When someone from another department asks you for a file or an update, avoid just doing the bare minimum to get the task off your plate. Instead, ask yourself: “How can I deliver this in a way that makes their next step easier?” This might mean adding a one-sentence summary of the data or formatting a sheet so it’s ready for their meeting.
Thinking about the needs of others builds your reputation as a leader. As you move up, your success depends on your ability to work across different departments and get people to cooperate with your vision.
It’s a good look to be known as the person who makes everyone else’s job easier. This perspective is also an effective way to handle office politics without any drama. When you focus on being a helper to your peers, you build a massive amount of professional goodwill. People are naturally more likely to support your projects and advocate for your career growth if you have a track record of being reliable and helpful. Beyond being “nice”, this is a strategic way to network with your team from your own desk.
Put these approaches into practice.
Let’s look at practical ways to deliver your work in a way that makes the recipient’s next step easier to keep you in mind in the future.
“There was a lot of tension between the Tech and Design teams. I decided to stay out of the complaints and just focus on being the most helpful person in the room. When I needed a huge favor for a last-minute launch, both teams jumped in to help me specifically because I had a track record of being reliable and drama-free.”
DON’T engage in office politics or drama to get ahead, which often backfires and damages your reputation.
DO focus on being a helper to your peers to build professional goodwill that naturally leads to project support and career advocacy.
I used to send raw data files to our Marketing lead and assume my job was done. After realizing she had to spend an hour cleaning my data for her reports, I started spending five minutes formatting it to match her template. She was so impressed by the clean handoff that she personally recommended me for a high-visibility committee.”
DON’T do the bare minimum to get a request off your plate as quickly as possible.
DO ask yourself, “How can I deliver this in a way that makes their next step easier?”
“I had to send weekly inventory updates to the Sales team. Instead of just attaching the sheet, I started adding a bullet point: ‘Heads up—item X is running low, but item Y has plenty of stock for your pitches.’ The Sales team started viewing me as a strategic partner who helped them sell better.”
DON’T send files or updates without context, forcing the recipient to figure out the "what" and "why" on their own.
DO add a one-sentence summary or a brief that highlights the most relevant information for their specific needs.
“I’m an introvert and hate traditional networking events. I realized I could build my network just by being excellent to work with. By helping the HR team streamline a report they were struggling with, I made a connection with the HR Director. When a role opened up in another department, she was the one who reached out to tell me I should apply.”
DON’T assume that networking only happens at happy hours or formal events.
DO use your daily work interactions as a strategic way to network by proving your reliability and value to people outside your immediate team.
“I worked in Compliance, which most people saw as the ‘No’ department. I started framing my requests to the Product team not as rules, but as ways to ensure our launch is successful and safe. By showing I cared about their vision, they stopped avoiding my emails and started inviting me to their brainstorming sessions.”
DON’T work in a silo, ignoring how your specific tasks impact the broader company vision.
DO deliver work that demonstrates you understand how your department protects or enables the goals of others.
The next time a teammate asks you for something, what’s one extra small touch you can add to your response to save them five minutes of work?
Integrate these professional strategies into your workflow—whether you’re refining your own work or mentoring your team or clients.