What is one of the most irritating things that can happen to people at work? That they’ve done work they didn’t need to do
because someone didn’t tell them that the work had been done by someone else, or that it was no longer needed. It can really make you feel like you just wasted your time all day, and make you feel that your time and effort is really unappreciated.
Another natural response when this happens is to begin to feel a little paranoia.
Maybe they wanted me to feel foolish or look like I wasn’t aware enough of what was going on not to figure out that this wasn’t a good use of my time.
And too often our response is to say, “Well, maybe next time I won’t tell them something and make them waste their time. That’ll teach them. Maybe I just won’t mention I’m going to be late tomorrow and they’ll have to scurry around looking for that report due by noon.”
A natural response, perhaps, but not in our own best interest. Even when it seems not to be appreciated in our workplace, sharing information is one of the most powerful things you can do.
Become a resource, an enabler of good work in others. Make sure others have the resources to make them their most productive and good things will come back to you. That is what natural leaders do – they inspire and coach others and it becomes a reflection of their leadership abilities.
I can think of departments of companies I’ve come into where it feels like the whole place is falling apart – there is no trust, and no one will tell anyone else anything. Information is hoarded and fingers are always pointed in blame to someone else.
Not only is this a miserable place to be, it is counterproductive. As with so many things, you don’t need the boss to change this. You can do it yourself by becoming the
person you want everyone else to be. Just start sharing tomorrow like you wish someone would share with you. Create a report with everyone’s current work assignment on it. Do a skills inventory so that everyone in the department knows who is an expert in what and who to call when they don’t know how to handle a particular situation. Create a bulletin board with everyone’s goals for the week/month/year, so we can help each other meet them. Let everyone know who the most important clients are so we can call them by name when they call.
Wouldn’t this be a better workplace? Wouldn’t this make you feel trusted and valued? Don’t wait. Find a way to share information today. Train the person next to you to do something maybe only you know how to do on the computer. Hold informal training sessions in a group for co-workers. Have weekly sharing meetings so everyone knows if one person is especially loaded with work this week. Offer to help and you will learn how to do the work of another so you could step in in a pinch.
From here, you can determine what skills and abilities are missing from your department as a whole and you yourself can take classes or find other ways to be that missing piece.
Any time you have information, figure out a way to share it. And equally important, when you see a problem, be the one to find the resources to get it fixed – don’t leave it for someone else.
Again, you can begin to change the company culture with your actions alone. And you will have a lot more fun