Earn the Right to Challenge Directly

There are a lot of resources and influencers out there speaking about the benefits of speaking candidly in the workplace. I think this is important but it’s a privilege that is earned. Let’s consider the two following situations:

1. A new team member who has just started challenges another team member about the type of work they are doing and says it seems like a poor use of time.
2. A team member who has spent months working with another team member, really understanding their pain points and supporting them over time. They notice the team member is spending time on things that are inefficient - they pull them aside, explain what they are noticing and offer solutions on how to automate those tasks so they can focus on more high priority tasks.

In situation (2) the team member is more likely to be receptive as they feel that the person is coming from a good place. Often it’s the intent or the ‘feeling’ that someone really understands you before they comment that makes the difference.