Say your piece (and 2 other ways to help your coworkers)

Hi, 

Improving yourself is a worthwhile investment. Developing new skills or mastering a new way of working is not only useful today, but for all the days to come. It works like compound interest, earning interest on interest. And working on yourself can even be fun—and a little addictive.

It does have a flip side. You may start to see shortcomings in the working habits of those around you. You recognize coworkers struggling and think: This is not ideal.

Know that investing in coworkers is super rewarding. You might work together for years to come. If you pass on that golden tip or suggestion that helps someone do their work more easily, then not only are you helping them out, but your joint efforts will also undoubtedly benefit. 

Here are three ways to get started:

Say your piece

It’s often the case that the person in question has absolutely no idea their work habits frustrate others. While others may be well aware of annoying or even problematic behavior, people can have surprising blind spots about themselves—in part because no one ever took the trouble to bring it up.

Stick to one very specific element of one person to highlight. The more precise your feedback, the easier it is for them to absorb and the greater the chance things will change. But regardless of the odds of change, the most important thing here is sharing what you find frustrating. 

If you’re like me and tend to avoid conflict, it can be hard to confront a coworker with feedback. Something that can help is opening the conversation with that struggle: “I always feel a little awkward talking about what bothers me, so I usually just don’t. But when you show up late for our meetings or don’t bother to prepare, it makes me think you don’t take this project very seriously.”

Voice your expectations again

A lot of frustration stems from unspoken expectations that differ. Make expectations open for discussion. Finding a way to introduce the topic may feel odd, but I’ve found that this universal line never fails:

“We’ve now come to <the start, the halfway point, the home stretch> of the project. This stage is key. Let’s talk for a moment about our way of working and the expectations we have of each other. That’s something I could use right about now.”

Doesn’t have to be complicated. You could ask everyone, for instance, to name three things needed for working together on a successful project. Be sure to write down what folks say and share the points at the end. That way you can refer back to them as needed.

Share your own approach

Your way of working isn’t always visible for your team, but you can be sure other people are wrestling with the same challenges. Especially when it comes to personal organization, people often don’t know where to begin. Voicing expectations and providing feedback are two helpful tools, and sharing your own approach is a third:

Make it a point to regularly drop key elements of your method into the conversation.

Resist stock answers like “Thanks for your question. I’ll get back to you.” Instead, change it into the more strategic “Thanks for your question. I’ll come back to it in our next meeting. I’ve blocked an hour tomorrow morning for meeting prep, so I’ll be sure to get to it then.”

It may feel a little forced at first, but it’s precisely these sorts of little tactical details that folks need to jumpstart their own experiments. 

Have a good week,

Rick

PS Want some specifics on dealing with a less-than-structured coworker or boss? Check this issue with my favorite pointers.

produced by the language girl