Consider the following situations: A manager changes her own job description to fit her interests and delegates the unwanted tasks to a team member. A leader creates a new organizational structure that tailors his own role to his skillset. An executive adds additional sub-departments under his umbrella to build his own position’s authority.
Many of us have witnessed or participated in these actions. And honestly, early in my career, I remember asking my board chair (my friend!) about crafting my own position to fit my skills. She was much more experienced than I, and she explained that we needed to structure each position to best serve the organization, not the individual.
While at the time I was taken aback, I have learned that she was right. Too often, leaders make decisions that seem best for them (or their friends!); they accumulate additional departments or projects, shape their own portfolios to match their interests, or reorganize their groups for their own advantage.
And while those decisions may feel reasonable in the short-term, they can disadvantage our institutions (as one example, when that person leaves, the organization will likely need to reorganize based on current personnel and capacities). If we want our institutions to be resilient and successful for the long-term, we should create structures, construct roles, and write job descriptions based on what the organization needs. What team configuration will serve the workplace’s goals? What role responsibilities will foster ongoing maintenance and sustainability? What overall structure will work best for future growth?
And then, to double-check our answers, we should ask ourselves: Does this decision truly serve the interests of the organization, or does it serve my own interests? Does it set up my whole workplace for success, or does it highlight my success? Does it prioritize the future of the collective group, or does it give preference to my future?
To go a step further, we could even find an unbiased colleague or an external accountability partner to help ensure that we have answered those questions honestly!
As leaders, we may find it challenging to de-emphasize our self-interests, and also to separate our goals from those of the collective. Nonetheless, for the health and long-term success of our organizations, we need to commit to walking that path of humility.