How Should a Manager View the Responsibility of the Employee?

Normally when an interview is given to a prospect for an employee a job description is also given to give the interviewee an idea of the job and start the discussion. However a job description is an overview and does not tell everything the employee will end up doing or how much time it will take to accomplish the job. Nor should it because that would take away flexibility in the job. But the employee has a fair idea of what needs to get done in this job from this description.

Let's figure the training is over, the employee knows the job well, time has passed, and things are going along fairly well. What is the expectation of the manager at this point? Is it that the employee will continue this job and never complain? That this employee will take the job to a new level? That ideas will come pouring out of this employee on how to make things better? Or that the employee will just do what he/she is told and that will be the end of it?

This comes in one respect from the view of the manager, coach, director, etc. on how the department, team, etc. is going to be run. Will it be a collaborative venture or are only specific jobs wanted and that's it. Is it the expectation that an employee will come in do the job and then go home? Or is it an expectation that problems will be solved by the employee? If the view of the department head is to have the employee grow and learn then the expectation changes to having the employee involved in many different ways.

From the employees view this will come from the leaders cues. Are they asked for their opinions in meetings or everyday events. Does the manager leave them alone to do their job showing trust that it will get done. Are suggestions taken seriously? I have found that stating to an employee that what is done at a job is the responsibility of the employee. It is the reputation of the employee that is affected by the work that is done. Can the employee be counted on? Is the employee on time? Is the work quality work? All of this and more goes into the review and the recommendation that one day may be asked for by the employee?

Though approval by the boss is important I have suggested to employees that it may just be that their own approval of their own job, is just as important as the approval of someone else. When it is your reputation on the line it looks a little different than just getting through the day. And a manager should want an employees reputation to be the best it can be.

Article Source

How Should a Manager View the Responsibility of the Employee?