Janzer - The Workplace Writers Process

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What would happen to your career if you did more writing, creating content that consistently fulfills its objectives? What if you could complete this work efficiently, without doing less of the other projects you are paid to do? Would you become more valuable in your organization and visible in the world beyond?

Your professional, online identity is clothed in written words. The quality and quantity of those words exert a direct and powerful influence on your career. You owe it to yourself to figure out how to become more effective as a writer in the workplace.

You may not consider yourself a writer. One friend of mine with an engineering background has worked as a technical writer for many years. She tells me, Im not a writer writer.

If writing is any part of your job and you are paid to put thoughts into words, youre a writer. Maybe you draft plans or proposals for your team. You might create operational documents for regulators or partners, or content for customers, prospects, the media, or investors.

If writing effectiveness contributes to your job performance, you are a writer.

The more important question is this: What kind of writer are you?

The typical office is filled with people writing emails, project plans, reports, assessments, etc. Despite the variety of work, at a high level everyone is doing something similar: assembling thoughts into written form to share with others.

People approach writing tasks with varying mindsets.

• Inadvertent writers create written works as a by-product of their jobs, but do not pay much attention to the process. As a result, their projects sometimes go astray. They may resent the time that writing takes away from other responsibilities.
• Unproductive writers want to write, but cannot find the time to start projects or to finish them to their satisfaction. Writing ends up at the bottom of their to-do lists.
• Aspirational writers wait for the perfect time to start writing. Its always just around the corner.
• Reluctant writers dont feel comfortable in the role. In meetings, reluctant writers shrink down and avoid eye contact when someone asks for a blog post, hoping to remain unnoticed.
• Frustrated writers struggle getting their projects through to completion, or feel that nobody values or uses the content they create.
• Overburdened writers take on all the writing-related tasks for their teams. They become indispensable in this role, unable to free themselves to do other work.

Do any of these types sound familiar? You may have filled one or more of those roles in the course of your career so far.

Theres one more model to consider: the successful, valued writer. These individuals contribute meaningful content to the business. They leave a trail of completed work, balancing the writing with other responsibilities, and are recognized for their ability to get the job done. Their projects sail through approvals. Others want to collaborate with them.

Successful, valued writers dont always fit our preconceptions of what a writer looks like. They may not have majored in English or writing in college. Perhaps they work as engineers, scientists, project managers, or financial analysts. Writing is another skill that increases their worth in the workplace.

Where do you fit in this field guide to workplace writers?

• Are you a reluctant writer? Consider increasing your visibility and value by stepping up and taking on writing tasks.
• Are you a frustrated or overburdened writer? Learn how to complete more projects with less time and effort.
• Are you an aspiring writer? Learn how to plan and scope your projects, and then get started.

You can learn the practices of successful, valued writers, and the best time to start is now.

Whether your work reaches an internal audience or travels beyond the business, the quality of your writing affects your career trajectory. Increasing the volume and quality of your output can benefit your career in many ways:

Amplify your efforts: When asked to answer a customer question, you might pick up the phone or send them a quick email. Most people stop there. But successful writers consider packaging the response in a blog post and reaching hundreds or thousands of people who have the same question. Repurposing that blog post into different forms extends your reach further.