A month into her new role as Delivery Manager in Novi Sad, Bojana Satara Anic had already made her first real call. She noticed that none of the documents she shared with the client leads were being read, so she stopped waiting and started implementing the process, and decided to apologize later if needed.
That instinct has a long history. Before delivery, there was ballroom dancing, Latin and standard, and years of training every day until the steps moved without thinking. She still works the same way: repeat it, notice what doesn’t work, drop it or replace it.
We asked her about her first month, what dance has to do with managing delivery, and what “settled in” looks like a year from now.
IWC: How would you describe your first month?
Bojana: It felt like going back to the same office after a really long vacation. I did not feel like a new joiner. Everyone was friendly and approachable.
IWC: What was the first real decision you had to make as a Delivery Manager here?
Bojana: Start implementing the process and apologize later, if needed. I noticed that none of the documents I created and shared with leads from the client side were ever read, so I started doing instead of waiting.
A Delivery Manager sits between the team building the work and the client expecting it. Bojana works with a team of seven, including the client’s Product Owner and a Tech Lead, responsible for keeping a set of finance platforms, systems and processes running: support, incident management, and the ongoing development and deployment of improvements. On top of that, she was asked to help with an audit that spans several of the client’s teams. Across all of it her job is the same: set up the process, make sure the documents behind it get used, and notice what’s unclear before it becomes a problem.
IWC: How do you combine competitive dance with your career, and what does that look like day to day?
Bojana: It is not about the competition itself. It is about the journey. At one point in my life, I trained every day. You have to repeat the same steps all over again and teach your body to memorize them, so it moves without thinking about what comes next. Only then can you notice which parts of the choreography or body movement can be improved. And if you are giving your best but you simply cannot remember the move or the step, you have to remove it entirely or replace it. I do the same with process. If a step does not work, I drop it or replace it.
IWC: What is one thing dance has taught you that has nothing to do with work, but you notice anyway?
Bojana: Competitive ballroom dancing, both Latin and standard, cannot be done alone. You need a partner. Each partner has their own part to play. Without collaboration, communication and trust, the dance will never look effortless.
IWC: A year from now, what would “settled in” look like for you?
Bojana: A year from now, the process runs without me pushing it. The documents get read, and people ask me questions before problems grow. The client leads know what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from them. That is settled in for me.
A year from now, she wants the documents to get read, people to ask questions before problems grow, and the client leads to know what to expect from her.
Going by her first month, she’s already working that way. She started doing instead of waiting, and she drops what doesn’t work.
“That is settled in for me.”
If that sounds like how you work, we’d like to hear from you. See our open roles.