One way to encourage people to take a new look at their role in their organization is to answer the question:

What do I actually get paid to do?

The answer is not the usual job description. To answer this fully one has to think about how the system (colleagues, processes, practices, customers that form the ecosphere of your work) of which they are a part, responds to the things they do. When does it respond positively? When does it not respond, or responds in some aversive way? Over time it becomes clear what the system really wants from you. Do more of that you get a good reputation and perhaps a promotion. Persist in the stuff the system doesn’t want – life gets harder and harder. The reality, if you are trying to improve or otherwise change things just giving the system what it wants won’t work. “Disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb” is one of our favorite definitions of Leadership. But to do that, you have to be aware of how the system around you is operating. When you understand how it works – like it or not – you now can change it.

So ask your self – what do I actually get paid to do? What do they want or not want me to do? It will most likely overlap with your official job description – with some significant additions and omissions. The answer no doubt will be enlightening.

Good luck!