#415 roles

Last week on ESPN2, Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni commented that some players say that they don't know their role on the team, but in reality, they know their role but just don't accept it.

While he was referring to one of the NBA's All-Stars, the same mantra reminded me of someone much further down the food chain.  

I just had a conversation with a colleague who was recounting a chat he had with a new graduate.  She was hired about a month ago for an entry-level position, and as such was given entry-level work, but felt that she should have more challenging assignments.  My colleague asked if she had put any of her ideas in writing or taken the initiative to volunteer for other assignments or committees.  The answer was, of course, no.  She had an entry-level role and wasn't acting with the maturity or ambition beyond it, yet was having difficulty in accepting her position as it is.  

It's one thing not to accept your role, but it's another thing to expect it to be different without earning that change.  Hard work, initiative and assuming more responsibilities have a way of changing the role that you were first placed in.  

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
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