Stop forwarding problems - Start adding value
Every day at work, we’re surrounded by opportunities to make life easier for the people around us. Emails, meetings, handovers, quick chats in the hallway — they’re all moments where you can either move the business forward or unintentionally slow it down.
There’s one principle that separates high performers from everyone else: Always Add Value.
I’ve lost count of how many emails I’ve received that contain nothing but “FYI” or “Over to you!”. It’s the corporate version of a hot potato — flicking something out of your inbox as quickly as possible and hoping someone else deals with it. It delays progress, frustrates the recipient, and signals that you didn’t take the extra minute to help.
Let’s be clear:
Never send an email with only the letters F.Y.I.
Why? Because if you’ve already spent time reading the thread, understanding the context, and realising someone else is better placed to respond, then simply forwarding it forces them to repeat the exact same work. Instead, imagine sending something like:
“This came from XXXX — they need your input on YYY. If you can get back to them by ZZZ, that would help. I checked the customer history and they purchased last quarter — here’s the link.”
How much faster could they act? How much more would they appreciate you? And how much more competent do you look for taking two extra minutes to summarise the situation?
Adding value isn’t limited to email. You can do it walking out of a meeting while a colleague is walking in — “The room’s a bit tense, focus on X and you’ll be fine.” That kind of support compounds. People remember who makes their life easier.
Now, you might be thinking: “I barely have time for my own emails, let alone adding value to someone else’s.”
Two thoughts:
We’ll be diving into workflow techniques soon (Getting Things Done by David Allen has shaped a lot of how I operate).
It genuinely doesn’t take much. Two minutes of thinking and one minute of typing can save someone else twenty minutes of rework. That’s a massive return on effort.
And here’s the kicker: when you consistently add value, people start doing the same for you. What goes around really does come around.
Next Steps
Scan your inbox for anything that should be handled by someone else.
Before forwarding it, add context, clarity, and anything that will help them act quickly.
Then set a reminder to follow up. Once you’ve delegated it, you still need to TOFU — Take Ownership, Follow-Up.
Checking in after three days ensures the work gets done and reinforces that you’re someone who keeps an eye on outcomes, not just tasks.
This is how you build a reputation for being thoughtful, reliable, and genuinely helpful — the traits people associate with leaders.