Latest news with #TheNewWayWeWork
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How can I delegate more?
Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company 's workplace advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer your biggest and most pressing workplace questions. How can I delegate more? Warning: Clichés abound with my answer to this problem. You may feel that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, or that passing your work off to someone else means that it won't be done to the same standard. Or you might feel threatened that if someone else does a good job at your work you will be seen as expendable. Or maybe you're worried that teaching someone how to do some of your work will be more time-consuming than just doing it yourself. But another cliché is true too: If you teach someone to fish, they eat for a lifetime. Delegating tasks may have more upfront time costs than doing it yourself, but once that person learns the skills and takes over the task, not only is it off of your to-do list forever, but they now have gained a valuable skill. If you delegate the right tasks, you can also help in your own career growth. Here's where another cliche comes in: Time is money. As Fast Company contributor Elizabeth Grace Saunders pointed out in a recent article, 'If your time is worth about $60 an hour and a task takes five hours, that's $300 of time. But if you're paying an entry-level employee $15 per hour, that same task ends up only costing $75. For you to do the task might not make sense.' But it's not just that creating a PowerPoint 'costs' you $300; it's what other things you can be doing with those five hours—or as Saunders puts it, the opportunity cost of spending your time in different ways. With those five hours freed up you could focus on the types of projects that are more likely to get you promoted, for example. Okay, so now that I've convinced you why you need to delegate, here's how to go about it: Write it down clearly The worst way to delegate is to just throw a bunch of information at someone and hope for the best. Your best first step when handing over a task is to make a written guide. The clearer and more step-by-step, the better. Include screenshots or record a video if relevant. Yes, it's more up-front work for you, but then if the person you are delegating the task to doesn't remember something you told them, they have a reference. And if that person ends up leaving, you have a guide to pass on to the next person. Walk them through the task and ask them to repeat it back to you Putting together a written guide is your first step. The next is walking them through the task. Share your screen if you're in a virtual meeting or sit next to them and complete the task together. Watching you build the presentation, for example, will help form the memory of how to do it. Make sure to stop for questions along the way. And, after you walk them through the task, it's a good idea to have them repeat back the most important points to make sure that information sticks. This might feel condescending at first blush but it's a common practice in lots of critical jobs. 'An air traffic controller gives a pilot instructions, and the pilot has to repeat it back to ensure they got it correctly,' says Dana Brownlee, author of The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up. 'You can use the same thing in the workplace.' To avoid appearing untrusting, you can say something like, 'I know I threw a lot at you, and this has a lot of moving parts. To ensure I didn't confuse you, would you mind repeating the information about the slides and the day they're due?' Check back in, then step back Finally, once you've given them the written guide and walked them through how to do it, check back in around the time it's due to make sure everything is going smoothly. You don't have to go full-on micromanager and look over their shoulder. Just a simple, 'Hey, wanted to see if everything is going okay with the PowerPoint and my instructions were clear.' This can be helpful if they hit a snag but were too embarrassed to speak up. Then, after they successfully complete the task, you can let them own it and reclaim you freed-up time!
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
What should I do if my coworker is using AI unethically?
Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company 's workplace advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer your biggest and most pressing workplace questions. Q: What should I do if my coworker is using AI unethically? A: This is a question that feels new but is actually just an evolution of a classic workplace issue. You can slot any number of issues in the place of 'AI' and the problem is essentially the same: What's the best way to handle misconduct at work? The answer for all situations, including this one, comes down to a few factors: 1. Do you know (or just suspect) your coworker is doing something they shouldn't? 2. Does the misconduct violate company policy or is it something you just don't agree with? 3. How severe is the misconduct? And is it a pattern or a one-off? 4. What is your relationship with the coworker? Let's take this scenario through those checkpoints. Are they actually doing something wrong? The use of AI at work can be a contentious topic. Your first step should be to check your company's AI policy and make sure that the way you suspect your colleague to be using AI is actually in violation of the policy. Typically companies have varying degrees of comfort around using AI for workflow and administrative tasks, including email, scheduling, and note-taking. If your company is okay with AI use for these purposes, there might also be a clause that the use of AI tools needs to be disclosed (for example: letting meeting participants know that you are using an AI notetaker). Companies should also have guidance on using AI to complete the work itself (like in written reports or presentations, creating images, etc.). Again, at the very least, the policy should ask that employees credit and acknowledge work that was created by or with the help of AI. If your company doesn't have an AI policy or it's too vague, your first stop should be with company leadership to suggest the need for clearer guidelines. While your coworker should have basic ethics and know better than to submit work that's false or fabricated or pass off AI work as their own, they can't be blamed for violating a policy that doesn't exist. How severe is it? Assuming the AI use is in violation of company policy, there are a couple of approaches depending on how severe it is and your relationship with your coworker. Using AI to help write email responses is a lot different than passing off work that you didn't create or outsourcing quotes and data to AI without fact-checking. If it's a workflow process that you don't agree with but that comes down to a personal preference, you can either bring it up directly with your coworker or go to their manager. As long as you feel comfortable and have a good relationship, going directly to the person should be your first step. Assume good intentions. Say something like 'I noticed you are using AI notetakers for our weekly staff meeting. I think that's against our AI policy because of privacy concerns. You might want to check with John about it and see if we can have an intern take notes instead.' If you suspect someone is passing off AI work as their own, or submitting work with AI-produced errors, it's more of a delicate situation. If you aren't the person's boss, it's not for you to litigate, but before you make a potentially career-damaging accusation, do a little fact-checking.
Fast Company
14-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
How do I make a good first impression?
Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company 's workplace advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions. Q: How do I make a good first impression? A: Since this is a work-life advice column I'll focus mostly on how you can make a good impression at work, but many of these tips work for other situations in life. Be interested: Ask questions It's a simple truism of most conversations and human interactions: People like to feel like they're interesting and important. If you know whom you'll be meeting, you can go one step further and do a little research in advance. Job candidates who ask questions about the interviewer's own time at the company show that they are interested in both the company and the person they hope to work with. The same goes for meeting potential clients, networking connections, etc. Regardless of if you have the chance to prep or not, you can listen to little conversational doors and jumping-off points to be curious and dig further. Most people casually give little details as they talk. Be a good listener and you can ask a follow-up question that shows you're engaged. In a world where most people are distracted, overwhelmed, or self-absorbed, paying attention goes a long way. Be interesting: Say something memorable While you should be a good listener and ask questions, you won't make a good impression if you don't say anything of interest. Sharing an interesting 'did you know' fact related to what you are talking about goes a long way. It's a little harder to plan for this, and you certainly don't want to throw in a random non sequitur. But if you're generally well-read and well-informed, hopefully a natural opportunity to mention something relevant will present itself. Be helpful People like others who help them. Fast Company contributor and psychologist Art Markman says 'starting your time with a new team by helping others reinforces a favorable first impression and also generates a sense of support from people you can rely on when you need help in the future.' He calls this a ' service mindset ' and says it's particularly valuable for people taking on management roles. 'A leader who finds ways to help their team achieve their goals can develop loyalty from the people who report to them, which pays significant dividends down the line,' he explains. If you're not a manager, you can make a good impression at a new job by being proactive and developing your own plan for your first 90 days. It will help you to have goals laid out so you don't feel as lost and will make a great impression on your new boss and colleagues. Being helpful works in other areas to make a good first impression, too. If someone you are talking to mentions a problem they are having, following up with a recommendation will make a lasting impression.
Fast Company
07-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
How can I improve my team's morale?
Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company 's workplace advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions. Q: How can I improve my team's morale? A: Team morale isn't an extra or a 'nice to have.' It's critical to a functioning company. And it's not looking good out there. According to the latest Gallup report, only 36% of employees say they feel engaged at work. That means 64% of employees are feeling some degree of unhappy at work. Low morale can take a lot of different forms—from feeling less enthusiastic, less motivated, or less satisfied with work, all the way to feeling burned out, apathetic, and resentful. It probably goes without saying that when employees have low morale they do a worse job. Not only are they less productive, but they're certainly not feeling inspired to come up with creative or innovative ideas, and they're more likely to quit or spread the negative vibes to the rest of the office. If you're a manager, here are three things you can do to help boost your team's morale: Treat your employees like adults The number-one bad boss complaint is micromanaging. Most people like to have a sense of autonomy in their work lives. At the same time, most people crave structure. So the best thing a manager can do is give their employees clear (and reasonable) expectations, and get out of their way. That doesn't mean you are absentee, it means you make yourself available to help address questions and issues, and set up regular check-ins, but otherwise trust that employees will complete their work in their own way. (Remember, that might not be how you would do it.) One important part of that equation is letting employees work where they work best. Many surveys have found that employees want more flexibility to work from home, while more bosses are demanding they come into the office. Unless there is a compelling need for someone to be in the office, an easy way to boost morale and give employees a sense that you trust them is to trust them to get their work done even if they aren't clocking eight hours in a cubicle. Make people feel like they belong Remember the Great Resignation? Back in 2021, when people were quitting their jobs at a higher rate, there were a lot of contributing factors. But beyond the obvious things—like fair pay, benefits, flexibility, and work-life balance—there was a deeper issue that hasn't gone away just because the job market has tightened. One of the top reasons people resigned during that period was that they didn't feel a sense of belonging at work. Especially in a climate where the very concept of equity and inclusion is under attack, it's important to help employees feel like their workplace is a place where they are valued. Contributor Mita Mallick says that one way to help employees feel included is to be intentional about building community. 'Share regular updates and ensure people feel like they are part of the mission,' she advises. 'Talk about your organization's failures and struggles, and celebrate the big and small wins. Make everyone feel like they own a piece of the mission to deepen engagement and commitment.' employee resource groups, that's another good place to help employees build community.
