Role Clarification as Conflict Mitigation
Unspoken expectations are a classic catalyst for conflicts to hatch and thrive. One of the more insidious examples is how people define (or don’t) the role someone plays in an organization or on a team.
Unclear roles can come from restructuring, which leaves fewer people doing the work previously done by many. Maintaining the expectation that the same amount/type/style of work can be done with fewer people is not realistic. Similarly unrealistic is divvying job duties to people who have never done that work. There are times when process changes need to happen or legitimate reasons to restructure work duties. The euphemisms of “reallocating personnel,” as they say, or “removing redundancies” lend the same amount of straightforward clarity to the remaining roles, which is to say, not much at all.
During the hiring process, unrealistic job descriptions that include everything you could possibly expect from a human plus some special “needs” that counteract the perceived failures of the last person in a role are also rife with messy role definition. Especially if we consider that most people who apply will not actually have the exact qualifications or experience, let alone the same personality as the last person in a role.
People often tell me they are not doing the job they were hired for. Whether due to changing personnel, evolving goals, or changing circumstances, their job description does not closely resemble their day-to-day work. For some, this is freeing; for others, it leaves them feeling untethered (and underappreciated).
It is not a comfortable position to expect someone to do something they’re not, not knowing what is expected of you, or not feeling appreciated for what you do. However the role messiness starts, folks are left in a state of confusion and/or disappointment and often part of an uncomfortable ongoing conflict.
Role clarification gets everyone on the same page and asserts an internal locus of control. It’s a practice that builds psychological strength within a team or organization. The process can be a great reality check that accompanies (or takes the place of) scheduled performance reviews.
Here are some steps for a role clarification process conversation (getting ideas/answers from everyone in the conversation will make this go much smoother - it’s not a teammate interrogation!):
Values clarification - how do things work around here? What are the operational values of the team and organization, and where do those overlap with the individuals involved (do this with teammates in various roles who work closely together, especially people from different hierarchies/power strata)?
Daily work reality check - what does each person do more or less every day/week/month? We’re not looking for a minute-to-minute time accounting (although that can be instructive) but more the trends, tasks, and efforts that are needed regularly.
Clarifying the purpose of the work - what is the primary goal, and how does the person doing this work relate or interact with that larger goal (and other folks working toward the same goal)?
Discernment between the goals/purpose of the work, what needs to be done, and what is done.
Job description reality check - how much of what is there is what actually happens. Is it time for a rewrite? A raise?
Elucidating expectations not written in the job description or present in regular work duties. What else is out there in terms of tasks, style of work, or other wants/needs?
This all seems like a fun conversation, but I know some of you will tell me that where you work, role clarification doesn’t matter beyond getting X-thing done by X-time. Or else. It is particularly true in those environments that the time spent getting on the same page and clarifying roles (for everyone involved) can make everything exponentially smoother. The stress of a “do it by yesterday” attitude can frustrate bosses and demoralize and burn out teammates (beyond the conflict and confusion inherent in muddled expectations).
Role clarification is an excellent way for leaders to build team trust and respect, especially when conditions or roles shift. Getting everyone connected and acting in concert makes it easier for everyone (and the entire enterprise) to thrive. So have those conversations. You will learn something interesting and build a stronger team in the process.