You have been neck-deep in office work since morning. You have not even had lunch. You have been answering endless messages and helping a colleague improve a presentation. Suddenly, your manager wants to know, “What’s the update?”
That can feel irritating, especially in your first job, when you are trying hard to prove your mettle. Haven’t they seen what you have been doing since morning? Well, your manager may have seen you working, but they do not know which tasks have been completed. Neither do they know if anything is stuck pending their approval or if you are still struggling with something.
Making that clear is part of your work too. It does not mean you praise yourself in every meeting or send copies of every email to senior colleagues. You can mutually agree on a set interval at which you send clear, short updates on what has been finished, what you are doing next and what requires someone else’s decision.
Instead of just saying, “Worked on the presentation,” it is always better to clarify: “The presentation is complete. I need your approval on these things before sending it.” This leaves no ambiguity about what has been done and what is pending.
Making things clear upfront can help immensely when several colleagues instruct you to complete urgent tasks. Accepting everything quietly and desperately trying to manage later is a bad idea. Instead, put the onus on the colleagues to decide. Tell them, “I have these two assignments to complete today. Which one should I finish first?”
This not only makes your position clear, but it also helps your manager prioritise tasks before things get out of hand. On the other hand, managers must also be responsible enough to answer questions, clear doubts and acknowledge completed tasks. Unread and unanswered reports become just an additional task that does not help anyone.
Receiving credit need not require a publicity campaign on your part. Making your contribution easy to understand is enough. So, before EOD, ask yourself: Have I made it clear where my work stands today?