You cannot listen to any successful coach motivating his team for long without hearing the phrase “just do your own jobs!” This is a deceptively simple statement that can have nearly universal impact and benefits. In sports, what the coach is saying is simply that when everyone on the team does what is expected of them, the play called will likely work as designed. However, it only takes one player missing his assignment to create failure for all concerned.
In business, “Do your job” means you have to know your role completely. Does everyone on your team know their job? “Do your job” means that you need to maintain focus on the immediate tasks at hand, rather than worrying about events beyond your control.
“Do your job” means an organization can accomplish more due to specialization across individual roles. Isn’t that the point of an organization – to achieve greater accomplishment than could be accomplished by individuals? It is not important that everyone has a hand in all transactions.
Most importantly, “Do your job” means having trust that others will do their jobs. When you are concerning yourself with someone else’s business, you are not performing your own at its most efficient level. If leaders allow some employees to underperform, it dishonors the work of those who are performing at their highest level of competency. Mistakes are understandable; incompetence should not be. To increase trust among all employees, coach your struggling team members up or out. Employees and customers alike are more likely to trust a company when they know that everyone concerned is held accountable for their respective actions.
Tom Jennings
