My Vision or Yours?

A friend of mine, who was CEO of a complex hospital operation (I guess that’s why they call them “hospital complexes”), had recently hired a bright, young graduate of a local university. He was planning to groom this young lady and to eventually move her into a middle management position. He arranged for her to be his direct report for her first six months on the job.

He gave her an assignment to write up a proposal for a new emergency room procedure that he was thinking of implementing. He gave her a very specific outline of what he envisioned and sent her on her way.

A day or so later she came back with several pages and sat down to discuss it with him. She told him she made a couple of changes in his outline because, frankly, what he was proposing did not sync with her vision of what an ER operation should look like.

He was slightly taken aback, caught between being both amused and annoyed by her audacity. After regaining his composure he said:

“I guess I didn’t make it clear when I hired you, your are here to implement my vision not yours!”

Needless to say, my friend’s comment knocked his new employee down a couple of rungs on her ladder. It was pretty obvious that the way for her to please her new boss was not going to be through her own ingenuity and creativity but, instead, by helping him to achieve his.

It’s ironic. When you are looking for a job, exactly the traits that make you attractive to a prospective employer can be the same traits, if you’re not careful, that can cause your demise.

An intelligent, resourceful, can do, will do employee is an asset we all seek…with one major proviso: we want that employee to use her skill sets to accomplish our goals not hers. Too often employees forget that they were not really hired to do “their thing”, they were hired to do “my thing”.

The higher you get on the organization chart, the more you get to do things your way. That’s what responsibility and authority are all about. If you want to climb concentrate on making your boss successful and, eventually, you will be able to hire people who will make you successful.

The CEO of any organization writes the agenda, employees do not. The best way to get a raise or a bonus is to let your boss know how dedicated you are making him or her look good, + and then doing it. Talk (especially behind his/her back) is cheap. You’re either on board or you’re not. And, by the way, you will often relinquish credit in public for your own work because it’s not about you; it’s about him/her. A good superior will share credit with you when it’s appropriate. Don’t forget, the outside world is well aware that you are a key staff member, so you always get tacit credit for making a contribution even if you’re name is not on it.

Attempting to be in the limelight too soon in your career is a great way to wreck your career. The limelight is earned as a result of a continual track record of supporting the organization (i.e. your boss), not for standing out in the crowd.
I’d like to make an important clarification. No one expects you to be a hypocrite or to sponsor behavior that is, in your opinion, contrary to the best interests of your boss. If you think something you’ve been told to do is morally or legally wrong or ill advised you have the responsibility to make your case to the boss. But, and this is a huge but, I am not talking about preferences. Your case must consist of demonstrable right or wrong not your opinion about right or wrong. The right to your own opinion is available way up on the ladder.

So, if you want your pay grade to ultimately give you the right to impose your preferences on others, work your way up by helping your bosses to get what they want. In the end, you’ll get what you want!