That Is Your Job

You may not find what needs to be done in your job description. It might not even be implied in your job duties. In fact, what needs done might be found in someone else’s job description, and there may be no expectation that you do what needs to be done.

But it still needs to be done. You know that it still needs to be done. That makes it your job.

“That’s not my job,” is not an acceptable excuse for not doing what needs to be done. When you sell the outcome, you own the outcome.

What Is Your Job?

Successful people share a certain mindset. They are focused on outcomes, not individual tasks. They don’t care whether or not they own the task; if it needs done, they do it anyway. Successful people don’t wait for someone else to do something that needs done; they just do it. And they don’t wait for permission; they move the ball forward on their own, if they have to. Being proactive is what makes them linchpins within their own organizations, and it is part of the reason their clients trust them.

Your real job is to produce the outcomes that your company and your clients need from you. If you have the power and ability to make a difference, then it is your job to make that difference. It doesn’t matter who really owns the task. It doesn’t matter what the task is. If it is not getting done, then you do it. Or you lead the team that needs to do it.

Your real job is to take initiative, to exercise your resourcefulness, and to own the outcomes you have sold—regardless of who might own the individual tasks, regardless of is really responsible.

Questions

Where do your job duties end when it comes to producing the outcomes your company or your clients need?

What is your responsibility to produce the outcomes that you sold to your clients?

What happens if the outcomes you promised are not delivered?

Does owning the outcomes mean that you own the individual tasks or delivery of those results? What is your responsibility when you aren’t responsible for the tasks?