Quick Fixes: How to level up, job craft, and manage colleagues you can’t stand
Feb 24, 2025
auto_awesome
Navigate tricky work dilemmas in under 20 minutes! Explore strategies for elevating a small business while balancing customer needs. Discover how to approach role changes and reshape job design for satisfaction. Learn essential leadership mindsets to tackle difficult colleagues and foster positive relationships. This episode is packed with actionable tips for transforming workplace challenges into growth opportunities!
Entrepreneurs should balance increasing service volume and expanding offerings, while actively engaging clients to identify value without sacrificing profitability.
Employees can enhance job satisfaction and productivity by effectively communicating role redesign benefits to managers, creating a win-win scenario for the organization.
Deep dives
Growing a Small Business: Strategies for Scale
When looking to grow a small business, entrepreneurs must choose between increasing their volume of services for more clients or expanding their offerings for existing customers. For a concierge fitness company, scaling through volume is often more straightforward and profitable, though this may not always be feasible. The key is to identify what additional value can be provided without losing sight of profitability. Small businesses can strengthen their approach by actively engaging with their clients to understand their needs and expectations, allowing for informed decisions that benefit both the client and the business.
Redesigning Job Roles for Satisfaction
Navigating conversations around job design can significantly influence workplace satisfaction and productivity. Employees seeking to separate their role into two positions need to effectively communicate benefits not just for themselves, but also for their managers and the company. Presenting a win-win scenario, where the organization can achieve greater productivity through more focused roles, is crucial. Additionally, understanding that one can enhance job satisfaction by redesigning tasks and responsibilities may empower employees to craft their jobs around their strengths while meeting the organization's needs.
Returning to Previous Workplaces with a Fresh Perspective
Considering a return to a past workplace can be daunting, particularly when previous experiences were challenging due to difficult colleagues. There's an opportunity for personal growth by approaching the situation with a new mindset, focusing on leadership and the potential effects on former team members. Recognizing that leadership can shift the dynamics within the team is vital, and assessing whether one can foster a productive environment is necessary before accepting a position. Ultimately, engaging in conversations about potential challenges beforehand may help clarify whether the return is a beneficial move.
In this Quick Fixes episode, Anne and Frances work to solve three different callers’ tricky work problems in under 20 minutes. One listener searches for the best way to level up his small business, the next plans to approach their manager about a dramatic role change, and a final caller is interviewing for a new leadership position that would require him to manage problematic colleagues.
What problems are you dealing with at work? Text or call 234-FIXABLE or email fixable@ted.com to be featured on the show.
You can find transcripts for Fixable at ted.com/podcasts/fixable-transcripts