It started on your first week. Could someone take notes? Silence, so you did, and people said they were the best notes the team had seen. Six months later nobody asks any more. They just look at you, and you open the document. You are also the one who books the rooms, organises the leaving cards and reminds everyone about the retro. You do not mind exactly. But you have noticed that while you are writing down what others say, you rarely say much yourself.
That is the real cost. The person taking notes is listening for everyone else's ideas, not developing their own. It is hard to argue for a design while you are typing someone else's argument. Over time the team starts to see you as organised and helpful, which is lovely, rather than as the person with the technical view, which is what you need for your career.
You are allowed to change this, and it does not make you difficult. Doing a useful job for a while does not mean you have agreed to do it forever.
The easiest way is to make it shared. Suggest a rota at the next meeting, plainly and with a smile. I have enjoyed doing the notes, and I think it would be good for everyone to take a turn. Shall we rotate it weekly? Put the rota where people can see it. Most teams agree immediately, often slightly embarrassed that nobody suggested it sooner.
If someone still looks at you when it is not your week, it is fine to say, I think it is Sam's turn today. You do not need to explain or apologise. A short, friendly sentence is enough.
Then use the time you get back. Come to the next design discussion with one opinion prepared, and say it before you start worrying whether it is good enough.
You may find this uncomfortable. Being useful in a quiet way can feel safer than being visible. But quiet usefulness is easy to overlook. Your thinking is part of what you were hired for, and it deserves a place in the meeting.
– Asael Shinder
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