Job Descriptions Should Not Be Handcuffs 🔥

Getting people to take responsibility beyond their own job is easier said than done. Over time, we’ve turned job descriptions into rigid contracts — documents followed so literally that they unintentionally discourage the very engagement today’s quote calls for.

I recently completed a consulting project reviewing and rewriting job descriptions. Many hadn’t been touched in years, and both managers and employees were surprised by what they found. And not in a good way.

So I suggested a different approach:

·       Be realistic about Education and Experience Requirements.

If a degree is truly necessary, require it. If experience matters more, say how much and adjust the degree accordingly. This must reflect the labor market, not wishful thinking.

·       Document Duties and Responsibilities based on reality, not assumptions.

Ask employees what they do each day. Their answers often differ from what managers believe. If you’re going to write and use these documents, make sure they reflect what’s happening, what’s best, and what’s agreed upon.

·       Limit Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities to what you can objectively observe.

If you can’t ask a question about it or see it in action, it doesn’t belong here. Move the rest to a new category: Post‑Hire Expectations — the things you’ll evaluate during the introductory period.

·       Add a second new section: Other Related Duties.

These are the shared behaviors and responsibilities that make organizations work — smiling and making eye contact in service roles, coordinating with colleagues who serve the same customers, and knowing when to step in (or step aside). This may be the most important section of all. Customer experience depends on people understanding the shared nature of their work.

And then comes the leadership part.

Train and coach employees on the absolute necessity of working together, beyond their own job. Talk about it in meetings. Evaluate it regularly. Coach it continuously. Engagement grows when employees understand that their role is connected to others — and when managers stay engaged in reinforcing that truth.

Being responsible for more than your own job isn’t just an employee expectation.

It’s a cultural expectation.

And leaders are the ones who make it real today.

David Ducheyne:  Founder of Otolith, a boutique advisory firm that assists organizations and leaders in developing effective leadership.