Collaborating

I’m allergic to cliches. I can’t in good conscience say “there is no I in team.” Nor will I tell a coworker to “put a pin in it” or advise a group to “circle back on that.” Because words matter. People are suspicious of business jargon because it’s dehumanizing. A pessimistic coworker may need to explore problems before finding solutions. A person who is introverted may prefer to speak to a leader alone. A good collaborator and leader needs to be thoughtful—I use words crafted for the individual I’m working with.

Leading People

As a college professor, I learned that celebrating what students do correctly is more important than revisiting what they did poorly. As an editor, I know it’s more effective to ask less experienced writers to fix a pattern of error rather than have them correct an overwhelming list of mistakes. As a human with goals and desires, I recognize that coworkers need motivation—whether it’s an encouraging note or a slice of birthday cake. In short, I lead students, writers and team members empathetically. I recognize what an individual does best and foster that skill first. Then coworkers can learn new skills (and learning inherently involves a process of making mistakes). We are all experts in something, whether it’s Minecraft, transcendental meditation or making cucumber sandwiches. It’s important to remember our unique capabilities as we learn.

Managing Projects

My writing career is all about meeting deadlines, so I know how to schedule multiple projects and multitask. There was a time I wrote 10 blog posts and 7 newsletters a week, managing those assignments through Google Sheets. While working in marketing, I used a project management system called Basecamp. As a writer in university communications, we changed our editorial calendar to make it look more fun and less like a to-do list, leaving Xcel for the visual comfort of Trello boards. Another way to complete projects on time is to provide clear instructions to everyone on the team. I have successfully collaborated with executives, subject matter experts, marketing, PR agencies and graphic designers. With or without a project management system, I can organize projects and keep team members on track, regardless of their physical locations.

Organizing Information

A good teacher, editor and manager have something in common: they outline the task to be done and provide clear instructions—before work begins. Team leaders should provide information in a step-by-step manner. One example: A leader should establish the names of project terminology before relying on acronyms (“subject matter expert” before “SME”). Part of organizing information is knowing who knows what. A good manager offers to help less experienced team members who may need an overview of the project or an example of a successful outcome. A good leader also knows that people learn differently. Some coworkers want all the information ever collected. Others only want to know the goals. Team leaders need to know the information well enough to make the topic approachable and the project achievable.