Be Easy to Work With: It Holds Up

A few years ago, I summarized a recent four-post series with pointers on how to “be easy to work with.” You can read it here, with links to all four in the series. The overall implication was that being easy to work with is a good thing, and I still feel that way.

I would add two thoughts to this post.

1) Being your own source of accountability works well. As much as possible, never wait to be urged on a task that you’ve taken on or that has been assigned to you. Report on its completion without being asked. This is a big part of being easy to work with.

2) Don’t let your goal of being “easy” interfere with self-advocacy and asserting your needs.

I know someone who was so easy to work with that over time, she was taken advantage of. This became such a common practice for her that even when she was being treated unfairly, she was more likely to say “Well, I don’t want to be a pain” than “It’s time for me to ask for what I need”. 

As leaders, you have an opportunity to coach people to be easy to work with. Be specific about what that means, be easy to work with yourself, and watch for people who might need coaching on self-advocacy.

With those additional thoughts in mind, I think this one holds up.