I play competitive sports, and my team is preparing for a major tournament. We need to work out how to get the best possible result. For us to be successful, Not only do individuals need to play to the best of their abilities, but we also need to be greater than the sum of our parts.
My problem is that I find it incredibly difficult to stay in my lane. I see a problem and try to fix it, whether it is my responsibility or something I’m even good at.
One of my teammates told me to stop trying to help when things weren’t going according to plan. By getting involved, I was compounding the issue—by stepping in, I was making things worse. I might have solved one problem, but there were knock-on effects. Suddenly, everyone needed to go off script, and mayhem ensued.
Someone else put it more succinctly – “Tim – just do your f**king job.”
It made me think of the parallels I see with some businesses we help.
Many make a virtue of encouraging people not to ‘stay in their lane’. While that can be admirable, I’m moving away from that approach. If you are clear on who is responsible and accountable, your people will be empowered, and you won’t suffer from the confusion and frustration stemming from who signs off what, who is the decision maker, and who will do the work.
It stops good-natured meddling, speeds things up, and discourages the most senior people from getting involved in everything. In our experience, nobody benefits from that, nobody likes it, yet trust is required to break that routine.
So, if you are in any doubt about what to do, just do your job and let everyone else do theirs. That’s what I’ve done, and it has been liberating. I can focus on doing what I do better, contribute more, and get shouted at less, and we all perform better as a result. Winner.
Keep growing.
Tim
