A senior colleague at Google once complimented my ability to make everyone at work feel heard and safe, calling it my greatest strength. I was honored to receive such high praise! Below, I’m sharing key strategies to improve your work environment – helpful for individual contributors, contractors, and management. I’m grateful to past managers and mentors who modeled some of this, teachers from the AdColor Futures program, peers, and my own workplace experiences for shaping these insights.
Thank you!
It’s so simple and so many people forget to say it. But being kind and saying thanks greases the wheels. It lightens a demand, makes an urgent task more tolerable, and gives you a solid reputation.
Give Someone Their Flowers
Offer extra monetary compensation to someone who goes above and beyond in the workplace – common at Google via peer and spot bonuses. Maybe even buy them flowers.
Quiet & Thoughtful
If someone is quiet in a meeting, invite them to speak. Bigger personalities might be taking up a lot of room, but a quiet person may have something useful to share.
Create Moments of Joy
Treat your team to coffee or a lunch outing. Or a virtual experience! Why? It builds camaraderie. Like a simple thank you, it greases the wheels. It’s like taking a walk – refreshing and gives your brain a break.
Nonverbal Communication
Show undivided attention during in-person and virtual meetings. The quickest way to look unprofessional is to be distracted by your phone.
Respecting Time
Everyone is busy all the time! When it comes to meetings, make it clear what the purpose is. At Google, I enjoyed learning and putting into practice the purpose / benefit check. I’ve used it when facilitating meetings outside of work with great success, as well.
Stereotypically Feminine Tasks
Note taking during meetings, off-site meeting logistics, onboarding new teammates, planning lunches – these tasks typically fall to women. According to Forbes, “Studies show that women are more likely to be approached to complete these thankless [office housework] tasks and are more likely than men to accept direct requests to volunteer for them”.
Mitigate this by enforcing turn-taking, especially if you’re a manager. In some instances, I’ve heard of companies including “office housekeeping” as evaluation criteria for yearly reviews.
Navigating Conflict – Shut It Down
An exemplary manager is someone who can navigate conflict with finesse. If a teammate or client is speaking inappropriately, interrupt them and let them know that language is not tolerated.