Just Curious with Ella F. Washington
#002: Navigating challenging professional environments.
Hi everyone! Welcome to a newer section of this newsletter (for now — let’s test it!) that I’m calling “Just Curious.” In this corner of the newsletter, we’ll do a deep dive not into entertainment — *plot twist* — but into topics that permeate our every day lives. You ask, I find the expert to answer! This issue, Ella F. Washington is speaking on how to handle workplace roadblocks. If you don’t want these specific newsletters, you can opt-out here. “In Deep” will return as usual next month! Thanks for hanging as I try new things.
I don’t know how else to put this: everything feels like hell! I’ve been hearing from so many people lately about how the uncertainty being stirred up by this God forsaken administration is impacting their work, which is impacting their mental health. In some ways, workplace hurdles are a tale as old as time. In others, it’s been particularly difficult as of late. But I’m not letting you go it alone!
Dr. Ella F. Washington is an organizational psychologist, workplace culture expert, and author of Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code. (She’s also a professor at Georgetown University … okay, slay). She wants you to not only feel valued at work — but, more importantly, in my opinion — be empowered to thrive.
I emailed her your questions and she’s gotten back to me with invaluable strategies for navigating challenging professional environments — especially for those who are firsts, others, and only’s. But listen closely when I say: if you are reading this and you are not, this is just as much for you to gain a better understanding of how to make your workplace safer, free from bias, and more fair for everyone.
Washington: When navigating different leaders, it is important to apply nuanced approaches of managing up in order to both support and influence leaders to best execute their role. Look for opportunities to be in partnership with your immediate boss to support how they manage up to upper leadership. Additionally, seek to fill gaps you see as a result of the challenges of upper leadership. The areas where they are failing can be opportunities to take initiative and help contribute to the improvement of the company.
Washington: The best way to combat challenges of accountability is to keep a record of experiences and incidents. If you notice lacking accountability in your leader, make a practice of always following up conversations with email summaries and to save emails and communications that are important to key work items. Finally, modeling the behavior you would like to see by taking accountability directly when you are wrong can set the tone for the culture of the team you would like to be a part of. When you practice such behaviors, it can make it easier to call out a manger for not owning their wrong-doings the way others do.
Washington: Micromanaging as a leadership practice often arises from a few issues including lack of trust, leadership pressure, or poor communication pathways. If you can work to address these areas, you may be able to reduce a leader’s propensity to micromanage. For example, over communicate updates and the status of items in order to improve communication between you as well as to build trust with the leader that you are aware of the need for progress and tracking. If your leader is micromanaging because of pressure from the top, open up space for honest conversation on how your work can be adjusted to meet the expectations of senior leadership.
Washington: If you are in a scenario where your company refuses to let you advance, take a few steps to investigate if there are opportunities for you that can be created or creatively imagined. As a first step, explicitly ask leadership to help you understand the reasons. Are there no available roles for promotion or are you missing certain skills or expectations? If the challenge is limited opportunities, consider asking if there are ones you can carve out within your current opportunities. If you feel no change after engaging in proposing creative ideas, it may be time to consider whether seeking an opportunity elsewhere is the best next step.
Washington: When dealing with such a co-worker, the best approach is direct communication. Be mindful of your approach and tone as how you say things have a significant impact. My advice is to start with open questions to the individual to better understand if they are aware of how they are making you feel and why they are making such comments. Ask questions like, “Are you aware that you comment negatively on my contributions most of the time?” And from there see if the person is open to changing their behavior. Make recommendations on how they could communicate with you instead such that you receive feedback that feels helpful and not only negative.
Who’s taking notes? “Ask leadership to help you understand the reasons.” Boop! As always, thanks for being here. And thank you, Dr. Washington, for being the woman you are! See you later this month.
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Hi there! My name is Mia Brabham Nolan and I’m a writer by day at Shondaland.com and by night on the internet, currently living in New York City. I write In Deep with Mia Brabham Nolan, the entertainment, music, and culture Substack newsletter. I’m on Instagram @yourstrulymia. Leave a comment with your thoughts or saying hi and I’ll always respond. Thanks for reading!