“Responsibility is not a right, it’s a reward.”

I attended a leadership conference in Mocksville, North Carolina last week at a church called Rescue House. The main speaker was Pastor Matt Hudson.

One of his training topics was 7 Things Bosses Want to Say to Employees. I wrote them all down and will share a few of them in days to come.

One of the things was: “Responsibility is not a right, it’s a reward.”

Have you ever thought about this as it relates to your job or to maturity?

It makes sense doesn’t it. Most of you walk through the door and are given jobs that the least experienced people get. Typically, the job is simple. We count on you showing up and being a teammate. We hope that your effort will be strong for the entire shift. Your teammates are assessing you from the first moment to “see if you can hang.”

As you demonstrate you can stick with it, you are taught more. You add to your skill set. You take on more of the operation. You are trusted to work without someone inspecting your every move.

That’s more responsibility. It is in fact a reward. You won’t get more responsibility unless you build confidence you deserve it.

As you add daily responsibilities, you are adding value. We don’t want to lose people who can handle a steady diet of additional responsibilities. We will act to keep them.

It’s a good thing to stop and to consider: Have I been given greater responsibility lately? Why?

If the answer is yes, good things are on your horizon. The more responsibility, the more value you have to the company.

If the answer is no, you should consider why. Have you quit learning? Is your productivity become stagnant? Has my boss lost confidence in me?

That kind of assessment is worth discussing with your boss or HR. More responsibility is a reward for ambition and development. Keep working to acquire it.