Pam Holloway

When we meet new people, one of the first questions we typically ask is “What do you do?” This seems to be mostly an American thing (I don’t recall ever getting that question in Europe or Asia).  Is it because we as Americans are so involved with what we do. In fact, we are what we do.  I am an engineer. I am a manager.  I am an entrepreneur, a store owner, a writer, an artist.

I have spent much of my career trying to get people to think differently about work and organizations, to move past the hierarchy and the notion of static jobs with rigidly defined roles that bear little resemblance to what people actually do on a day-to-day basis. I haven’t been all that successful and I’m thinking maybe it’s because our identity is so intertwined with our work that it’s like asking someone to give up who they are.

Or is it? What if we start by simply changing the question?  Instead of what do you do? how about “what are you working on now?”  Not only does the answer to that question make for a more interesting conversation, it also helps move us forward toward a project or work orientation, rather than a job or role orientation.

Why is this important?  Because that’s the way things work today. Smart organizations know how to pull the right group of people together to complete a project, disassemble the team and reassemble another one to do the next project.

It’s much like the motion picture industry puts together a crew to make a film. It’s cost effective for the company, is more likely to lead to high performance work and offers a bigger payoff for those involved. You become part of a team, able to benefit from being a part of something bigger than you could accomplish on your own. You are able to see how and where you and what you do fits in and contributes to the end result. What’s more you have a tangible end result you can point to, learn from, put on your resume and talk about a cocktail party.

What do you say?  Are you ready to redefine yourself and expand the definition of what you do into something a little more meaningful?

Roll credits!