Job Descriptions Are Dead - Intrapreneurship & 7 Areas of Impact

Last year I wrote this article about Intrapreneurship.

I believe the article contains several interesting points.

But I got curious - there must be more to it.

That's why I started drawing.

And I came to the below model.

I see 3 important areas of work:

1. Expectations of other people

2. Your skills

3. What is valuable for the organization

Now let's explore each area one by one.

While reading, ask yourself: how much of my work week do I spend in this area?

1)     Waste of time

People have lots of expectations from you.

“This is part of your role.”

“You need to attend this meeting.”

But if these tasks don’t generate business value, it is a waste of time.

Not the right use of your skills. No value for the company.

What to do? Be assertive. Recognize pointless requests and push back.

2)     Not using the right skills of the employee

These are activities that are valuable to the organization. However, looking at your skill set, you can have a bigger impact in other areas. Better to have someone else take care of it.

What to do? Delegate to a colleague. Except when you want to grow your skill set in this area.

3)     Chocolate diet

Your manager expects you to do work that you are good at, but it doesn’t bring any value to the organization. Fun in the short run, harmful in the long run. Just like a diet of chocolate.

What do do? Ask yourself, "How can I use my skills to contribute to the company's goals?"

4)     Wrong environment

In this area, your manager doesn't see your skills as valuable. And your skills indeed do not help to contribute to the organization.

For example, you may be an expert in raising children. But it won’t be very valuable in your job as a chemist.

Of course this is an extreme example.

But my key point is: if this area is too large, you're in the wrong environment.

What do do? Change your job.

5)     New skills required

There are many new ways to bring value to the company.

To start contributing in this area, you need to gain new skills. These don’t fall within your job responsibilities yet. And people don't expect you to do this.

However, if you expand your skill set, you can grow your responsibilities and enlarge your impact.

What do do? If these skills are within your ambition, go and learn.

6)     Perfect match: skills, expectations of others, and valuable for organization

This is where all areas match: the work matches your skills, expectations of others, it's valuable for the organization.

Happy employee. Happy manager. Large contribution.

What do do? Buy champagne.

7)     Undiscovered gold

When I look at the work I've done, this area always brought most value to the organization.

And it gave me most personal fulfillment too.

This area is packed with potential.

But it is hard to reach.

People expect you to do other type of work.

They haven’t seen the proven value yet, otherwise it would be part of your responsibilities.

People will push you to do what is ‘your job’.

And of course a job description has value - an agreement on responsibilities up front.

But I have a different philosophy on what 'your job' is.

‘Your job’ is not to blindly do what is in your job description.

Your job is not to follow orders from your manager.

Your job is to go on your personal adventure.

Your job is to find out what you excel at and how you can benefit from those skills.

Maximizing value to your organization.

This is the treasure, full of gold.

Hidden beyond the expectations from other people.

This is the core of Intrapreneurship.

What do do? Discover more gold.

Discover your gold

You have a map in front of you.

The better you know who you are;

The clearer your understanding of the organization;

The more impact you can make.

This will not only lead to a box full of gold for your organization,

Eventually you will see the difference in your own salary, too.