What is life without a meaning? Where does that meaning come from? In business and even in personal life we hear a lot about tasks and responsibilities. Most people know them all but the main problem is that they keep delaying them or find excuses not to do them. Apparently it’s because they feel those duties are meaningless or simply because they are not highly prioritized in their minds….
Let’s start by defining the terms and putting things in the right order:
- Tasks are the things you need to do on a daily basis. You can have a checklist to list them, prioritize them and check them when accomplished. They give you a sense of achievement and make you feel good every time you move forward. Those tasks would mean nothing to a person if they are not part of a bigger plan. For example, data entry of business cards is a task under the building of your business database. So if building that database is not an essential responsibility for you, then those cards will remain on your desk for a couple of months if not years…
- Responsibilities are the main duties that you must do to keep yourself in the business. Decision making is directly related to your responsibilities. They give you a sense of what you do in your business and somehow define your authority. Those responsibilities would mean nothing to a person if they are not part of a role. For example, if you don’t see yourself as the main income generator for your business, you will keep postponing your responsibilities of generating new leads for your sales pipeline.
- Role is much deeper than the above. It defines who you are in the business. What is the key reason of your existence…? Once you understand what your role is, the responsibilities will follow and then the tasks will be obvious…For example, if your role is to ensure the protection of your business, responsibilities might be protecting your patents and copyrights, protecting the data, the staff, the assets… It also includes protecting the business from competitors, from external factors, from theft, etc. Tasks in this regard could be drafting agreements with your lawyer for your staff, clients and suppliers, ensuring a good IT infrastructure, having good insurance contracts, having a safe for the important documents, registering your brand name and your patents, and the list can go forever.
In summary, your role defines who you are and can’t be changed. Your responsibilities fall automatically under your role and they define your areas of accountability. The tasks are things that need to be done under each responsibility and could be delegated to other qualified people, but it is your responsibility to make sure they are done properly and on time because otherwise you risk failing at your role.
We all have role in different areas: in business, with family and friends, in society, spiritually…But again it is up to you to choose which role is more important to you. Once it is clear, it will give you a great sense of meaning for each part of your life. It will also generate a purpose of why you exist and what exactly you should do to improve your life and your surroundings. What is beautiful about roles is that they push people to do the best they can to satisfy their hearts and this means, no one must remind them to do any task anymore, because they will be more than motivated to achieve growth and continuous self actualization.
It is never too late to redefine your roles…
Jade W. Dagher
Business & Wealth Strategist
Certified Management Consultant ©
+35795568425
jade@expandstrategies.com
www.expandstrategies.com
