We keep coming back to the knowledge lifecycle: production → translation → delivery → engagement → application → feedback.
And the real engagement and feedback (and friction along the way) we write about so often aren’t just about how content, knowledge, expertise move through their production cycle and “land” with an audience.
It is also how you land with your own work, because silence, ignoring someone else’s mistake, polite praise for something that doesn’t deserve it, agreeing with something you shouldn’t agree with — that’s friction and feedback pulled out of the process.
Be a pain in the ass!
Be a pain in the ass — otherwise, what’s the point of any of this? Don’t be a jerk, don’t be rude, but be honest with yourself, your colleagues, and your profession.
If you see something that’s obviously broken or done wrong, you can just stay quiet in the project meeting.
Will you keep things pleasant? — 100%, yes.
Will you dodge the conflict? — For sure.
Will the work you’re actually doing get any better because of it? — Not so sure…
Will it betray your own expertise? — Yes!
Because everything you let slide becomes your team’s mistake first. And then, as the going-along-with-it keeps repeating, it becomes the new normal.
I believe that nothing grows that isn’t challenged.
What does this mean?
1. Ask questions and call out the obvious
A question can’t insult anyone.
“How did you get these numbers?”
“What’s the basis for planning €X on ads in social media?”
“How are you measuring the campaign’s effectiveness?”
”What is the purpose of our newsletter?”
“Why did we go with this exact solution?”
“Who’s going to be responsible for…?”
“Why?”
“How?”
“When?”
Asking a question means dragging the forgotten, the unspoken, the unresolved out into the light. Good decisions aren’t afraid of questions.
2. Offer an alternative
You’re not always obligated to offer one. Whoever insists “Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions” is just afraid of questions. Sometimes you don’t have a solution on hand, but the problem is obvious anyway.
But if you can, you should offer one.
3. Speak up, even if no one asked
Waiting to be asked? Too convenient for everyone.
It’s avoidance dressed up as tact.
If you spot an iceberg ahead, but nobody asked you about icebergs (you’re not even responsible for the iceberg-searching process!), you’d still say something to the actual lookout, wouldn’t you?!
4. Offer help, if you can
Asking questions and offering alternatives isn’t the whole job. Pointing out a problem and walking away is just criticism.
A real “pain in the ass” doesn’t just expose the problem. They We offer help and try to stay engaged until it’s solved.
5. Be ready to answer
Be ready for the fact that this time, the pain in the ass isn’t you. Treat questions about your work as an invitation to reflect, not an attack. Stay open to dialogue, to explaining yourself, to being challenged.
To be or not to be
To be or not to be a pain in the ass?
That’s a question of engagement. It comes down to how much you actually care whether the shared work turns out well or not.
Silence here isn’t a neutral position. It’s a way to stay in the game while quitting playing it.
It’s also a question of respect.
Respect for yourself, because staying silent once you’ve seen the problem means agreeing to be the one who knew and said nothing. Agreeing to be complicit in a bad decision.
Respect for your colleagues, because real respect isn’t shielding people from uncomfortable questions. It’s trusting them to be adult enough to hear those questions, talk them through, and make things better.
And it’s also a question of honesty with yourself. Are you ready to answer questions, to be challenged, to face honest skepticism from your colleagues.. from some other pain in the ass.
Because real engagement is always a two-way street.
And because, once again, nothing grows that isn’t challenged.
I write about comms and engagement for expert institutions and knowledge-driven organizations. How to build not just the production of new knowledge, but the technical and project infrastructure around it. So the process of producing new knowledge doesn’t end with a published report and three social media posts, but continues: reaching new audiences and becoming more accessible and applicable.
Thanks for reading!
See you next week!
Best,
Danil | Make It Work
Rule #3 is the one that gets you into trouble. It's so much easier to just let the other department drive off the cliff when nobody asked for your map.