Let the Plants Die
“Oh crap, I’m watering the plants,” was how Emily (a young mentee of mine) started our call the other day. She had been listening to Women at Work (a great podcast out of the Harvard Business Review).
The particular podcast was about women and people of color being assigned or volunteering for ‘non-promotable’ work – taking notes, watering office plants, ordering lunch.
And she realized….Oh crap, she was watering the plants.
As she listened to the podcast, she recognized though she was a peer in terms of education and contribution to her team, over time there was an assumption of tasks she would take on. (She was the youngest, and a woman). Her desk was by the door, so people assumed she should receive and send packages, welcome visitors – but mostly, everyone assumed she would water the plants.
This, combined with her lack of progress to more complicated work demoralized her. She talked (maybe ranted a bit) and I listened.
I said, “Emily, you have to let the plants die.” She laughed, and we talked seriously about how to start to turn the tide. We talked about a solution that included two things in a statement – a gentle ‘no’ or delay, and a reinforcement of her work.
If someone asked her to mail a package, she could reply, “I should have some time tomorrow, I need to get this analysis done for the Board.”
If someone asked her to plan the happy hour, she could reply, “I really wish I could, but I have a meeting with the team to solve the crisis from Tuesday.”
If asked why the plants were dying, she could reply, “Oh gosh, feel free to water them, I’ve been heads down on the new interface work.”
With each interaction, she keeps her professional relationships strong, and starts to build a new narrative: she is too busy with critical project work to do non-essential tasks. It’s a way to reinforce who she is on the team – a bright person trusted with executive communications, crisis management, and key emerging work.
She was recently promoted, and yes, plants were harmed in the process.