From job titles to job ‘discovery’
A key characteristic of self-managing organizations is replacing job titles and descriptions with granular roles. Rather than having one fixed job description that comes as a “package” of tasks and responsibilities, working with roles is like having a dynamic portfolio of activities, responsibilities, and even identities at work.
The reason I am writing about this is because this is part of a reflection exercise on the Practical Self-Management Intensive Course, where the first week focuses on one of the foundational pillars of self-management, roles and social contracts. It is also always been one of the elements of self-management that I have found most appealing. Let me explain.
When I take a look at myself and the people I have worked with, I see humans that each have their own unique combination of skills, personality traits, learning edges and life situation — not a “Marketing Manager”, “Recruiter”, “Business Analyst”, or whatever job title they may hold. We are all different and we are always evolving. Why do we try to fit ourselves and others into standard title shaped boxes?
What I like about working with roles rather than job titles is that there are limitless combinations of roles that you can ‘build your own job’ from. You might be great at some parts of your job, but very bad at others. With the roles model, you can give the roles you are bad at to someone else who is great at it, or who wants to learn them. Roles are dynamic and adaptable, both in relation to the context you are operating in (which is changing at a rapid pace, especially in times of a pandemic) and each persons unique strengths. I know many people that are brilliant in a certain area but struggle to find or hold down “traditional” jobs because they don’t have the right combination of skills to tick all the boxes of the job description. I find it saddening that rather than supporting people to discover what the right combination of roles might be for them, they are often let go or not hired at all. This goes against what I would describe as a very natural process that we go through in our professional development and when we join a new organization: discovering the work, discovering ourselves and discovering how our colleagues work together, to find your way of adding value.
Even if someone recruits you into a new job and has an idea of what your role will look like, there is always an element of ‘job discovery’ (which also entails self discovery) that happens. Expecting to land in the perfect job in a new organization right off the bat seems like a rare occasion (though it does happen, of course!).
The reality is more like navigating around the organization, trying on different roles, until you find your place and discover where you can contribute best. And then the journey continues…..
