have a joke in my corporate stand-up comedy:
I once asked a colleague for the presentation he shared in a call yesterday, and his response was, «Let’s jump on another call and discuss.»
The sad part is that this joke is no longer just a joke; it has become a reality.
One of our company’s best leaders recently (ironically in a meeting) said with a mix of sadness and relief that she has reached her maximum time capacity and can’t handle any more meetings.
Asynchronous communication has become an art that is necessary to master to maintain one’s sanity.
Here are some basic guidelines on when to use what communication channel:
Meetings should be used for:
- Big decisions that require alignment among multiple people.
- Agreeing on an action plan.
- Mitigation plans and activities that are off-track.
- Conversations about people (feedback, talent reviews, promotions, etc.).
- Giving feedback.
Emails should be used for:
- Requests to share documentation.
- Follow-ups on assigned tasks.
- Project status updates.
- Work digests.
- Heads-ups.
Instant messaging (IM) should be used for:
- Requesting links to documents.
- Asking if someone will be in the office tomorrow.
- Inquiring about the next bank holiday.
- Requesting office supplies.
- Asking when someone will be back from vacation.
- Quickly solving a problem (although be careful, as these could be emails too).
Recovering our time is essential to make corporate work fun again.
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