It’s a given of human nature that whenever people get an assignment that they can’t or don’t want to do, they’ll make up a different one and do that instead. If a job is unchallenging, they’ll redefine it to be more interesting, and if it’s not doable, they’ll turn it into something that they can accomplish. Sometimes that works out, but mostly it doesn’t, because the job doesn’t fulfill its intended function.
Managers will be far more effective if they take time to sit down regularly with employees and explore what their job preferences are and how their tasks can be both achievable and engaging. But it’s a two-way street: Subordinates must also help design the tasks their bosses will do. If those responsibilities aren’t interesting or value-adding, the bosses will make up their own tasks—with results the subordinates may not like.
One of my favorite Star Trek story lines is about the Kobayashi Maru training simulation for Starfleet Academy students. It was first featured in the second Star Trek movie, in 1982, and then when the movie series was rebooted, in 2009.
HBR Learning
