DEFINING ROLES

Defining and documenting clear and agreed upon responsibilities for a person.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Clearly defining people's roles is one of the key factors that determine's people's efficiency and effectiveness. Leaders must focus on defining the roles of each and every staff person. This includes a job description that defines a person's day-to-day responsibilities and should be used to help with performance feedback and reviews.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.Romans 12:4-6

Skilled Characteristics

  • Clarity

    Is good at establishing clear roles and responsibilities

  • Stretching

    Sets stretching performance goals and objectives for staff

  • Even

    Distributes the workload evenly and appropriately among staff

  • Organized

    Lays out assignments and roles in a well-planned and organized manner

  • Two-Way

    Maintains two-way dialogue with others about their work roles

  • Maximizer

    Creates roles that bring out the best in people and that utilize their strengths and passions

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

– Steve Jobs

Unskilled Characteristics

  • Unclear

    Unclear communicator to staff about what is expected them them

  • No Goals

    Doesn’t set performance goals, targets, mileposts and objectives for staff

  • Random

    Not very thoughtful when giving out work – gives out tasks without thoroughly considering who would be the best person to do them

  • Impatient

    May be too impatient to take the time to clearly structure work and responsibilities for others – has a bias for action rather than defining and documenting plans

  • No Delegation

    Doesn’t delegate well – prefers to do tasks oneself rather than trust others with the tasks

  • Brief

    Doesn’t take the time to clearly explain assignments

  • Lacks Interest

    May lack interest in leading others and instead be more eager to work on one’s own assignments

“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.”

– Jacques Yves Cousteau

Causes of Weakness

  • Impatient

    Does not have interest or patience to define and document roles and responsibilities

  • Inexperience

    Inexperienced and/or unskilled in identifying and defining roles

  • Doer

    Lack of interest in administrative activities

  • Time

    Time management – too busy to clearly assign and explain work responsibilities to others

How clearly are the roles and responsibilities defined for each of your team members?

Advice

Review the simple application steps below and choose 1 or 2 things you can do to spur yourself on to further growth.

  • Passion and Purpose

    PASSION AND PURPOSE: Discover what the passion and purpose is of each of your staff. 80% of the work they do on a daily or weekly basis should fit within what they understand their passion and purpose to be. If your staff don’t have a good understanding of their passions and purposes, then point them to the many free online assessments they can find to tell them more about how God created them. This includes things like their personality, giftings, strengths, love languages, career anchors, etc.

  • Define Roles

    DEFINE ROLES: Role descriptions should generally provide the following types of information:

    – Job Description

    – Under Whose Authority

    – Main Job Functions

    – Main Role(s)

    – Job Tasks

    – Required/Preferred Skills

    – Performance Measures

    – Prior Job Experience, Education or Training

  • Evolve

    EVOLVE: Allow roles within the team to evolve naturally. One member can play more than one key role. Make sure you have studied your strategic plan to understand what key roles you need to fill on your team.