The Right Role

This morning I got up at 5am to train two people in Sweden. I showed them how to create online trainings that will be engaging and effective on a system that is new to them. At the end of our time together they asked, "Will you be training us next week too?" "Yes" was my reply. "Good!" they said in unison.

Yesterday, a couple approached me to ask how much better one paint was than another. They came in for a gallon of paint and wanted to economize, thus the question about the quality of the paint. They left with 5 gallons of the better paint, a roller pan kit with the best quality rollers, and brushes, a tool to help them pour the paint without making a mess and a new vacuum all placed on a cart I went out to get them from the rain (and dried off for them).

They said, "Thank you SO, much! You're awesome."

Another customer came in to ask about ceiling paint. She needed a small can to paint her bathroom ceiling. She left with a big can, rollers and brushes and an additional gallon of paint for another room. She said, "I'm glad you were here tonight. You gave me so much more information than I even dreamed I needed. Thanks for being here and helping me!"

Yet another customer, with an expression bordering confusion and exasperation, explained her leaky window-well plight and how she keeps getting water in her basement. I asked a few questions, to figure out if it's all the recent rain or if it might be an underground water source. I sent her with what she needed, most of that just being information. She said, "I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to explain this stuff to me. Really, this was a huge help."

Four situations. All of them were me being in the right role. It wasn't anything special about me. I was just afforded the opportunity to do the things I do best.

Yet, I can point to as many other situations in the past 24 hours where I was just as squarely placed in the wrong role.

How much of your day do you spend in the wrong role? An hour? Two hours? If you spend even 2 hours per day in the wrong role, that's 3 full months every year of doing stuff that drains you. Now, for most of you, I'll bet you spend a lot more than 2 hours a day doing stuff you have no talent for and no business doing. How long are you going to keep that up?

Now, I know there's stuff every day that you have to do that you're not going to enjoy. But how much of your energy - not just your time - is being consumed by that wrong role stuff?

Are you in the right role or the wrong role?

It's a pretty easy thing to determine. You don't need a special test or in depth analysis.

Ask yourself this:

1. Am I energized by this or do I feel like a dead battery when I'm done?

2. Does this make me happy while I'm doing it, or does it make me angry, frustrated, bored?

That's all you need to answer to determine whether you're in the right role or the wrong role. It really is just that simple.

The hard part is, deciding what you are going to do about those parts in which you are miscast.

Are you going to keep being frustrated, bored and angry?

Are you going to continue to accept that this is just the way it is?

I'm not.

I'm Ryan Houmand. I'm an expert on Employee Engagement. I can tell where any manager is struggling to engage their team and why - before ever meeting the manager. I'm a professional trainer, speaker, instructional designer and author. I have years and years and years of experience leading people in corporate and retail, but ironically, this is NOT what I do best.

Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash