Co-authored by Eve Blake, A Finance and Operations Executive in New York City

When you are given a role, typically assigned by your title and rank in an organizational chart, it is important that you live that role for the entirety of your tenure. Understanding, defining and living your role are especially important for people in leadership and management positions. This is because once you are clear on your role, problems with boundary blurring with people above, below and beside you, become fewer and fewer. Let’s unpack how to understand, define and live your role.

Understanding your role means getting clarification on the expectations set by your boss. It’s about recognizing the nuances of the hierarchy and bureaucracy that exists in the micro universe of your company. Finally, you must also understand others’ roles and how your role relates to theirs. So, if you’re an executive assistant, you may not have others who report to you, but you do have the ear of the executive and that carries weight. 

Defining your role for others can look like having a very explicit conversation about what your role is and where it falls in an organizational chart. However, there can be a significant part of defining your role that is implicit, meaning, you don’t explain to anyone the details of your role. Simply by introducing yourself with your title, many people will understand the role. 

Living your role is when you actually embody—through everyday actions and communications—what it means to be in your role. You can think of it as an actor would when she is given a part to play. Your role is not who you are at the core, as your role can and will change over time. Your role is simply a set of parameters within which you are expected to behave during your working hours, or any time spent with colleagues.

The key to getting and staying in role is consistency. It’s easy to be in role with some people, and let it slip with others because you have a history with that person, or because it simply feels easier (and maybe more fun) to blur the boundaries. However, not putting in the work to stay in role will ultimately be detrimental to a person’s professional reputation. She’ll easily become seen as someone who gossips, doesn’t respect boundaries, confuses authority, and more.

The final benefit to staying in role—other than how it positively influences the overall functioning of a team—is that when you demonstrate what it is to be in role, you are also modeling that for others. Your actions become amplified as you are not only showing others what your role is, but you are providing a strong example of how they should be living their roles.

Do you have thoughts about getting and staying in role? Have you seen people step out of role? How did it go? Tell us about it in the comments below.