In my experience within organizations, we talk about role clarity like it’s a no-brainer – as if the vaguely written job descriptions that we haven’t seen since we started working make sense. Or as if the needs of the organization, or the roles that keep its engine running, never change.
I like to imagine that role clarity – who does which pieces of the organization’s work – is particularly challenging for small businesses like Floricane. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that I was the sales manager, marketing director, accountant and bookkeeper, janitor, administrative assistant, project coordinator and lead facilitator for the business.
One of the messiest parts of building a team came from a combination of my own inability to let go of work and my team’s reluctance to take it away from me. You might see how those two complimented each other in the worst of ways.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been meeting individually and as a group with our team. We that time clarifying our roles – both as we run the business, and as we work to meet the needs of each of our clients. Not in a vacuum, and not as an exercise on paper, but built around the way we have been working together for several months now.
I’ve been letting go. They’ve been stepping up. And our clients are getting better results.
Fewer balls are dropped. There’s less milling about, wondering who’s on first. Our engagement is higher, and my stress is lower.
We’ll regroup every several weeks in 2014 to make adjustments, and keep building clarity.