If you desperately need a job, you are just another problem for a boss; if you can solve many of the problems the boss has right now, you are hired. To be hired, think like your boss.
Kevin Kelly – 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice
A hierarchy of task-related competence and maturity:
- We have opposite intentions. I will not do what you want me to do.
- I’m indifferent to your purposes. I don’t really care what I’m “supposed” to be doing so I won’t bother to find out.
- I’m positively disposed to you. If you tell me what to do, I’ll do it.
- I’m engaged: When I finish one job, all ask you for the next one.
- I share your vision and own my work. I know what to do next and how to do it. I’ll check in with you when I get stuck.
- I’m fully aligned and independent: I set direction in consultation with you, then manage my own work. If I get stuck, I usually work it out.
- I multiply my own and others’ effectiveness by leading others, coordinating and managing their work.
Who do you want on the bus?
How do you move people up the hierarchy?
What do you do for people who can’t seem to move?
What do you do with people who won’t move?