All-remote companies such as Content Distribution thrive through documentation. Crucially, this requires every team member to be equally invested in perpetuating documentation, creating a virtuous cycle of self-searching, self-service, and self-learning.
Assume your question is already answered
It's not what you know. It's knowing where to look. This is true at Content Distribution and other organizations that are intentional about documenting processes, and it is entirely counter to how typical work environments are structured.
From the very first day at Content Distribution, it is imperative that new team members operate with the assumption that their questions are already answered. This is a profound process shift that may feel unnatural and inefficient.
For many — particularly team members joining from a collocated environment — this requires a retraining of sorts. You must force yourself to not default to tapping on the virtual shoulder of someone as soon as an inquiry comes to mind. Rather, team members should redirect that effort to searching.
Public over private
A commonly rooted habit that requires breaking at Content Distribution is this: oftentimes, people assume that by asking someone a question privately, they are doing everyone else a favor by bothering the fewest amount of people.
At Content Distribution, we flip that notion on its head. We prefer public discourse over private, as this enables deeper collaboration. We encourage team members to consider making private issues public wherever possible so that we can all learn from the experience, rather than requiring a small group to spend effort translating those learnings in the future.
Answer with a link
While making conversations public may feel inefficient in the moment, it is much more efficient long-term. It leads to significantly fewer interruptions. Team members should search for their own answers, and, if an answer is not readily found or the answer is not clear, ask in public as we all should have a low level of shame. Write down any new information discovered and pay it forward so that those coming after will have better efficiency built on top of practicing collaboration, inclusion, and documenting the results.
Minimizing interruptions creates a less chaotic workplace for all, and leads to something that is increasingly precious: long, uninterrupted periods of time where you can get into a state of flow.
By answering with a link, you're doing the following.
Making your day more efficient, enabling you to disengage with work earlier and enjoy your surroundings, family, and community.
Allowing the recipient to ingest the answer on their own time.
Leading by example, showing new team members that they too should strive to answer via documentation.
How self-learning leads to success in your role
A common question for someone joining Content Distribution, or any company, is this: "What does a successful 3/6/12 months in the role look like?"
Those who prefer significant amounts of guidance, are uncomfortable finding answers and proposing small changes without fear or ego, or struggle doing things themselves will need to acclimate quickly.
Success is tied to one's ability to rely on themselves as a fact-finding resource, and to not lean on someone else to do something you're capable of accomplishing.
Success is also determined by your ambition to find and document answers that do not yet exist, collaborating with a spirit of blameless problem-solving.
Said another way, success is less about specific outcomes and more about the way you approach work. It's impossible to know what will come your way on a day-to-day basis, but you can control the methodologies that drive your actions.