Last week we put out a call for questions about the November Intercom article by Erin Hallmark and Marla Sowards, “Editors and Designers: 6 Ideas for Better Collaboration.” The article is available to be read (or reread) at the Intercom site for November (don’t forget that you must be logged in to view the PDFs) before reading further for the questions and answers below. The questions were sent to Erin, who brought Marla in on many of them—collaboration at work! Come back next Wednesday, when we’ll have another call for questions to an Intercom article for you!
Your first tip is “Give up your personal preferences and focus on what is best for the reader.” Can you give some pointers on how to differentiate between the two as well as how to determine when they overlap?
Erin: I’ll try to make this answer as succinct as possible since it’s a topic I could talk about for a long time. To be focused on the reader, you have to try and put yourself in their place. Truly engaging in the reader means that you’ve actually made an attempt to find out what the readers want and need, and social media gives you a great venue for soliciting polls, surveys, pictures of product mockups, etc. In my experience, ego is one of the biggest ways to differentiate the two; if you are modest and willing to consider other people’s ideas, you’re on the “reader” end, but if you’re dead set on designing something a certain way because you are the designer and what you say goes, it’s safe to say that you are trapped in a personal bubble. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Don’t be married to the idea,” some people are so passionate about something that they won’t let it go and consider themselves a failure if their ideas are not accepted. True success is collaborating for the greater good. If you are passionate about an idea that you generated without any consultation, you’re probably trapped in personal preference mode.
In my experience, overlapping means that you’ve done your research with your readers and you feel strongly that a decision you have made is the best direction for the end user. That type of passion is perfectly acceptable, especially if you’re arming yourself for a presentation with the boss, who has no idea of your research efforts and just wants to see how you’ve reached your recommendation. Let’s face it—if you aren’t focusing on your readers, you’ll eventually have no audience, and your organization might cease to exist.
I’ve had some experience with your tip #3, “Realize that an error you introduce in a publication can be attributed to someone else.” Oops. What’s the best way to move past that error towards better collaboration?
Erin: The hardest part about moving forward is not to place blame unless it is necessary; you don’t necessarily know if the mistake was intentional. Errors need to be addressed, and the best way that I face it is to take a copy of the publication to all parties involved and explain that you are all working towards the same goal of creating the best publication the world has ever seen. That goal might mean you need to establish approval sign-off sheets, which is the process we use in my current company—it helps locate the perpetrator if there are several infractions. Another good idea is to mandate your editor and designer check every proof as it is completed—even if you have checked a proof merely five minutes earlier. The double-check process will help minimize mistakes, especially inadvertent ones.
Marla: I think an important key in moving past a mistake and toward better collaboration, even if you’re not directly responsible for the mistake, is to make sure you’re doing our part making yourself easy to work with. We can ask ourselves questions such as: Am I hard to track down? Am I unwilling to be flexible and accommodating when my colleagues need my help? When I ask for help, do I take into account my colleagues’ workloads and deadlines?
You suggest learning the basics of the skills of others to better understand where they’re coming from. What’s the best way to do that while avoiding your colleagues thinking you’re trying to “take over” their job—or worse, your superior making you take over that job (such as in a reorg or layoff situation) and overloading you?
Erin: Just because you want to learn about a new career doesn’t mean that you’ll eventually have to do it someday. Please don’t get into that mindset and become afraid to learn something new! Honestly, it is possible you can become familiar with other basic skills without anyone really knowing it. You can find a lot of general information about subjects through web searches; spend five minutes and read about a specific concept that interests you. Perhaps you’re the editor and you wonder why your designer enjoys using a certain tool in Adobe Illustrator—get online and research that tool. It might only take you two minutes to get an understanding about that tool and why it is helpful. Likewise, if you’re the designer and you’re wondering why your editor is always crossing out commas, take a minute to learn a little about commas. You might become enlightened and have an ah-ha moment! Or just take a few minutes and ask your colleague a few questions about their technique; explain you’re just trying to understand their point of view. It never hurts to show interest in other people. At a former job I asked one of our designers so many questions I thought he would be completely annoyed and it would ruin our working relationship, but if anything, we learned to work together much better and more efficiently. Ultimately, it’s all about respect, and do whatever you can to respect others for their skills and talents, and hopefully they will do the same.
I’m a big proponent of your second tip on encouraging everyone to contribute. Do you have any advice for including people who are perhaps wary of this collaborative effort and how to get them to join the group?
Marla: Making the collaborations as painless and simple as possible will help. So will pointing out to them alone and in front of the group that their input, experience, and expertise are highly desired and an indispensable part of a project’s success. And, of course, free food works wonders. If they’re hesitant, try to solicit their input on a one-on-one basis and see if you can gradually sell them on the collaborative process. Visible support from a higher-up in the office can also provide incentive to join the collaboration.
Erin: Along with Marla’s advice, I would recommend incorporating collaboration into as many opportunities as you can so that collaboration becomes commonplace in your office. It’s like learning how to ride a bike—the more you practice at something, the better you’ll be. The same goes with collaboration. Some people are very timid about sharing their ideas or giving feedback in a group setting. Make a stronger effort to let those people know that their advice is valuable. And don’t just say it; genuinely mean it. When you work one-on-one, always give positive feedback as to your interaction, which will help that person develop more confidence, especially if you remember to compliment his or her prior ideas in front of your other colleagues. Ultimately, make sure you are the one encouraging positive interaction and being the team player. There will be people who don’t want to collaborate just because they prefer not to—fixing that type of situation might take a higher company power than you.
Can you give some advice on how to deal with that coworker who, as you put it, “thinks they can write professionally simply because they know how to write”? What’s the best way to start a good collaborative relationship with such a person?
Erin: Before jumping to any conclusions, I try to find out as much background as I can. I used to work with someone who thought he was a great writer; I found out later that he had a former position where he was responsible for most of the writing in the company, even though writing was not his focus. I’m sure that his management team thought his writing was great, and as such, he developed the impression that he had some great skills. If that is the case, it’s going to take some time for them to accept you as the writer and respect you for your abilities, but likewise you need to respect whatever “skills” they have as well. Try to offer positive feedback (although sincere) as much as possible—sometimes it is hard to find something good to say but do your best. Again, do the best you can to develop a good relationship—on the basis of friendship and not just coworkers. You don’t have to take them to lunch or anything, but just be interested in the person’s life and try to get to know them. Eventually defenses will diminish and things will balance out.
Marla: Before you start pointing out flaws in an author’s text, praise the things you liked about their writing. Convince them you’re their ally and are dedicated to making them sound as professional and flawless as possible by hearing them out when they question edits and giving in on the smaller battles. Remember that defensiveness, authoritativeness, and condescension never work in convincing an author to see things the way you do. In my experience, writers resistant to editor involvement soften over time if the editor takes pains to work with, not against, the writer.