Roles

Bill Gates is perhaps best known as the principal founder of Microsoft.  He was the CEO, then the chairman, a board member and now, a technical advisor to the current CEO.  He's also the husband of Melinda Gates, father of their three children, the head of their foundation and a media influencer. These are all roles that Bill Gates has to manage in his everyday life.

A role is a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit. Within a role there is

  • Role identity: the certain actions and attitudes that are consistent with a particular role.
  • Role perception: our own view of how we ourselves are supposed to act in a given situation. We engage in certain types of performance based on how we feel we're supposed to act.
  • Role expectations: how others believe one should act in a given situation
  • Role conflict: conflict arises when the duties of one role conflict with the duties of another role.


Bill Gates

Let's look at this through the lens of a day in the life of Bill Gates. First, let's look at him in the role of fundraiser. When he's looking for corporate donations to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he may visit the CEOs of other successful corporations. He may shake hands, have some lunches, get some commitments for money from these CEOs. That's role identity. The actions and attitudes that are consistent with a fundraiser.

Bill Gates may choose to wear a suit and tie when he visits these CEOs looking for donations. He may use "corporate speak" that's familiar to them. He may purchase the lunch. That might be Bill Gates' role perception. It's the way he thinks he should behave in the fundraiser role.

Later, he and Melinda may hold a press conference where he announces to the world that they've funded textbooks for 250 schools across the nation. Responses include headlines of "Yay, Bill and Melinda!" People talk on Facebook about how Bill and Melinda are really helping communities. They are meeting our role expectations for them.

Finally, Bill and Melissa race out of the press conference, fight traffic to the airport, and try to get home to the violin recital of their oldest child. This is role conflict. The duties of one of Bill's and Melissa's roles is in conflict with another - demands arise from both and need to be managed.