Do You Know What Your Job Is?
be on time, be prepared, come with ideas; as simple as that!!
"The price of greatness is responsibility."
Winston Churchill
Today in "Students of Leadership” we bring you a short post to reflect on a real story that defined the work ethics of an aspiring young actor.
In 1977 Tom Hanks, an intern at the ‘Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival,’ was getting ready for his first professional job. During the rehearsal for "The Taming of the Shrew," after a late night among friends, Tom Hanks and the rest of the cast delivered a poor performance. This led the director of the play, Dan Sullivan, to yell at them in ire and frustration:
“Hey, look, you guys, you guys, you actors, you know what your job is. You know what your job is? You have got to show up on time and you have to know the text and you have to have a head full of ideas. Otherwise, I can't do my job."
Tom Hanks says he never forgot the lesson.
- Show up on time
- Know your stuff
- Ask questions, bring ideas
These are principles of profound applicability beyond the stage: Punctuality, Preparedness, and Proactivity.
Be the person that is always on time, always prepared and always ready to ask good questions and propose new ways of looking at challenges…The rest will take care of itself.
Don’t chase results, master principles!
Be Punctual
Show Up on Time
Punctuality is a tangible demonstration of respect and reliability. For leaders, arriving on time signals commitment to excellence and sets a standard for the team. It fosters a culture of accountability and ensures that operations proceed smoothly. Late is unacceptable, on time is almost always a form of late. Before the time is actually being on time.
Be Prepared
Know your materials
Understand context and background, connect the dots with organization’s strategy and know the processes. On the more specifics work on pre-reads, read and annotate before entering a meeting, make sure you are ready to ask questions and advance the discussion beyond what is already obvious in the slides or document you should have already reviewed. Don’t waste people’s time by trying to understand things for the first time, it will only diminish your impact.
Be Proactive
Bring ideas
Innovation is the lifeblood of progress. If you proactively contribute ideas to help drive your team and organization forward, set the bar high and inspire others to follow. If you don’t have insightful questions, if you don’t propose a new idea or a reframing observation of the issue at hand, what is your value? Only dynamic problem-solving drives innovation and sustains growth. Thus It’s your job to build a culture where your team feels not only safe, but encouraged to share their ideas, challenge your thinking, reframe the problems you present them with, pressure test assumptions, and create the debate required for the best ideas and the best path forward to win.
Conclusion
Embracing the principles of Punctuality, Preparedness and Proactivity, create the foundations of discipline (critical for execution excellence) and creativity (critical for innovation)
Here my advice, paraphrase the words of Dan Sullivan, and make them your leadership mantra! Next time things feel sloppy with your team, this is what you tell them:
"You have to show up on time, you have to know the details, and you have to bring a head full of question and ideas”
“Otherwise, what are we meeting for? How do you expect to do my job?”
“Preparedness and punctuality are two of the most important qualities of a leader.”
John Andreas Widtsoe
P.S. Before I go, here you have “The Treat,” where I share some of the music that made me company while writing … Enjoy as you bid farewell to this post
“Lead yourself, Learn to live. Lead others, Learn to Build.”
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