At my first internship ever, I had absolutely nothing to do.
I edited my boss's correspondence and occasionally wrote reports. All my work took me a few hours a week, at most.
First I waited for more things to come. They didn't. Then I started to fill my time my own way. Studied for my GRE exam. Did some of my own writing. Took long coffee breaks.
Then, I got bored. And worried. It was my first internship. I was supposed to figure out what I wanted to do in life. What I wanted to study in my advanced degree. What my talents and passions were. None of that was happening! I was going to get out of there six months later, as confused as when I came in.
So I tried something else. I decided to go around to everyone, including and most importantly my boss's secretary, and ask them one question.
'How can I help?'
Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with work. I was doing everything from posting letters and organizing file cabinets, to sitting in on management meetings of the different departments to take minutes. I would take anything that came my way. I was enthusiastic enough that I didn't care about the drudgery of the work. I was a short-term intern so I didn't care about getting any credit. I was just preoccupied with myself and figuring out what I liked doing, so I would try anything. (Turns out I love shredding paper...it's very therapeutic).
But things turned out even better than I had expected. People stopped seeing me as the extra limb sitting in a corner wasting company resources, and I became somebody they could ask for anything. I was even sent to Portugal to provide support for a Board meeting. And all I had to do was say the four magic words: How can I help?
When you utter these words, the effect is greater than the sum of the words.
It makes people grateful.
When you help people with their workload, without trying to hog credit or make them feel less capable, people are incredibly grateful. When people are grateful they feel indebted to you, they trust you more, they like you more, and life at work becomes much better. Being well-liked can make you happy at work, which makes you more productive at your own work, and a more valuable employee. It can also make you happy at home - which makes you a better parent, spouse, sibling, etc. These words have the capacity to transform your whole life.
Your own productivity will increase.
Your brain is not meant to focus on the same task for hours on end. Giving your brain a break by doing a few other tasks will increase your concentration on your own work. You will probably achieve a lot more in the same amount of time, thus making up for the time you spend helping someone else. Plus, you get all the extra good will for the same amount of time. So if you are ever stuck in one of your own tasks, all the people you have helped in the past will be around to help you get through, and you'll never have to have a 'failed task' on your list again.
You can learn something new.
Taking on another person's tasks gives you the opportunity to try something you haven't before, but are interested in doing, or learning. If you know that having the skills of a copywriter will make you a more valuable asset at work...or basic accounting skills will help you with your own money management...go hang around with people of these departments and pitch in. If people feel you are being helpful, they will even be willing to spend a little time teaching you what they know. It's like getting a free education.
You don't need to take on all sorts of odd jobs. It is, after all, your time and energy, and you must choose carefully where you spend it. So make sure you are doing things that are not too challenging or time-consuming, and that you get enough from your efforts to make it worth your while.
Here are some things you can keep in mind when offering to help:
Can you make the time to help? If you are either going to put undue stress on yourself and end up doing a worse job at your own tasks this would be a very bad idea. If you were going to take on a task for somebody and then have to let them down, that would not bode very well, either. So don't offer if you're already slammed. Prioritize your time carefully, or wait till you have a little down time.
Can you do it wholeheartedly? Is this work something you either have aptitude for, or interest in? Doing an aadha-adhura job is worse than doing no job at all. If you're going to help you have to do it with your whole heart, and do whatever it takes to make it happen. If you're offering to help the guy from communications redesign the company newsletter, you simply cannot come back to him 5 minutes before his deadline and say 'Arre yaar I spilled coffee on the computer/the file wouldn't open/I have amnesia/ any other creative excuse.' He, and everyone else who hears the story in the canteen at lunch, will forever hate you.
Are you doing it for the right reasons? The key to the success of the 'How Can I Help' method is having the right motivation. You might want to win goodwill, you might want to get free tutoring, you might want to become a more valuable employee...but you can never use this to undercut a colleague. If you are seen as hogging credit for yourself, or discrediting someone else, all the goodwill you garner will immediately transform into office-wide resentment, which will probably also give you severe acidity.
The rewards of general helpfulness in the workplace are ample - office popularity, increased productivity, learning new valuable skills...but there's an even shinier pot of gold this leads to.
With all of these new powers working for you, you are a more valuable employee for your firm. Even if you are not trying to flaunt these aspects of your work, somebody up there is going to notice all the great improvements in your work and morale. Your increased value will be recognized - promotions, raises, and better opportunities could be yours.
And this is still just a hint of its possibilities. Making helpfulness a habit (and yes, it is a habit not a character trait, and it comes with practice like any other habit) can truly transform your life. Through these interactions, you will understand people better and they will turn to you not just for help, but also advice, comfort, and guidance... this is how leaders are born.
Mark Ford says, 'I just want to help as many people become rich as I can.' So he freely shares what he knows and in return he lives a remarkable life filled with the love and respect of thousands.
So display this same generosity of spirit in all aspects of your life, and watch these ordinary words make your life extraordinary.
Anisa Virji is the Managing Editor of Common Sense Living and Wealth Builders Club India, and authors the Common Sense Living Letters. To write to Anisa, please click here. |
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