You don’t just get to do your job
“Expectations are resentments under construction.” _Anne Lamott
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You’re going to really complicate your life if all you do is concentrate on doing your job well.
It’s important to remember that there is your job and then there are the expectations.
Those expectations may be written or unwritten, voiced or never mentioned, but they are there. And to fail to meet those expectations is to undermine your effectiveness and opportunities for advancement no matter how well you do your job.
It could be something as simple as the expectation that you will walk through the office and greet everyone. Maybe there is an unofficial dress code or you’re expected to join the team for lunch on Thursdays.
Your boss probably put a line like this somewhere in your job description – “And anything else the boss wants you to do.” Better find out what those “anything elses” are! Those are the unvoiced and unspoken expectations that, if not met, will sabotage your career.
It took me several years as a pastor to realize that the people who were there when I arrived as their new pastor and the new people who started attending after I arrived had different expectations.
I could ignore that reality and pretend that everyone was on board with how the new guy was doing things (and make my job so much harder) or I could adapt myself to the existing expectations (and make my job so much easier!).
And something else I learned, the longer I stayed and the better I did my job eventually I began to change the expectations. (So there is a light at the end of that expectation tunnel!)
So what is the answer? Do your job well, but also meet expectations well. If you’re not willing to do that its best to get a new job for eventually you’re probably have too.
The ONE THING for today: You don’t get to just do your job. Every person in your life has expectations of you that is not a part of your job. The sooner you find out what they are and meet them the sooner you will be able to really do your job well.
