It is time to kill the high-definition job
The world moves fast but our jobs do not; start the change with your next recruit
In my home of Australia, the most common surname is Smith. And not by a little bit. There are at least eight times more Smiths than any other surname.
The origin of this surname is occupational. In times past, occupation often determined surname, and so the Smiths of today can trace their lineage to a once-prolific group of occupations; blacksmiths, tinsmiths, gunsmiths, and their ilk.
For the longest time our identity has been inextricably intertwined with our job. Though we no longer adopt surnames that match lifelong occupations, the connection between identity and job remains. It starts at a very young age. When we ask our children, What do you want to be when you grow up? We expect a job in response. A lawyer? Oh that is perfect, you are always arguing about something! We would fall off our chair if instead their answer was, “A good person who is kind.”1
A strong sense of identity is essential on a human level. Our identity - our sense of self - is what distinguishes us from others. It creates self-awareness, provides direction, fuels motivation, enables relationships, and guides our decisions.
I believe that a strong sense of identity from work is one of the most important things that makes work joyous. But the modern organisation presents us with a major problem: the jobs to which we bind our identities do not keep pace with changes in priorities.
This issue is the result of jobs being high-definition: each one has a detailed description, sits in a specific team, in a specific department, with two dozen dot points of specific responsibilities. And it comes with a specific title that we proudly slap down on the metaphorical LinkedIn table and say, “look at that bad boy right there!”.
This high-definition job is a set of concrete boots. It is a prediction of specific work being of the same importance and requiring the same effort as it does right now. That is almost never true in the hyperactive context of the modern organisation: competitor actions demand a new response, revenue declines and effort shifts to sales, a problem emerges that requires new activities. But our high-definition jobs cannot adapt. All of those details have become expectations of dos and do-nots, and the job holder has bound their identity to it. Without significant force - (…perhaps it’s time for another restructure…) - it is near-impossible to adapt.
Our high-definition jobs stare emergent priorities in the eyes and without blinking say, No, YOU fit in with ME.
That is absolutely bonkers.
This week I was talking to a senior HR leader at a large technology organisation. She explained with catharsis, “Some months ago we went through every module on our training platform, updating the colours and fonts to meet our brand guidelines at the demand of the Brand team. I’m upset that it took hundreds of hours, but I’m most upset that now the modules are less useful because all of the visual language is missing. Can you believe it?”
Unfortunately it is believable to the point of being inevitable. A brand manager, with the job description of a brand manager, and the identity of a brand manager, worked through their list of brand manager things, and without other more important priorities, the training platform got its makeover. This is more than just sensible for the brand manager, it is existential - if I am not doing brand manager things, the organisation doesn’t need this role, and I’m out of a job.
Unplug identity from jobs, plug into mission
What we do for work is an important part of our identity. But the connection of that to a specific, high-definition job creates epic junk for your system of work: people working on non-priorities, actual priorities being ignored, non-priorities creating interruptions and unimportant tasks for others attempting to work on the actual priorities.
The tweak you can implement right now is simple: from the moment of recruitment, create conditions that help people connect their identity to your purpose or mission, not a job.
There is a famous anecdote about this that I believe is often misinterpreted. The story goes that US President John F Kennedy was visiting the NASA headquarters in the early 1960s as the Apollo Program was in full swing, and in his fabled affable style, he approached a janitor and asked, “What do you do here?” The janitor responded, “I am helping to put a man on the moon.”
The common interpretation of this anecdote is, ‘a shared mission is important.’ To quote one commentator:
“Despite having a seemingly humble role, he [the janitor] recognised the significance of his contributions and understood that his work was an integral part of the larger mission. By aligning himself with the shared vision of NASA, he found purpose and meaning in his daily tasks.”
I think this take misses the point (and is a touch demeaning). It reinforces the constraints of the high-definition job, a “humble role” with set “daily tasks”, and it frames a shared mission as something that is slathered on top like magic icing to distract from the dry sponge of the everyday. The modern organisation has run with this interpretation, labouring over the semantics of purpose and mission statements, plastering them over induction packs, office lobbies, and desktop backgrounds. At the same time, it has continued to recruit people to high-definition jobs, to connect their identities to these jobs and not the mission, and to act surprised when people describe the mission statement as another example of executive lip service.
I see something different in this famous anecdote. I see a person who connected their identity to the mission, not to a high-definition job. The janitor’s response to Kennedy was saying, “Whatever is most important to our mission that I can do, I will do.” In that moment it might have been janitorial tasks, but perhaps it would become administration, or erecting a new building, or vehicle logistics.
With identity connected to mission, the shackles of a high-definition job are gone, and the full capabilities and inspiration of the individual can be more readily connected to the work that matters most in the moment. It is far more joyous work for the individual, and far more efficient and effective output for the organisation.
Start now
The change is not rocket science 😉, it can be as simple as framing. You have a challenge with people in your team today; identities have been bound to high-definition roles and that change is not trivial. But you do not have this challenge for the next person you recruit. Here is the simple framing that can bind identity to mission, not job:
We are all here to deliver on our mission. This job description aims to capture our best view of current, related priorities to achieve this mission. But we know these priorities will evolve and the focus of our work will need to change with it. I aim to ensure that at all times you are clear on those priorities, clear on what that means for where to invest your effort, and that you believe that work is a great match for you.
You can do this within your team. Maybe you can do this in your department. The ideal? Do this as an organisation. Valve Corporation, a US$10bn technology company, is one of the most well-known examples of this practice at an organisation level, with an ask of its people to be eyes-up at all times for interesting work that contributes to their mission, and when they find it, to literally move their desk to join the colleagues who are working on the same2:
Source: Valve Corporation Employee Handbook (2012)
You might not have the mandate to build this into your induction handbook as Valve has. But you can start with the next person you recruit. As you refine your approach there, perhaps the moment will arise to extend the approach to all team members. You then share with a like-minded colleague in another area. Before you know it, you have team members adjusting their efforts based on the balance of emergent priorities between both teams. You do not need to wait for a grand change in job descriptions, secondment programs, or HR policies.
Earlier I lamented how our high-definition jobs make capacity rigid, forcing emergent priorities to fit or die. But now, with identity connected to mission, emergent priorities can be the high-definition element, with capacity adjusting to enable.
It is time to kill the high-definition job. When’s your next candidate interview?
- John
Though I suggest it is a response we should encourage
The act of physically moving your desk was a lot more poignant in the before-times
It makes a lot of sense. But I would frame it not (necessarily) on individuals but on departments. Like the Brand example: The brand whole team was clearly disconnected from a mission and pushing their own agenda due to fear of losing jobs. If the whole team was momentarily disconnected from any brand (impossible, but let’s use that as an example) then instead of fearing losing their jobs it is the organisation fault and responsibility to put them on a mission (or let them all take a holiday to Bali without losing their jobs)!
Interesting way to reframe our thinking... and I would expect nothing less from you John 😉