Job Challenge Profile, Participant Workbook

Cynthia D. McCauley

• Publisher: Center for Creative Leadership
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781604919424
• eBook ISBN: 9781604919448
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Education
• Index: Business

This updated Participant Workbook now includes the Job Challenge Profile survey. With the aid of this action guide, you will determine what and how much you are learning, what parts of your job holds key challenges, and what strategies you might adopt to derive maximal learning from these experiences.

SECTION III

Capitalizing on the Learning Potential of Your Job

IN THIS SECTION OF YOUR WORKBOOK, you will examine the learning potential of job components that are particularly relevant for your job in more detail. A summary page is provided for each of the components that provides:

• A description of the job component;

• The managerial skills and perspectives that are most frequently developed from this component; and

• Strategies for getting the most from this component.

At the end of this section, you will be encouraged to consider three additional development strategies—feedback, relationships, and training—to maximize learning in your current job.

Keep in mind as you look at some of the specific developmental components of your job that the same components of your job that offer you the opportunity to learn and grow may also cause you stress and frustration. If you feel discouraged about any aspects of your job that are labeled “challenging,” take heart, as these feelings often accompany learning. Some powerful lessons come from dealing with frustrating situations. One method of dealing with these feelings is to talk to others about the situation. Peers, people who have formerly held your job, mentors, or spouses can help you find the learning points during discouraging moments.

Directions for completing this section:

1. Pick the developmental job components that seem the most important for you, using one or more of the following criteria:

• You rated the component as “quite descriptive” to “extremely descriptive” of your job, that is, your actual score is 20 or higher for the component;

• Your relative score on the component is high; or

• You feel particularly challenged by this component of your job.

2. Work through the summary page for each component you chose in Step 1 above. The page numbers are given below for each component:

• Unfamiliar Responsibilities	15
• New Directions	17
• Inherited Problems	19
• Problems with Employees	21
• High Stakes	23
• Scope and Scale	25
• External Pressure	27
• Influence Without Authority	29
• Work Across Cultures	31
• Work Group Diversity	33

3. When you have finished examining the job components of particular relevance to you, review the section on Linking the Developmental Power of Your Job with Learning Strategies on page 35.

4. Finally, complete the Summary Worksheet on page 38.

Unfamiliar Responsibilities

Description

You are expected to handle responsibilities that are new or very different for you. This is most likely the result of a job move (a promotion, a transfer, or a move to a new organization), but can also be experienced when a job is redefined due to organizational restructuring, strategic changes in the business, or new work technologies.

This component is characterized by the following:

• A lack of experience in some aspect of the job;

• A noticeable change from the type of work done previously; and

• A lack of background or credentials expected from someone in this position.

Learning Opportunities

If unfamiliar responsibilities are an important aspect of your job, you have the opportunity to learn, particularly in the areas listed in the table below. Do a quick assessment of the degree to which you are learning from unfamiliar responsibilities and fill in the corresponding boxes.

Gaining the Most from Unfamiliar Responsibilities

Do not ignore the new aspects of your job. It is not unusual for a manager to begin a new assignment by focusing most of his or her attention on the familiar parts of the job. Resist this tendency by forcing yourself to spend time on aspects of the job on which you may have a lower comfort level.

Do not be intimidated by a lack of experience. Trial-and-error learning is necessary. Jump in and start learning by doing. Do not let fear that you won’t do something right the first time immobilize you. As a matter of fact, chances are pretty good that you won’t do it exactly right (that’s why they call it trial-and-error learning). Make your mistakes now. Coworkers are more likely to forgive those who are clearly inexperienced.

Discover the tacit responsibilities in the job—aspects that no one explicitly told you about when you took the job. For example, you may be expected to see that positive relationships are maintained between your group and the other department that shares the same floor of the building or your boss may expect you to act on her behalf when she is out of the office. These tacit responsibilities may also be unfamiliar responsibilities to be mastered.

New Directions

Description

You are responsible for initiating and carrying out something new for the organization, such as a new venture, a new strategic direction, a new process, a new unit, or a new function. There is a need to explore, create, build, and expand.

This component is characterized by the following:

• Something the organization has not tried before;

• Unknown outcomes; and

• A need for new staff, new policies, and new procedures.

Learning Opportunities

If new directions are an important aspect of your job, you have the opportunity to learn, particularly in the areas listed in the table below. Do a quick assessment of the degree to which you are learning from new directions and fill in the corresponding boxes.

Gaining the Most from New Directions

Be clear about where you are headed. Managers report learning the most when there is a clear vision or goal...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Section I: The Job Challenge Profile
• Section II: Scoring the Job Challenge Profile
• Section III: Capitalizing on the Learning Potential of Your Job
• Section IV: Using Job Assignments for Ongoing Development
• Suggestions for Further Reading