You weren't hired to assemble the documents. You were hired to call the department heads to complete their portion. Otherwise they simply wouldn't do it. As a manager of 30 years, I can tell you "self-management" is a myth. That's because a worker's priorities and the company priorities rarely line up. Managers have to be the squeaky wheel to get the job done. You're right that management is a separate skill from workers and can be learned. A flat heirarchy would take a miracle.