Good Morning,
When I was growing up I remember hearing lines like ‘It’s Not My Job’ and ‘Hey, I’m Not the Boss, Let Them Deal With It’. I thought they were cool lines and used them myself for a while. I also started to wonder why a lot of organizations, departments and teams would routinely put out mediocre performance.
As I moved into a leadership position, I realized that (and with sage advice from my favorite and most influential leader in my business life, Amy) my job as a leader was to work for the people who reported to me. It was my first experience into the upside down pyramid. I then had the staff who also said the lines, ‘it is not my job’, and ‘let the boss deal with it’ and quickly found that as the leader I was doing a whole lot of work, and not that very well in addition.
Often I would think that If only some of my staff could help out. If some of the team could pick up something here or there, something that was not their normal job, my life and the team performance would be better. Then I thought back to the times I was asked to do more. Often it was just to dump things on me. When the additional tasks came from Amy, they were given as an opportunity to learn and grow. She was helping me more then I was helping the team by having me take on more work, which expanded my skills and knowledge and ultimately lead me down my path of growth.
By giving people the ability to make decisions and grow as individuals, you can have them look to take on more work and responsibility because they know that you, as a leader support them. In addition by giving the power and responsibility, that working for your team, the team will look for other opportunities to take on tasks which are not their job also.
The net effect is that the team as a whole improves; the individuals are happier, empowered and growing on their career paths as well. The team grows in scope and ability and itself gets more work as a reward for its ability to do more and the team members become stars of the company and sought after for promotions. 90% of my last team at one of my former locations were ultimately promoted to leadership positions. Not too shabby.
I know that whatever I see, that I can help out with, IS my job. And by learning to do it right, I help the team grow, and help my leader succeed. In effect, the team becomes a team of leaders who each step up when they see the need. Which according to John C. Maxwell in 360 Degree Leadership, is the best team you can have.
Leadership is a choice. It is not always a position.
Enjoy!
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