That’s Not My Job

“That’s not my job” – one of the worst phrases that any employee can use. When you say, ‘that’s not my job, you’re saying don’t care, you’re not a team player, you’re only willing to do the bare minimum, or that you’re too good to handle a task.

In a small business, everything is everyone’s job at some point. If the trash needs to be taken out, you take it out. If the windows need a good wipe down, you take care of it. Everyone working in a small business just know that wearing multiple hats is part of the job description.

However, this shouldn’t just be the case for your team. As a business owner, you’ve got to be willing to roll up your sleeves, too. As the leader in your organization, it’s true that you need to focus your time on the right tasks. You need to spend more time working on your business than working in it. You need to delegate. But, sometimes, you just need to get your hands dirty, too.

I recently purchased a coffee shop. The business has a full staff. We have a great manager. I had no intentions of working in the operations of the business with this purchase. It was an investment and a fun project. As the owner, I help to set the strategic direction and support the manager with what is needed to ensure the operation runs smoothly. I sat with my manager the very first week after we purchased the business and discussed how I wanted to make sure that we had a process in place for coverage, because I was not planning for it to be me. She assured me that yes, we have adequate staff, we have plans for coverage and I would not need to step in to cover a shift.

Fast-forward a few weeks. The holiday season, our busiest time. And, the flu hit. Everyone got sick. We have a small staff. We were losing them left and right. I dropped by one morning to check in and to grab some breakfast and it was slammed. It was so busy there was a line out the door and we had had multiple call-ins due to illness. Now, at this point, I was still so new to the business, I had no idea how to run any of the kitchen equipment. I didn’t know our recipes. And, I for sure had no idea how to make a signature drink. But, do you know what I did know? There was no way I could just leave, knowing the team was in this situation.

So, my daughter and I got back to the kitchen and got to work. We found the recipe cards. We figured out the machines. We made some mistakes. But, we helped to keep the wheels from falling off. We washed dishes. We bussed tables. We helped.

Because, at the end of the day, that is my job. As the owner, it’s my job to support our team. Most of the time, that means setting the direction, providing development, managing partnerships, and making decisions. But, that day. It meant rolling up my sleeves, sweating in the kitchen, and showing up.