What’s omitted from your job description?
The highlight of plunging into my inbox after a few days of vacation is often not the reduction in the unread column but the gems discovered when skimming through the various newsletter I subscribe to. (There’s a couple dozen. I have a problem.)
The standout this time? A simple entry in the Creative Mornings roundup with the most straightforward headline: What’s missing from your job description?
(Of course it came from Seth Godin. Because duh.)
His list was comprised of easy to tick off items for most non-solopreneurs. I imagine this was his goal, to make anyone and everyone see how obvious this exercise that none of us have thought to do yet is. It made me wonder just what responsibilities and duties I’d let stay hidden across my various roles, responsibilities and duties that are essential, valuable and critical to my value to a team and organization.
Turns out, there’s a lot I haven’t been giving myself credit for.
- Cross-team process documentation and optimization
- Recognizing and acknowledging team member’s accomplishments regularly
- Project management for company-wide initiatives
- Taking notes and sending action items in many team meetings
- Keeping an eye on industry news and trends and sharing this with the broader team
- Treating users/customers like I would want to be treated
- Welcoming new employees and walking them through essentials not covered in their official onboarding (like where the bathrooms are or parking details)
- Making sure marketing tracking systems are in place and functional
- Being a trusted and discreet ear for other team members
- Maintain email and social media compliance (CAN-SPAM, etc)
- Saying thank you often and genuinely
Once I steered myself away from listing all the tasks I handle that might not be well-known and focused on the role I fill, it became clear to me that a lot of my value to my team, the organization and my own fulfillment could be brushed off as ‘soft skills’. While some might fit under that definition, I argue that they also — and perhaps more importantly—come back to problem-solving, collaboration and communication.
I call it being the glue. Because it’s critical that teams and companies have sticky products, but also a sticky culture. Sometimes, that means you need someone who isn’t afraid to get sticky, too. After all, you can pull out or replace a lynchpin, but anyone who’s ever gotten gum on their shoe (or in their hair) can attest to the fact that sticky lasts.
Make your list and see what super skills you’ve got hidden away in plain sight, and let me know what you find. “Cause I bet it’s really good stuff.
