On the television show Madam Secretary, the fictional Secretary of State has an ace as an Executive Assistant. He performs heroically, tending to her every need, anticipating what she will want, handling the details, mastering her calendar, and doing it all with understated diplomacy. In short, he is a rock star.
And, as such, the temptation would be to keep Blake in that role forever, especially since the longer he performs the job, the more valuable he becomes. Instead, the Secretary lovingly told him that he could do more — in fact, should do more — and so she was going to fire him — in a year. In a humorous twist, she even told him to put it on her calendar to do.
Throughout the year, Madam Secretary has been providing Blake with opportunities to explore other areas of the State Department and to work on projects that normally would not have been in his portfolio. She is intentionally helping him with career exploration as she reminds him that his time in his current role is finite.
As we begin this new year, take a minute to consider your staff if you are a supervisor. Do you have a “Blake” on your team that could do more if challenged, and if so, should you consider a move to fire them from their current position in a year? If you’re not a supervisor, reflect on whether you should use the turn of the calendar to impose this mandate on yourself and act as if your clock is ticking.
It’s easy to become comfortable and let the weeks go by without action. If there is an aspect of your life that is just coasting, take a lesson from the Secretary and commit to a deadline for a radical change.
