Why Documentation Is the Key to Success

Bumps on the Path of Leadership

One of your roles as a leader is to enable your team members to become more productive. You’re no longer just an addition to the team; rather you’re now a multiplier. Now the question is: as a single person, how can you do that? There are ample ways to do that, and I’d like to focus on documentation. Our company had documentation as part of the culture, but it was a bit scattered around, we had to put things where they belong.

How to Make Documentation Coherent

While delegation, empowerment, hiring newbies, removing unnecessary processes, and getting roadblocks out of the way can all be an integral part of it, what’s worked wonderfully for us is documenting every step of the way. New people joining the team would immediately have access to the documentation, and they’d know about the work culture and processes from it.

It’s no surprise that instead of repeating yourself to the new hires, it’s a better idea to refer them back to the documentation. It also gave people the opportunity to challenge these kinds of things when they are out in the open. In this way, other teams would also adopt it, making documentation a part of the company culture.

For instance, instead of having a separate interview questionnaire for every team, it could be done company-wide, which would generalize the process. All of the above helps you become the multiplier because no one else has to think about it anymore. Everyone can depend on you, while you can bring the best out in your people.

The Outcome: We had increased transparency in the team, along with increased collaboration. When a team is productive, other teams would also want to keep pace with them, and thus, they’d want to follow what we’ve been doing. In essence, we all were learning from each other, which brought in the learning culture.

Key Takeaways

• Make it a habit to check if the documentation is all up to date. There will always be room for improvement, clarification, and simplification. It would also help you stay afloat of the information.