beyond your job title

We often define ourselves by the roles we have rather than the capabilities we’ve developed. Sometimes all it takes is an opportunity for someone to discover what they were capable of all along.

what’s prompting my thinking?

A few years ago, I was asked by friends of my parents if I would coordinate their daughter’s wedding. It wasn’t in a traditional venue – it was a marquee in a sheep field, with caterers, a band, a bar, ice cream vans and all the moving parts that come with bringing over a hundred people together for a memorable day.  There was just one challenge…I’d never coordinated a wedding before.  

By the end of the evening, guests I’d never met were asking how long I’d been in the wedding planning business. I remember smiling and replying, “Actually…this is my first one.”

It made me stop and think. They weren’t judging me by my job title, they were judging me by the confidence and capability they experienced on the day.

why it matters

I hadn’t gone on a training course to become a wedding planner.  Instead, I drawn on some of the strengths, experiences and transferable skills I’d developed over many years – planning, organisation, communication, stakeholder management, decision making and staying calm under pressure.  

Yes, the context was new, my capability wasn’t.

Every organisation has people whose capability extends beyond the boundaries of their current role. The challenge is creating opportunities for that capability to become visible.  I continue to wonder how many organisations still overlook this hidden capability because they’re searching for people who’ve done the exact job before, rather than recognising the wider strengths, experiences and skills people could bring to a different challenge.

If we want to become genuinely skills- and capability-focused organisations, perhaps the question we should be asking isn’t “Who has done this before?”  and instead be “Who has the capability to succeed if we create the opportunity?”  

closing thought

One of the things I love most about my work is helping individuals, leaders and organisations see possibilities they hadn’t previously considered.

Sometimes the greatest development opportunity isn’t learning an entirely new skill. It’s discovering what you’re already capable of when someone trusts you with the opportunity.

Perhaps you, or someone in your team, is capable of much more than their current role allows them to demonstrate.  The question is… whose potential is simply waiting for an opportunity?