I walked out of my manager's office, shook my head in bewilderment, then went back to the task I'd been doing before our conversation.
My manager had hired me for a specific role on the team they were building. When I started the job, they explained where we were on the project, what team was tasked with accomplishing, key milestones along the way (industry standard) and what my role was on the team. Then they gave me a list of my stakeholders and left me to figure out where to start. I had a fun challenge ahead of me and was happy as a clam. My manager had a pretty hands-off approach beyond regular team meetings to check in on progress and roadblocks. Every once in a while they'd schedule 1:1 meetings with the team to check in on us individually.
On the day in question, I was about 9 months to a year into the job. I don't recall how our conversation started, but eventually we got in the details of the work I was doing and how I was doing it. It was like they were speaking a different language - one with which I was not familiar. At one point I went over to the marker board. On the left side I made a "we are here" note and we talked about what here looked like - in words I understood. Then they grabbed the marker, making notations to the right of "here" while speaking that "unknown language". They got to the right side of the board, made a "this is our destination" note, again in words I understood.
It was one of the most bizarre conversations I've ever had. We were both on the same page about the beginning part and the ending part. When it came to the nuts and bolts of how to get from the right side of the board to the left side of the board, I swear we were on different planets. Our brains were clearly processing things very differently. It wasn't a contentious conversation; we were just talking past each other.
Mercifully our scheduled time came to an end and my manager's departing comments were along the lines of, "you're doing a great job, keep it up."
You'll remember that I left that conversation and went right back to work on whatever it is I'd been doing before the conversation. Most of the time, someone leaving a conversation like that with their manager would start to spin out wondering what the heck they were doing wrong and how to fix it and why didn't their manager see that they were doing a good job.
But here's the thing, my manager had given me a defined role and clearly communicated the responsibilities of that role. It was my responsibility to plan and execute the work. It was my manager's job to ensure I was making good on my reponsibilities. I was doing a good job, and my manager trusted me to keep doing a good job. I knew it, they knew it and I knew that they knew it. The key here is that while my manager had a different philosophy on how to execute the work, they recognized that execution was mine and as long as the work got done, the details of how didn't matter.
Nine times out of ten when I'm called in to help resolve an issue on a project, it comes down to lack of clear roles and reponsibilities for the people involved. Key things I consider when establishing roles and responsibilities for a team:
- Write them down - documenting roles and responsibilities means there's a handy reference for everyone.
- Start at a high level - it's easy to get overwhelmed at the thought of creating a detailed document. I recommend starting at a high level and adding detail as needed. A RACI matrix is a clear, uncomplicated way to compile and share this information. For the uninitiated, a RACI matrix lists tasks on the left side of a grid and stakeholders across the top. At each intersection of task/stakeholder is listed an R, A, C, or I to indicate who's Responsible, who's Accountable, who needs to be Consulted and who needs to be Informed.
- Engage the team - I suggest starting with a draft, then sitting down to review it with the team. This gives them an opportunity to voice any concerns and identify items that may have gotten missed.
- Review periodically - Most projects evolve over time: approaches change, personnel rolls on or off the project, scope gets modified. Scheduling a periodic review of Roles and Responsibilities before something goes sideways helps to keep the team on track.
Identifying roles and responsibilities is often seen as a chore, but in reality, it can be a major time saver. Ever been on a project where two (or more) people are inadvertently working the same task in parallel and eventually end up stepping on each other's toes. This results in everyone being frustrated, especially the folks who now feel like their time and energy was wasted because someone else was also doing the work. Meanwhile, some other task got neglected because there was confusion about who's doing what. Do yourself and your team a favor by spending some time clarifying roles & responsibilities. Future you will thank yourself later.
Are the roles and responsibilities clear on your team? When was the last time roles and responsibilities were reviewed or reevaluated on your project? When one or more people on the team are struggling do you do a roles and responsibilities check?
I'd love to hear from you. Please comment below or send me a note via the Connect section of the home page.
Subscribe below to have weekly insights delivered to your inbox. After clicking the subscribe button, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription.