gained by working hard for the community while overcoming various challenges after joining the municipal office mid-career.

Of course, it is not just Mr. Ogaki. Thanks to all the Ikoma City employees who continue to build relationships of trust with citizens and local residents, my projects are proceeding smoothly.

After all, I am just a teleworking, side-job employee with one year of experience in Ikoma. Even though I was hired as a 'professional talent' with a cool title, I could never achieve speed without borrowing the trust and track record of the existing staff.

6. The speed I was able to achieve because of the members of the Guidance Division

Actually, the number one thing I was told when I became a public servant was, 'The administration is all about making excuses for why things can't be done. You probably won't be allowed to do anything, Ms. Ozaki.'

However, there was not a single stopper in the Ikoma City Educational Guidance Division. Not the Superintendent of Education, not the department heads, not the section chiefs. Not the ICT teachers or the members. Everyone happily supported my challenges.

The members of the Guidance Division even made my nameplate for me.
I can't help but feel loved. I'm so happy.

In particular, my boss, the super administrator Mr. Hidaka. He transferred to the Guidance Division at the same time as I did. *Since the Guidance Division only consists of teachers, this was the first time an administrative staff member had joined.
Mr. Hidaka always thinks about 'How can Ms. Ozaki be successful? How can things go well as a whole?' from short-term, long-term, individual, and organizational perspectives.
When I ask questions, he draws diagrams to explain them, and when something happens that I don't understand, he pulls out a law book to explain it.

He never says anything negative and always praises me. Except for things that are truly not okay, he says, 'Why don't you try it?' or 'That's super interesting,' and prepares and follows up on everything so that I can move easily.
Wherever he goes in the office, people call out to him. He has immense trust from within the city hall.

He is my master, my big brother, and my mother.
(If I were to compare him to Kingdom, his always calm expression is like Rinko, his hidden strategist side is like Shouheikun, and although Mr. Hidaka is a huge pacifist, he must have a passionate personality that helps his friends like Bajio when they are in a pinch.)

I am sure there are pros and cons to my activities. But everyone protects me so that those voices don't reach me. If I heard them, I might have slammed on the brakes.
If you have the teachers of the Guidance Division who always support you & an administrative staff member with a wide network and the best management skills on your side, then anyone can achieve speed. Like Yotanwa, I can go anywhere on horseback.

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Of course, the presence of my peers, the local people, and Mr. Suna, the guesthouse owner who always takes care of me, is also significant.

Work style, environment, and people.
The fact that all of these clicked together is the reason why I was able to do interesting things in my first year of joining the office, even with a side job and teleworking.

Whenever I go to Ikoma for business trips, I always tell my children as I leave the house, 'I'm going to change Japan a little!'

I believe that overwhelmingly interesting case studies can change Japan, and since that is all I can do, I pour all my energy into that one point.

Since I was able to build a bit of a relationship of trust with the school site in one year, I would like to continue to create new models in Ikoma City one after another in fiscal year 2021 while further accelerating this speed!

Lastly.
Mr. Nakagaki, the photographer of the real poster who knew about my dream of 'wanting to be on a poster,' took a picture of me in front of the office during lunch break today. Since the designer Mr. Hiramoto, the HR department, and the PR department all gave their okay, I would like to fulfill my dream only on this blog.

I am happy to have been forcibly included among such wonderful staff members.
Ikoma City staff recruitment starts today.