Do You Understand What and WHY You are Asked To do?

Managers have the responsibility of assigning, delegating, and explaining tasks to their team members. Assignment and delegation are relatively easy and straightforward. Explaining how to do specific tasks can be more time consuming, as training materials and meetings are often required. While these three responsibilities are essential, there's one more area that needs a manager's attention: Why is this task necessary?

Businesses have visions. Visions turn into offers or products, and require systems such as marketing to attract and retain customers. In order to deliver products to, and attract customers, systems are created. For systems to work, processes are installed. Processes rely on individual tasks and tasks rely on people to complete them.

Here's what I'm getting at - tasks in isolation are far removed from systems, products, and vision. There's a reason that tasks are assigned (or at least there should be). That reason isn't always clear. Think back to a time in your career when you were charged with some seemingly-menial and repetitive task. How did it feel? Do you even know why you were doing it?

If managers don't explain WHY a task is required, the person performing that task either has to assume something or else they have no idea why they’re doing it...other than the fact that their manager told them to. 

In a business, keeping this information from the people who work the front lines is a disservice to the team member, the department, and the company. Understanding why you’re doing what you're doing and how it fits into the bigger picture (i.e. the department, initiative, product, or company vision) is imperative to the team and company's success.

If you take the time to thoroughly explain to your team why they are doing a specific task from a bird's eye view, I promise they will feel more confident in their work, that they are contributing to the success of the company, and will want to work for you longer.

It's the employer's responsibility to provide their employees with structure, knowledge, and tools that set them up for success. It's best to get into this habit from Day 1 (well, really before day 1). You have the power and responsibility to cultivate an environment in which an employee can be successful, and this starts with a proper onboarding experience and carries through your employees' tenure at your company. Review systems, processes, and tasks regularly, adapt as needed, and spread the information to your team to keep them in the know.

Image by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash