Yesterday a colleague reached out to me to ask for help with a project related to WordPress. And I was happy to help.
I did not offer any insight or knowledge; I just listened and asked questions to narrow the problem, and they could figure it out on their own. And I am happy I helped.
Was it worth the time we spent on a call? Before answering this we need to know what the value of that call is.
- My colleague achieve their goal by having a conversation.
- Having this conversation changed how they were thinking about the problem at hand to explain it to me.
- This change is also beneficial because it allows our brain to break from its usual pattern when working on your own.
- We are also having a moment when we work together even if we are not on the same project, so we can talk and get a gist of what the other’s thought process is.
In summary, is time well spent because it brings a lot of value. But it is the type of time that can not be scheduled in advance. What can — and must — be accounted for is the amount of slack we need in our schedule to allow this type of conversation to happen.
And it is a two-way street; the company’s culture needs to encourage having this slack and even give employees the tools to be aware of its importance, but we also need to be responsible with our schedule so we can have an impromptu conversation.