Work and Responsibility

A good debate came up today when I was talking to a couple of friends.  I came up with four scenarios and asked them which one they thought was best:

1.  A little work and a little responsibility.
2.  A lot of work and little responsibility.
3.  A lot work and a lot of responsibility.
4.  A little work and a lot of responsibility.

A couple of them were quick to answer with choice #3, a lot of work and a lot of responsibility.  Their reasoning, in a nutshell, was that the position forces managers to work hard.  I have to disagree.

My answer was #4, a little work and a lot of responsibility.  I think this is the ideal situation for someone.  If a manager has a good team underneath him, there are many reasons he shouldn’t be working too hard.

First off, if his team is good, they are probably self starters and can begin tasks on their own with little guidance.  Second, if the team is good, the manager can trust delegating tasks to them to get the job done on time, and done right.  Third, if the team is that good, they are quick to learn new responsibilities.

The reason involves a lot of responsibility is because the manager is accountable for the work of the team.  If the team fails to do something right, the manager has to answer for it.  If the team isn’t putting in a good effort, not only does it reflect poorly on the manager, but it creates more work for the manager because now he has to do it himself.

A Story

One thing I will say is that although scenario 4 is my personal goal, I also believe that all four scenarios could be viewed as the evolution of a good worker.  They get their first job right out of college.  Unfortunately, it’s in the mail room sorting letters as a Mail Clerk.  I would classify this as a little work and a little responsibility.  But they sort mail really well, and someone recognizes it and promotes them to Cube Monkey.

Now they’re answering calls and putting cover letters on their TPS reports.  He has a lot of work, but a little responsibility.  But since they never forget to put cover letters on their TPS reports, someone recognizes it and promotes them to the Manager of the Cube Monkeys.

Some of the cube monkeys need direction and don’t always put their cover letters on their TPS reports.  The manager is learning in this stage, but at the same time he’s working really hard.  He works long hours to make sure those TPS  reports look good before he sends them out.  He has a lot of work and a lot of responsibility.  But over time the vice president of the company notices his hard work, and promotes him to Director of Strategy.

At this point, our hard worker is where he wants to be.  He manages a team of good workers underneath him.  They need little guidance from him to get their job done, but they always do their job well.  Now he’s got a little bit of work, and a lot of responsibility.

Final Thoughts

Don’t assume that ‘little work’ means that they are out playing golf while their team slaves away.  Rather, the manager can now work smarter instead of harder.  He can mentor his team and help them grow.  He can work on ways to improve processes throughout the company.  He can work with other departments to try and create a synergistic work environment.

One final point, is I hope no one gets stuck in any of the first three scenarios as they progress in their career.  Obviously the first 2 scenarios won’t be much of a progression, if anything, it’s procrastination.  They aren’t growing.  If they get stuck in the third scenario, they become a workaholic.  They feel good about themselves because they have a lot of responsibility, but at the cost of not enjoying anything outside of work.

In summary, I look at each of the scenarios as the evolution of a good worker throughout his career.  But ideally, I hope over time, he can get to a point where he works effectively; leading a good team so eventually his team members can repeat the cycle and the good worker can retire with the conscience that he did a job well done.

What are your thoughts?

~ by Mark on June 16, 2009.