In Comm292, we learned about the importance of clearly defined, specific and non-conflicting roles in a business. Roles in a business should have clear expectations to combat role ambiguity. One of the most common mistakes that businesses make is to not define roles, tasks and goals for employees from the start. A good example of this mistake is illustrated in this article by The New York Times, “Confused, a Family Business Turns to a Coach“.
One of the sisters in the family business felt like she was taking on too much by playing both the roles of finance and production, which is called role overload. Additionally, the lack of clarity caused major confusion in the business. For example, they didn’t know whether to include each other in meetings or not. Not only did the role ambiguity affect their company, but it also affected their personal relationships. Eventually, the situation become so severe, the sisters hired a business coach to help them define their roles and consequently facilitate better communication.
Above is an example of some of the characteristics of roles in a business and how they integrate with each other.
For a business to be effective and productive, roles must be clearly defined, specific and all employees must understand their roles – even if that means hiring a business coach.