GarthBox

The light can either be on or off. Simple. You know what you’re getting. And chances are either choice won’t impact you all that much in that it’s easy to determine which you need.

A bit more challenging?

You can either have growth or you can have control. Like the light, you can’t have both.

Just like we’d never turn the light off and think it’s on; let’s not have growth and think we can also have control… or vice verse.

The faster we realize it’s an “or” and not an “and” the faster we can move forward…and often with far less stress.

Stay Positive & Find The Switch

Telling someone you love them helps more often than it hurts.

Doing a job that isn’t yours helps more often than it hurts.

Exercising helps more often than it hurts.

I’m sure you can think of a few more things like cleaning up and organizing before you have to, checking in on the people in your network before you need something, and working on protocols that prevent disaster than protocols that clean a disaster up.

The list goes on.

The point is that we lean in when it sucks because we know it helps more often than it hurts.

Stay Positive & Doing Something That Sucks Every Day Is A Good Place To Start

In the fast-paced and ever-evolving landscape of today’s work environment, one phrase seems to persist across industries and job titles: “It’s not my job.”

This seemingly harmless declaration often signals a boundary, a limit to what we see as our responsibilities. But what if we flipped the script? What if stepping outside the confines of our job descriptions became the very thing that set us apart?

The Pitfall of Stagnation

“It’s not my job” is a mindset that breeds stagnation. It creates an invisible wall between what we are and what we could be. When we confine ourselves strictly to our defined roles, we miss out on opportunities for growth, innovation, and leadership. In contrast, those who embrace tasks outside their job description often find themselves at the forefront of new opportunities and career advancements.

The Differentiator: Going the Extra Mile

What distinguishes the top performers in any field is their willingness to go the extra mile. These individuals understand that true success lies not just in fulfilling their duties but in exceeding them. Here’s why doing what isn’t your job can be your ultimate differentiator:

Skill Expansion: Taking on tasks outside your usual responsibilities broadens your skill set. You become more versatile, adaptable, and valuable to your organization. This continuous learning approach can lead to personal and professional growth that rigid adherence to a job description simply can’t match.

Problem-Solving: Tackling challenges outside your job scope forces you to think creatively and develop innovative solutions. This problem-solving mindset is highly prized in any workplace and can position you as a go-to person for resolving complex issues.

Visibility and Recognition: When you step up and take on additional responsibilities, you get noticed. Managers and colleagues see you as proactive and dedicated, someone who is committed to the success of the team and the organization. This visibility can lead to new opportunities, promotions, and career advancements.

Leadership Development: By venturing beyond your defined role, you demonstrate leadership qualities. Leaders are not defined by titles but by actions. When you show initiative, take ownership, and support your team in unexpected ways, you naturally position yourself as a leader.

At The End Of The Day

There are two final thoughts to remember at the end of the day.

The first is a lesson I learned from Kim Scott: some people are at stages of life that they want to excel and others are at stages that they merely need to maintain. The typical example is of a parent having a child and wanting work to be smooth, no unexpected hurdles or added stress or more responsibility, but there are hundreds of reasons out there that ultimately align with the objective of not doing what’s not your job.

The second lesson is when it comes to others. Never, and I do mean, never tell someone that something is not their job. The benefits of doing something that’s not on the job description aren’t secret; they’re obvious. That’s why the first half of this blog post was just telling you what you already know. That means someone is doing it intentionally because they are in a growth stage focus of their career.

Stay Positive & So, Who’s Job Is It Again?

It’s a smart question to ask before starting any work.

The answer will help you prioritize timing of the work.

The answer will determine if it’s worth doing.

The answer holds yourself and others accountable and gives you a time stamp to check in on it.

It’s a far different question to ask than “when do you need it by?”

Stay Positive & Set Yourself Up To Prevent Regret

Not pleasant but there are 91 sexual offenders registered in a specific area of town.

That feels like a lot. Scary even. So much so that it warrants telling coworkers that you couldn’t believe the number.

This alone can start a downward spiral for a neighborhood. Now imagine if there were many more like you who were spooked by the number and told others. You can see where this is going…

Now let’s back up for a moment and revisit the initial number of 91 and imagine if we also considered that there were 45,500 people documented as living in that same area. That’s .002% of sexual offenders.

That feels small. Not even slightly scary. It’s so little that it’s not remarkable enough to tell any coworker about.

A recent digital marketing example of this?

“Our engagement on that Facebook post published by the industry pub did amazing!”

Stopping at that number could be detrimental to the budget.

It’s a far less inspiring narrative when you see that only a few people who engaged with the post are the people you intended to reach with it.

Lesson here? When there’s a narrative, see how you can slice it another way, particularly when it comes to numbers.

Truth be told, you might just be sharing the wrong narrative.

Stay Positive & Measure Twice (And Differently), Cut Once

There are three layers to learning: listening. Watching. Experiencing.

You want to lock in a lesson? Go through all three layers.

It begs the question of what are the layers to connecting with coworkers? or writing your first novel? or making a burger?

No argument here: it’s infinitely easier to get to the end goal if you know the layers involved around it.

Stay Positive & Everything Is An Onion

Anecdotes are incredible tools to help people understand a concept that they’re struggling with.

I’ve found another valuable use of the similarity skill: it can remove (or, at least, reduce) judgement of others.

If someone is pissing you off? Can you find a similarity in their life to yours that would lead to you acting in a similar way?

If someone is clearly in emotional pain… Can you find a similarity in your life that would make you feel the same?

The faster we can feel how they feel (or close to), the faster we can truly connect and overcome the hurdle.

Stay Positive & Blind Judgement Is The Opposite Of An Anecdote