One of the challenges I have seen leaders struggle with is getting their employees to think beyond their roles. In other words, getting employees to go from just 9-5 individual contributors to being engaged with the success of the organization as a whole. This is a struggle for many leaders because it requires action beyond just authority; no amount of hierarchy or technical skill can force others into seeing the bigger picture.
The challenge of getting employees to think beyond their roles is a classic example of leaders exercising leadership, which can be defined as mobilizing others to make progress on complex and entrenched challenges (see here for more information). A leader's mobilization of their employees to start seeing the bigger picture is a challenge that lies in the hearts and guts of others, not in their heads.
Sure, the motivation might be as simple as money for some employees; but that's not always the story. Since covid, many employees are changing their priorities of what they want out of their work experience. For example, in one survey of 1,600 U.S. workers, work-life balance is so critical that 83% of respondents said they’d take a slightly lower-paying job in order to receive a “measurably better” work-life balance. Perhaps a more compelling statistic, consulting firm Mckinsey & Company found that 62% of employees said that while they get some purpose from work, they want to get even more. Clearly, money is not the only motivating factor for employees to think bigger.
That is why I firmly believe that the challenge of leadership in the area of getting employees to think beyond their roles truly does lie in their hearts. People want to feel safe and comfortable at their jobs, while also knowing what they do for a living matters. The challenge then is to find out what that looks like for as many employees as possible within a leader's organization.
How does a leader do this? Here are some ideas:
1. Communicate the Organizational Vision with Clarity: Effective organizational thinking begins with a clear articulation of the company's vision, mission, and strategic objectives. Leaders must proactively communicate these aspects throughout the organization, emphasizing how each team and individual fits into the grander scheme. This narrative serves as the North Star, guiding employees to understand the "why" behind their tasks and how they contribute to the larger purpose.
2. Recognize Each Employee as Uniquely Talented and Gifted: Every employee has a unique gift they give to the world; their positivity, their loyalty, their technical skill, their ability to inspire others, etc. As a leader, it is your duty to help your employee realize the gifts they have and affirm how that helps the organization as a whole. Even as individual contributors, each employee can make a difference within the organization as a whole. Leaders should seek those opportunities whenever possible with their employees, as the results can lead to increased loyalty, an increased sense of purpose, and a shift in thinking towards the organizational level.
3. Encourage Autonomy with Accountability: Empowering employees to make decisions within their roles enhances their sense of ownership and responsibility. Leaders should provide clear guidelines and expectations while allowing room for autonomy. This combination fosters a culture of accountability where individuals understand the implications of their choices on both their team and the broader organization. Remember that you hired and/or trained your employees to be experts in their position; so let them have the space to take full ownership of what they do!
4. Invest in Continuous Learning: Organizational perspectives thrive in environments that encourage ongoing learning and development. Organizations that invest in their employee's career development foster a greater sense of purpose within them, as they are learning and developing a greater sense of what their job and perhaps their desired career path might look like. This tends to shift an employee's perspective more broadly towards the organization or even the industry as a whole. Investing in ongoing learning also ties into employee autonomy, as it can allow employees to create their own desired career paths within your organization.
5. Foster an Environment Where Everyone Can Exhibit Leadership: If you buy into the concept that leadership is an activity, not a position, then the logical conclusion is that everyone can lead! Even those without authority over others can still take on leadership activities by asking powerful questions in meetings and discussions, having a vision for the future of the organization and taking action with their lateral peers and upper management, or even starting an employee resource group (ERG) to benefit everyone in the organization who wishes to participate. Encouraging leadership from everyone and anyone empowers employees to see beyond their roles, and be inspired to see and act on their own vision for the organization.
Getting employees to look beyond their roles takes leadership. Getting to your employees' hearts means finding out what really drives them every day, and building upon that the opportunity to stretch beyond the 9-5 mentality and into a vision for how the organization should look, feel, and function. More engaged employees usually means less turnover, more productivity, and an environment where people enjoy working.
Will this work for every employee? Of course not. However, the effort to build a culture of thinking beyond the role someone is assigned is worth it.
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