Playing Out of Position

“Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?”

–     One of the 12 key questions in First, Break All The Rules, one of the five best business books ever written.  Period.

Buckingham and Coffman’s book is the one that really put the booster in the fuel for my career.  “Talent is a multiplier” is one of the primary cornerstones of Marcus Buckingham‘s work, and, these past few weeks I’ve been considering his work more than I have in years.  (That’s saying quite a bit, since I try to use something I’ve learned from Marcus every day….but I digress…)

As Marcus says, talent is a multiplier, especially when we have our talent in the right positions.

“Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?” is one of the twelve questions that employees ask — either consciously or subconsciously — in assessing how fulfilled and committed they in their current role.  If we’re asking someone to play out of position, or if someone insists on playing out of position, we’re essentially checking the “no” box on this question — and that’s a problem we ought to avoid.

Sports analogies being risky — let’s consider the term “out of position.”  Imagine the biggest, beefiest offensive lineman you’ve ever seen on a football field checking in to the lineup at quarterback, or trotting (rumbling?) down near the goal line to return the opening kick.  As Charlie, my 3-year old neighbor used to say, “Not gonna happen, Cupcake!”  Pitchers typically don’t bat cleanup, point guards don’t jump center.  Scientists don’t do ad design and designers don’t create isotopes.

So, if we have a great sales pro in a management role — it’s ultimately going to break down.  If we have a great controller in a strategic finance role, it’s ultimately going to break down.  If we have a great leader hammering code in a development team, it’s ultimately going to break down.  Yet, when we put them in the role that their God-given gifts and talents wired them to perform, we unleash level upon level of possibilities, and we remove the great majority of whatever angst, dissatisfaction and frustration they have in their work.

Let’s look at our teams.  Let’s be candid with them and give them a forum to be candid with us.  If we have people playing out of position, let’s call time out, switch the lineup card around and maximize the talent on the roster we have, well before we start taking swipes at changing the roster.

Putting someone in a position to do what they do best everyday is a game changer, and it makes a difference for everyone, and I do mean everyone who works with, for or alongside that person.