Helping each other at work never goes out of style - PostBulletin.com

takingmong.blogspot.com

Dear B: Yup, it seems like many workers these days are doing everything they can to keep their jobs but may be doing less in helping others keep theirs. Management writers have long touted the need for groups of employees to work as teams and grow closer to each other by supporting each other. In many ways, this pandemic has caused workers to just crawl into their shells at home and stay clear of reaching out to others.

There is no “I” in teams, but there is a “me.” And many “mes” have become nervous and afraid to help others, because they just don’t have the time. We are covering our tails even when it is quite obvious that we could do more if we did things as a unified force. If employees these days get performance reviews – and I hope they do – managers may tend to focus only on what the employee did as an individual and not what they did to help their team. I believe every worker should be assessed for both their individual performance and their teamwork.

MORE FROM DAVE CONRAD:

Now, I know there will be many reading my words and thinking, “Hey, I have a job to do, and I don’t want my manager to think I am avoiding my work, because I am over on the other side of the room helping Mary do her job.” I get that. And I am not suggesting that workers must be “roving saviors” who claim only they know how work should be done. Plus, most workers do not want their [helpful] colleagues breathing down their neck, suggesting they are totally messed up in their work and the way they do it.

However, I am presenting the fact that 1 + 1 = 3. Simply, two people working together can do much more work than two people working totally independent of each other and ignoring the fact that working with others can inspire and motivate them. Good, smart managers realize how valuable teamwork is and they do everything they can to spot and inspire self-reliant – and sometimes unwilling – workers to work as a team that can be proud of who they are and what they do.

The culture of caring

I believe that we can elevate someone’s enthusiasm and pride when we teach them our skills and help make them become more capable workers. I am not suggesting that workers should pounce on their coworkers and making them feel inadequate and they are doing everything wrong; I am talking about taking the time to help – or at least offer help – a coworker who is obviously floundering and is becoming frustrated. If you want to feel good, help others do good.

Years ago, the “master and apprentice” relationship was an effective way to pass on knowledge and skills. Simply, before a skilled craftsman moved on, they had proteges who learned under them. This teaching relationship was the way people learned, and one day the student would become the teacher and would take on other “students” who would learn the skills they possessed. It was a wonderful system and it is still alive and well in many companies.

And as students learned from the masters, new innovations would be woven into the way students worked and in what they produced. Good companies support mentoring relationships to take shape, so the mentors can teach new workers the ways of the company and the ways to improve how they work – and how they can stay out of trouble.

I think we all remember those people in our lives who truly cared about us and our feelings about ourselves and taught us things that would help us to not only become more effective, but made us realize we have a responsibility to help others. If we create these “cultures of caring” there is a great deal of knowledge transfer and also ways to inspire others when they are down.

In summary, learn and do as much as you can and teach others as much as you should. You don’t want to be seen by management as some “teaching maverick,” so make sure your manager supports your willingness to reach out to others – after you get your work done.

Contact Dave Conrad with questions or comments at conradd@augsburg.edu. Conrad is an associate professor of business at Augsburg University in Rochester.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"work" - Google News
February 11, 2021 at 06:33PM
https://ift.tt/3d8MAiB

Helping each other at work never goes out of style - PostBulletin.com
"work" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bUEaYA


Bagikan Berita Ini