As a manager, you can ask, what job is my employee hiring me to do as their manager? What are they trying to achieve? Employees expect certain things from their managers. Leadership, support, clear communication, fairness, and growth opportunities. By understanding what your employees need from you as a manager, you can foster a more engaged and productive team, and you can also eliminate masses of wasted time doing for them things they don’t value at all.
What about with your partner or spouse? You can ask, what job is my spouse hiring me to do in our relationship? In this context, it’s about understanding your partner’s needs, desires, and the roles you play in fulfilling them. Are they looking for support, companionship, a problem solver, or maybe a confidant? And, of course, that job changes from interaction to interaction, but pausing to ask, what is the job to be done at this moment allows you to enhance mutual understanding and improve your relationship?
What about as a parent? What job is my child hiring me to do as their parent? What job is my teenager hiring me to do as a parent? What job is my adult child hiring me to do as their parent? Children might hire their parents for various jobs, guidance, emotional support, help with homework, or simply as a playmate. Recognizing and fulfilling these roles effectively can result in healthier communication and, of course, a much stronger parent-child bond.
In each of these cases, the key is to shift your perspective and to try to understand the other person’s needs and expectations so that you can better fulfill the job they’re hiring you to do. This approach promotes empathy and understanding, leading to more satisfying and successful relationships.