One thing I like about creative work is seeing people's processes for how they make stuff. In-progress photos on Instagram. Detailed blog posts about how they create. Video walk-throughs of their process. I love learning from other people's work.
And I think it's something that we don't have enough of in the workplace. Or at least, this hasn't been a focus in companies where I've worked. This misses opportunities to learn from each other.
In my own little ways, I try to "work with the garage door up."
And I think it's something that we don't have enough of in the workplace. Or at least, this hasn't been a focus in companies where I've worked. This misses opportunities to learn from each other.
In my own little ways, I try to "work with the garage door up."
Here are some examples of what I do.
My to do list is public (within the company).
Does this sound scary? It might be to some people. 😅 In my current job, my team uses Microsoft Planner to organize our tasks and keep track of deadlines. My tasks are on there and visible to my team. But more than the task itself, I post updates during the week and add notes, so anyone can view those at any time.
At my previous company, I kept my to do list in a Word document, in a shared folder. Anyone in the company could see what I was working on at any given time.
I share my meeting notes.
I take a lot of notes during meetings because I know I won't remember all the details. I notice when other people do or don't take notes. And I notice for the most part, people don't share their notes. That's a missed opportunity to have a common reference.
After a meeting, I type up my notes and send them to everyone who was in the meeting. They have the notes for reference. And I save the document in a shared folder where anyone can add to it and anyone can access it.
My to do list is public (within the company).
Does this sound scary? It might be to some people. 😅 In my current job, my team uses Microsoft Planner to organize our tasks and keep track of deadlines. My tasks are on there and visible to my team. But more than the task itself, I post updates during the week and add notes, so anyone can view those at any time.
At my previous company, I kept my to do list in a Word document, in a shared folder. Anyone in the company could see what I was working on at any given time.
I share my meeting notes.
I take a lot of notes during meetings because I know I won't remember all the details. I notice when other people do or don't take notes. And I notice for the most part, people don't share their notes. That's a missed opportunity to have a common reference.
After a meeting, I type up my notes and send them to everyone who was in the meeting. They have the notes for reference. And I save the document in a shared folder where anyone can add to it and anyone can access it.
Files I'm working on are saved in shared folders.
I do this so everyone has access to my work, but also to have back-up copies. If something happens to my local drive, I don't worry about losing work.
These examples are only me working out in the open. But if lots of people in one company did these things, what benefits would they see?
- Find opportunities to collaborate that they wouldn't notice in isolation.
- Identify repeated and redundant work. Then streamline some tasks.
- Gain a better understanding of what people do. Learn from each other and build on each other's work.
I appreciate this kind of transparency at work. But I can see how it might not be for everyone. Impostor syndrome is real and working out in the open may stress out some people.
So, working out in the open has to be supported by a culture that's safe and not judgmental. People have to be comfortable sharing their work in-progress, or else they won't want others to see it.
In your company, are people open about their work? What are the benefits that you see?
I do this so everyone has access to my work, but also to have back-up copies. If something happens to my local drive, I don't worry about losing work.
These examples are only me working out in the open. But if lots of people in one company did these things, what benefits would they see?
- Find opportunities to collaborate that they wouldn't notice in isolation.
- Identify repeated and redundant work. Then streamline some tasks.
- Gain a better understanding of what people do. Learn from each other and build on each other's work.
I appreciate this kind of transparency at work. But I can see how it might not be for everyone. Impostor syndrome is real and working out in the open may stress out some people.
So, working out in the open has to be supported by a culture that's safe and not judgmental. People have to be comfortable sharing their work in-progress, or else they won't want others to see it.
In your company, are people open about their work? What are the benefits that you see?