In the book Leadership and Self-Deception, the Arbinger Institute proposes that the scope of a job is much broader than what a job description might list. In order to do our job well, we need to delight, wow or overdeliver to the following constituents:
- Our IT customers. We do our job by successfully delivering to customers on our mission.
- Our IT team. We do our job by supporting team members and helping them grow.
- Our bosses. We do our job by holding ourselves accountable to the above responsibilities and by how we communicate initiative status and results.
I can't delight these people if I spend the bulk of my time in my office composing email and avoiding human contact. I need to focus a good portion of my attention on developing credible, effective relationships with my customers, team and boss. When it comes to relationship building, I have found that there is no substitute for face-to-face communication. Of course, building these relationships will not compensate for lousy performance; but without effective relationships, I might not get the credit I deserve for a job well done.
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