Well…? Thought so.
Now, give this a go. Forget your to-do list for a moment, and don’t bother hunting for your job description. Instead, write down off the top of your head up to five things you must deliver for your business to succeed. Not tasks. Not responsibilities. Just outcomes.
Tricky, isn’t it? That’s because most of us operate in a world of ‘busy work’ rather than true productivity.
The problem with traditional job descriptions
Take a look at your job description (or, if you’re self-employed, your mental list of ‘what I do’). Chances are, it’s it’s a broad statement of responsibilities followed by an endless list of activities. That kind of description fuels long hours and hard work—but not necessarily results.
When the focus is on activity rather than outcomes, people default to what they like doing, what feels urgent, or what they believe they’re good at. At management level, this creates teams working flat out but not necessarily delivering what the business actually needs.
And without clear accountability for results, you miss out on the deep satisfaction that comes from knowing you’ve done exactly what’s required.
A better way to define your role
Instead of listing what you ‘do’, try this:
“I am accountable for delivering:
- Profitable new business
- A motivated, high-performance team
- An efficient, best-practice operation
- Satisfied and loyal clients”
Four key areas, covering everything the role is responsible for. You can attach clear, measurable outcomes to each one. With this clarity, you never need to wait for a performance review to know how you’re doing – you’ll always have a real-time measure of success.
Don’t do this in isolation
To get this level of clarity across your business, bring your team together. Start with your existing job descriptions – those endless lists of activities – and group similar tasks into themes. Then ask: what is the actual output of each theme? Keep refining until you have a simple, crystal-clear statement of what each role must deliver.
Use an external facilitator if possible – they’ll help you see the blind spots, challenge assumptions, and stop you from getting bogged down in the way things have ‘always’ been done.
The hidden benefits
This process does more than just redefine roles:
- Eliminates inefficiencies – You’ll spot redundant tasks and overlapping responsibilities, allowing you to streamline operations.
- Uncovers gaps – If no one is accountable for a key business outcome, you’ll see it immediately.
- Creates total clarity – Everyone will know exactly what success looks like in their role.
- Boosts engagement – People feel more ownership and motivation when they’re accountable for results rather than just ‘keeping busy’.
Breaking through organisational ‘stuckness’
Often, businesses get stuck because of unspoken assumptions, unclear responsibilities, or cultural baggage. This process forces everything into the open. It challenges ambiguity, hidden conflicts, and unhelpful ‘rules’ – and with the help of your facilitator you can get them sorted once and for all.
What you get as a result is a team that’s not just working hard, but working smart – achieving more, with considerably less friction and much greater collaboration.
If your business could be achieving more and you suspect you’re missing a trick, email me at km@leaderslab.co.uk or call me on 07801 259637. Let’s talk about how to get your team truly focused on the results that really matter.