Why Job Description is outdated why should we replace it with Job Mission

Many organization provide their employee with Job Description (JD). Every job description will tell people on what to do and sometimes, perhaps how to do it.  In my humble opinion, this work well in the past where compliance is very much needed.

But in this competitive environment, things have changed. People don't do routine job too much now, because the job nowadays is not to produce a certain set of rules. If the job requires a routine of a set of rules, a machine or a system could easily replace the job. The jobs nowadays require people to think, solve problems and move within the company's direction.

Today, job description is also been use for a person to define their territory and protect themselves from doing things out of their boundaries. If things were not clearly stated in one job description, they just can say that it is not part of their job, based on their JD. In case that a particular task was not define in anybody's job description, chances are that thing might be left over and no one to be blame.

Job Mission
What we need in describing a role of an employee is a Job Mission (JM). Job Mission is more about the goal of your role, which align to the greater goal of an organization. Job Mission provide empowerment of an employee where they will do whatever it takes to complete their mission. In this world, we are moving from compliance to engagement. We don't just want people to comply with our standards and rules, but we want to engage them so they will stay longer with us, provide the brain in providing solutions and add value to the whole organization.

Everyone Can Become A Leader

Everyone can become a leader. But that is not the question. The question is whether they want to or they don't. Leadership is a choice and I do believe that it is your responsibility to decide whether you want to be one, or you just want to follow someone, or some organization.

Tipping Point
Some people change after there was a situation that force them to change. I remembered Jim Rohn's story of how he changed after being broke and not able to buy a cookies from a girl scout. Worst, he was lying saying that he has one. That is his turning point of his life. Some people change because of frustration and some because of inspiration. Both are good change agents.

Vision and Mission
Most companies have this nice frame on the wall mentioning vision and mission. But some companies did it because all other companies have it, and it looks weird if they don't. Some did it because their consultant asked them to do so, without understanding the purpose of having it. To me, leaders must have a vision. Something that they wanted to change. From that vision, they create missions to support their intention. This will drive them internally to pursue their dreams. I believe people are not a lazy creature. They just don't have a clear vision of their life, or finding their purpose of their life.