Our calendars are full of things to do. The commitments that shape our weeks are many. Long lists of activities and tasks are never in short supply.
In popular terms, being reliable comes down to being effective: reaching your goals.
This definition is very limiting, because it risks making us focus on a single result, neglecting other results and ignoring execution, that is, how that result is achieved.
Being reliable goes beyond this. We can say a person is truly reliable only when they do everything they are supposed to do and do it the right way. Reliability shows much more in execution than in the result achieved.
How do we know we have done everything we were supposed to do?
Someone might say: when the list of tasks and assignments is complete!
In fact, that would only make us fulfill that list. It is far from certain that the list contains everything we should have done.
Fulfillment is the condition in which we do everything we were supposed to do, meet all our responsibilities and carry out each of our functions.
Not fulfilling them means neglecting something: consciously or unconsciously, we are procrastinating, forgetting or avoiding something we should have done ourselves.
And when we fail to do something we should have done ourselves, there are only two possibilities: either we are ignoring it, or someone else has taken it on in our place.
Either way, problems will arise in the long run.
Neglecting important activities with our children, partners, team members or customers will, over time, intensify complaints and conflicts, paving the way for breakups, losses and friction in relationships.
Failing to fulfill your roles is not free. It costs, and it often costs a lot.
And what if someone is covering for us? Even worse.
If someone is taking on something another person should be doing, on one hand they are taking autonomy away from that person; on the other, they are laying the groundwork for a future problem: when they stop plugging the gaps, that person will find themselves with activities they are completely unprepared to handle.
If a parent does their child's homework, they are doing the child a favor in the short term, but they are gradually and inevitably reducing the child's autonomy and independence. The child will not develop the skills to do homework alone and will be unprepared to handle future difficulties.
In conclusion: when we neglect something that falls within our responsibilities and functions, sooner or later that neglect will turn into an emergency to deal with.
How do we avoid falling short?
The first step to avoid falling short is to be fully aware of our roles and of the functions of each role.
If we don't know the roles we hold or, at any rate, don't have a precise and detailed list of them, there is a very high probability of falling short in one or more roles.
If we don't know the specific functions of each role, there is a very high probability of falling short in one or more roles.
What are the odds of finding room in the calendar for something we don't even know we have to do?
To fulfill your roles, you need a Role Map: an asset that contains the precise and complete list of your roles and, for each role, its responsibilities and functions.
As a parent, partner, manager, marketing manager, production manager, CEO … are you certain you know the exact functions of these roles, that is, everything you should do to fulfill the functions of these roles?
Ask the question "What are your roles, and what are the functions of each role?" and you will rarely get a precise, clear answer*.
* You can ask your team members this question and check how aware they are of their roles and functions and, as a result, how likely they are to fulfill them.
That is why our advice is to set up a Role Map: a detailed, personalized list of your roles with their functions.
The Role Map is a tool that can be far more clarifying and decisive for a person's productivity than a job description or a procedure.
The Role Map tells you exactly what you need to do to fulfill all the roles in your life.
If you would like a free session with one of our qualified Tutors to set up your Role Map, you can write to valentina@prodability.com