From the Ask Tom mailbag:
Question:
My boss feels I am very good at my work, but that I don’t take responsibility. I tried to ask him what he means by that. He said that I have to be told every time what I must do. So, I tried to do things on my own initiative, but then he questions me “who told you to do this?” Most of the time when I ask about something I think I should do, he says “no” and asks me to do something else. How do I impress my boss that I am a person who takes responsibility or is at least willing to take responsibility?
Response:
Your attitude and willingness are in the right place, so let’s make one small change. I want you to ask your boss to meet with you to plan out your work for an entire day. I want you to create a checklist on paper and then work the checklist. The problem is not responsibility. You appear to be a responsible person.
The problem is time span. You appear to work on a single task at a time and then return to your boss for more direction. I want you to lengthen the time span by creating a checklist with a sequence of tasks for the entire day.
At the end of the day, you will be able to show him the checklist and what items you have completed. That will be evidence that you are, indeed, a responsible person.
The key is time span.
Tell me more about Time Span. You have mentioned this sevral times since I’ve been reading your blog but I do not think I have a clear understanding of what you mean. Give me some details behind the thinking.
I’d suggest that the boss’ behavior implies that he may also question your judgement; along the lines of “you don’t think like me.” Coupled with the checklist (which provides evidence of your responsible nature and shows your ability to look beyond a single task), you may need to demonstrate the ability to select and organize the tasks in a way similar to the boss.
Thanks for the responses to today’s post. Time Span is the central theme around a large body of research conducted over a 50 year period by Elliott Jaques (1917-2003). It is a critical element to most facets of management, so, yes, look for more about Time Span. It’s one of my favorite and important topics for discussion.