Eliminate (or at least reduce) single points of failure

It seems safe to assume everyone who leads a team has thought at one point or another, “We can’t afford to lose Team Member X. He/She is the only person who knows how to do/run/operate ABC. No one else can do it.”

What if each function of your team came with a written set of instructions? What if there was a central location, accessible by your whole team, where you kept up-to-date manuals that, if followed, would make it possible for anyone to step in and perform the basic essential functions of each team member?

Granted, you might not be able to write instructions for how to come up with super creative ideas or how to write insightful or funny posts, but you could provide step-by-step instructions for how to post or edit things on the organization’s website, how to edit videos, how to livestream an event, how to send a mass email to your subscribers or how to post something on your organization’s social media channels. Back-up instructions or manuals, can prevent a “single point of failure” from torpedoing your entire team.

While writing instructions isn’t typically a reason to hire a public relations consultant, it is something I’ve been asked to do from time to time. And I’m happy to oblige because, ultimately, it is professional writing that most people don’t have time to do in the course of their workday (my specialty), and because it provides my clients with incredible peace of mind.

Imagine the freedom that would come from knowing your job would continue on while you took a much-needed vacation (albeit, not nearly as wonderfully since, you ARE the BEST, after all) because the those covering for you had reliable and easy-to-follow instructions to guide them in your absence? When was the last time you took time off without logging in to make sure some essential function was performed because “no one else knows how to do this”?

Neither you nor your team members should carry that kind of weight if it can be avoided. How much stress does it cause you to know that you are the only one on your team who knows how to do XYZ? How much stress does it cause your team members to know that if you left for any amount of time, they wouldn’t have anyone who could do XYZ?

While suspicious minds might worry that writing down how they do their jobs could put the need for their positions in jeopardy, in reality, the opposite might be true. Once you put your processes on paper, people might be surprised to see how much you regularly accomplish and you may rise in their esteem and gain even more appreciation.

It bears repeating, there are some functions and roles for which instructions just won’t suffice. A step-by-step guide to craniotomies does not qualify a layman to perform brain surgery. But, for those functions that are easily transferrable, and that just haven’t been transferred for whatever reason, developing back-up instructions can be an essential fail safe, not to mention, a huge relief.

Mandy Minick is the principal and founder of Minick Public Relations, LLC. She is the immediate past chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Education and has 20 years of public relations and entrepreneurial experience. Find Minick Public Relations on LinkedIn.