When we are busy it is easy to get focused on the task in hand and getting to the desired outcome. It is something I know I do on a regular basis. I have a job to deal with and I can get my head down and work through to a conclusion. I may remember to share some of the details with others in the team but often I get so caught up in my own world I just plough on until completion.
This is clearly not the best way of working. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t even have all the questions. We always get more from what we are doing if we involve others in the discussion and development. But that takes time and in these busy days we may question whether it is time we can afford.
Today I spent a lot of time talking to other people about the work I was involved with. It did mean I had invested time in chatting things through, considering actions, looking at new developments and creating further actions to undertake. It took me away from the activity and delivery which was a luxury, or so I thought. I am sure, however, that we are going to get a better result by involving others.
As communication professionals we can become quite insular, particularly if we are working in-house. Keeping up-to-date with professional developments is a huge challenge with a full-time day job that for most is increasingly demanding. More than that though we can become insular in our own roles. How often do you step outside of your team to share something with the rest of the organisation or with another organisation?
Internal communicators are much better at sharing and involving others and when they do, they get results. For those more focused on external communication it is too easy to deal with the task without considering others. We need to make sure this doesn’t continue to happen.
The saying two heads are better than one is right. We need to afford ourselves the time to involve others, work together and achieve better results.
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