Have you ever been asked this question at work? Or perhaps looked at yourself in the mirror one morning and asked yourself? My belief is that we don't consider this question enough, for ourselves and for the employees who work for us. We dance all around it.
In either case above the usual knee-jerk response most of us come up with tends to focus on job performance, on personal competencies and even on having shown a demonstrated loyalty to the organization by sticking around for years. But is that missing the critical point of the question, your value to others, and by missing that point you can mislead yourself - like a slick politician who talks a good game but fails to address core issues.
The Real Question
Shouldn't a more considered response relate closely to what the organization itself considers as to what your value should be, and less about how busy you've been, how knowledgeable you are in your field or even your impressive length of service? You could be a paper pushing administrator occupying the same chair for years and still give yourself a high personal score. "I'm doing a great job."
So chances are that many of us may not be honest with ourselves, and validating that sidestep are many performance appraisal processes that seem to gloss over the value question without zeroing in. Their "What have you done?" query often doesn't relate close enough to those actions, behaviors and achievements that should have been done to advance business interests.
Yes, you have a job to do, and perhaps even a job description that lays out your duties and responsibilities. If you perform as to what the description lays out, is that enough? Is that adding value or is that treading water? Just doing enough. It can go either way, but even the rare job descriptions that are accurate and up-to-date can be very inward focused - not considering the bigger picture of how a job performance relates to and can advance the department, never mind the business.
Or hold things back.
And what about those employees who report to you? Would you be satisfied if one of them told you, "I'm doing what the job description says. Isn't that enough?" Here the unstated follow-up thought is likely, "I'm getting by."
What Defines "Value"?
Your organization, whether you consider the entire business or even the smallest department, has likely laid out a series of objectives for the year. There are goals, there are definitions of success and very likely defined pathways toward the end zone. With that thought in mind it's easy to see that an employee adds value when, in the course of performing their job they assist the organization / department in achieving those goals - helping in even a small way to score the financial touchdown.
In that light, consider that your activity list - you know, the one that ticks off all the accomplishments you've achieved over the course of the year - may actually be aimed in the wrong direction. Being busy can be viewed as the same as walking on a treadmill. You can build up a sweat but you won't be getting anywhere.
So how much value are you adding?
Do You Have What It Takes?
Let's go back to the mirror with a revised question. What are you doing to help your organization / department achieve its goals? Are you playing a leadership role, a supportive role, an individual contributor role or has your train gone off the tracks and down some rabbit hole into clock watching and "just doing the job?"
Leadership would view adding value as being personified by the employee who not only does their job but does it in way that keeps organization objectives in mind. That employee doesn't waste time or resources, understands how their role impacts the business and is engaged in helping the business succeed. Examples are many when one seeks to do their job in a way that helps the greater good.
Is that you? Do you have what it takes to truly add value to your employer? Is that what your mirror says?
Because the "I'm following my job description" attitude is a short sighted response that helps neither your career or your organization.
Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations. He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant. Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation. He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.
Creative Commons image,"Value," by Al King
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