January 6, 2014
It’s not news that everyone is busy: I constantly see emails hit my inbox after hours and even on Sunday night as people prep for the coming week. But despite the constant communication, I’m a firm believer in having it all. How? By tapping into efficient teamwork to increase productivity and achieve my goals.
Good teamwork sounds simple, but finding better ways to work with others is one of the biggest keys to career success. Here are four tips for accomplishing more without spending all your waking hours tethered to a smart phone:
Shadow Your Coworkers
When I joined the marketing team at Target, I attended a lot of workshops to learn the process and terminology. But nothing was more valuable than sitting in someone’s office or cubicle for 30 minutes and watching that person work. I learned that my creative manager wasn’t delivering prompt approvals because people kept popping into his office with new emergencies. The solution? I started to book him for fake meetings when approvals were due and, if necessary, I acted as a human shield to prevent interruptions.
This simple shadowing technique gave me other key insights, too. When an agency delivered creative files to the production department with missing information on the work request, the team wasted time doing detective work instead of delivering assets on time. To ensure my project was always at the top of the pile, I focused on clear and simple instructions because people like to cross things off their lists.
Get to Know Your Teammates as People First
Anyone that knows me knows that I’m not much for small talk. But my favorite question to ask people is “What’s next for you?” Try asking someone this career question and it will unlock the key to how you can maximize your relationship. About a third of the people you ask will say “I want to keep doing this forever.” Make sure you don’t try to make process improvements without consulting them first—they don’t want you changing the wave they are riding!
A third of people will say, “I want to be the CEO of this company.” Make sure you identify ways to share the credit with these ladder climbers. Most of the rest of the people will look at you stumped and say, “I haven’t thought about it.” These are the ones you need to really watch out for. They either don’t trust you enough yet to share this personal information, or they really don’t know what they want, which means it’s impossible for you to help them get there.
Avoid Rework at All Costs
Do you ever think about how much time is wasted rescheduling and attending unproductive meetings? Meetings without a clear agenda should be banned. Don’t accept those invites. Recurring meetings should be avoided since your responsibilities tend to cause conflicts with a consistent schedule. Be mindful of the surprises that come up throughout the day and allow time for them.
When you start a project, think about all the steps at the beginning and develop a strategy for how to get everything done together. Avoid creating an emergency through lack of careful planning. Minimize the number of times you need to interrupt someone else’s day by collecting your questions and sending them in a single email or requesting a brief meeting.
The Absolute Key: Don’t Be the Bottleneck!
The theme of everything I’ve learned is that you have to be respectful of other people’s time if you want them to spend any of it doing something for you. And you can’t move mountains by yourself, no matter how big of a superstar you think you are. The boat goes nowhere if everyone is paddling in different directions.
Instead of talking about what you’re going to do, get your part done thoroughly and completely and into the hands of others as quickly as possible. Allowing your teammates time to work is an important sign that you respect their contribution, and it prevents the rework and mistakes that result from rushing.
These four simple strategies can make a big difference in how much you accomplish at work. Have you discovered your own tactics for boosting office productivity?
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