The Job Doesn’t Make Me

How to Make the Position You Have Desirable?

Producing For Others – Part 3

The normal progress of working in a role is to get so good at it that you can do it with your eyes closed.  This is what happens to normal people and it’s a bad way to think. Because society is constantly progressing and moving faster and faster, that job, task, or responsibility that you’re good at becomes old and stale.  Have you become stale in your role? Being bored on the job is an indicator that you might be growing stale on your job. 

The Thought or Concept:
While getting good at your job is a must and sounds like a good accomplishment, stopping there is not a good idea.  Once we become good at a job, Pamela and I continue to look for ways to grow and take on other responsibilities; doing so increases your value to and for others.  Remember these two things when working for others:

• Your job, position, doesn’t make you, you make the position.  How can you make your position (whatever it is) look desirable to others?

• It’s your job, when you’re gone what will they say about you?  Will they say, we’re glad you’re gone or will you make the next person have a tough time filling your position?

The Practice:
Here are a few questions we ask ourselves and areas we evaluate:

• In our current roles, what don’t I know that would be useful if I got to know it?  There’s a saying that goes something like this, “you don’t know what you don’t know.”  This statement is only partially correct. You do know what you don’t know, especially when it comes to your work.  I remember giving our son this advice recently. Look around at the folks you work with and after you learn your job, start learning theirs.  Ask them how they do that task or action they do that you don’t. Become friends with them so that you continue to grow and become valuable to them, but more important for yourself.

• What am I doing to improve what I already know?  Sometimes this question can be difficult.  Normal people think they know it all, but as John Maxwell says, “the more I know, the more I know I don’t know.”  One of the most beneficial methods of improving is to teach others what you already know. Taking this further, teach someone something you know, then follow up on it in writing.  Your documents will prove very helpful for training your replacement which makes room for your next role. Uncommon people work to be replaced not to be in the same position forever.  So begin creating your training documents now while it’s fresh; make it a working practice, an uncommon habit.

• What can I do to make the job of the one I report to easier?  Have you ever put yourself in the role of the one you report?  What kind of employee would you want reporting to you? Become that.  Never make the way hard for those who have input into your evaluation, the job is to make their lives easier, this is what we call adding value.  How can you make others’ jobs easier?

• What were the key areas noted on my (your) last evaluation and what am I (you) doing to correct it?  I recall a time when the V.P. I reported to said I needed to speak up more in meetings and I wasn’t sure how to improve upon this area.  Then I said to myself, create a goal that I can quantify and I came up with the idea of making at least one comment or asking at least one question at every meeting.   Everything you do, even how you perform your job, needs a plan.

Today is Friday!
The key takeaway in this web-post is that you make the position; the position doesn’t make you.   Why not put your position, whatever it may be, out of reach of others. Let it be said that no one is able to do or does what you do or have done with your position.  Only you can make a difference in the role you play.

Until next week, you know I want you to share this with someone, so go ahead and click your share button right now. Thanks always for visiting Kerry A. Clark & Co.  Without you, what we do is not worth it.

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