http://splitsider.com/2014/02/talking-to-new-daily-show-head-writer-elliott-kalan/

What was the transition process like? What was it like learning how to do this job, and what are the new responsibilities you have? The job has a very different set of goals and responsibilities and objectives and skills. As a writer, I felt like it was my job mainly to generate ideas for material, and then when I was on an assignment, to produce jokes with a point of view that were funny, sharp, fit the voice of the show, and were as interesting as possible. As head writer, that’s still very much a part of it, but at the same time, there are a lot of skills like communication between departments, personnel management, interaction with show management to a much greater degree than I’d been involved with before; things that were never a part of the job as a writer. As a writer, you focused on the writing and your place in it, and as a head writer, your eye is so much more on ‘How is everyone working together? Is this department integrated with the rest of the show properly? How can we make sure all the writers are doing the best work that they can and the work that’s most appropriate to the show and serves the show the best and serves Jon the best?’ It’s a widening of scope outside of myself, in a way. It’s interesting because when you get you get married, your point of view becomes ‘What’s best for us?’ rather than ‘What’s best for me?’ With having a son, it’s like, ‘What’s best for my family?’ Now, I’m responsible for this group of three people and not just for myself. It was a similar transition going from writer to head writer. You become responsible for more than just yourself. It’s similar skills to what I’m using in taking care of a baby, which sounds like I’m comparing comedy writers to newborns, which is not the most flattering of comparisons – but there is definitely a feeling of ‘Okay, now I’m responsible for lots of peoples' work and not just for myself.’ I’m enjoying the job a lot. I like being challenged by it. The reason you want to move up in an organization is so that you’re always being challenged, you’re always being presented with new things, new ways to grow the skills you have, ways to get new skills, and new opportunities and problems, and things that you haven’t encountered before. I’m the kind of person who, if I do the same thing for too long, then I start to get frustrated. Getting this job has been a godsend because there’s the excitement of being challenged by a new situation that you haven’t been in for. I come home at the end of the day and I’m like, “That was great! I really did a lot of new stuff today and I’m interacting with people in a new way.” It’s really exciting.