Taking Initiative... The Options are Endless
"Taking the initiative" can mean many things--tapping inner
creativity, tackling a persistent problem, capitalizing on
opportunities, or creating ways to improve customer services
or current work environment. By taking initiative in any of these
ways, employees can elevate their visibility in the organization
and greatly enhance their chances for recognition, learning,
advancement, pay raises and bonuses, as well as have a more
meaningful and exciting time at work.
Here are some ways any employee can take greater initiative in his
or her job, voiced in a way that you could give directly to your
employees or managers. It's one thing to tell your employees to take
greater initiative, but another to provide them with easy and clear
ways to do it.
Ways To Take More Initiative In Your Job
Thinking Outside the Box: Innovation--thinking outside the box--
is the spark that keeps organizations moving ever onward and upward.
To think outside the box, look for new combinations, ask "what if"
or develop "what-if" scenarios, consider approaches you've never
considered before, brainstorm with others, and be a champion of new ideas.
Doing Your Homework: Preparation is often the key to success in any
endeavor. You will be more successful in convincing others that what
you believe is the right thing, if you are armed and ready with the
facts. Taking the initiative to do your homework means doing the
basic research necessary to back up your claims, such as obtaining
necessary information, determining costs and benefits, making
calculations, and/or gaining buy-in from others who will be affected.
Taking Action--Capitalizing on Opportunities: Taking action can
often be a scary proposition. It would be much easier to wait for
your boss to make the decision and take the responsibility to tell
you what to do and when to do it. However, progressive companies
realize that they need employees at all levels who are willing and
encouraged to take chances and to make decisions--and be willing to
take responsibility for their actions.
Making Improvements: One of the easiest--and most effective--
ways for employees to take initiative is to be on the lookout for
ways to improve the work processes, products, services, and systems
that are a vital part of how the organization does its business.
In fact, the closer you are to an organization's actual product, the
greater the chance is that you have more daily contact with its real
business--its customers, clients, products, and services--than do
those who are higher up the ladder.
Perseverance and Persistence: Employees who excel at taking
initiative usually must also persist in the support of the ideas
and actions in which they believe. This type of initiative can,
at times, include overcoming the resistance of higher-ups or of
entrenched policies and systems that work to ensure the maintenance
of the status quo. It often takes a certain degree of courage to
take initiative in the first place. But to persist--even over the
objections of your manager or others--takes even more commitment and
courage.
Taking initiative can be as simple as asking "what if." So, the next
time you're doing a routine task, remember that it's the person who
does the job who is in the best position to know how to do the job
better--whether this improvement means identifying new ways to cut
costs, how to make improvements to the way products are developed
in your company, how a process might be streamlined, or how to enhance
the level of services your customer receives.
"Taking the initiative" can mean many things--tapping inner
creativity, tackling a persistent problem, capitalizing on
opportunities, or creating ways to improve customer services
or current work environment. By taking initiative in any of these
ways, employees can elevate their visibility in the organization
and greatly enhance their chances for recognition, learning,
advancement, pay raises and bonuses, as well as have a more
meaningful and exciting time at work.
Here are some ways any employee can take greater initiative in his
or her job, voiced in a way that you could give directly to your
employees or managers. It's one thing to tell your employees to take
greater initiative, but another to provide them with easy and clear
ways to do it.
Ways To Take More Initiative In Your Job
Thinking Outside the Box: Innovation--thinking outside the box--
is the spark that keeps organizations moving ever onward and upward.
To think outside the box, look for new combinations, ask "what if"
or develop "what-if" scenarios, consider approaches you've never
considered before, brainstorm with others, and be a champion of new ideas.
Doing Your Homework: Preparation is often the key to success in any
endeavor. You will be more successful in convincing others that what
you believe is the right thing, if you are armed and ready with the
facts. Taking the initiative to do your homework means doing the
basic research necessary to back up your claims, such as obtaining
necessary information, determining costs and benefits, making
calculations, and/or gaining buy-in from others who will be affected.
Taking Action--Capitalizing on Opportunities: Taking action can
often be a scary proposition. It would be much easier to wait for
your boss to make the decision and take the responsibility to tell
you what to do and when to do it. However, progressive companies
realize that they need employees at all levels who are willing and
encouraged to take chances and to make decisions--and be willing to
take responsibility for their actions.
Making Improvements: One of the easiest--and most effective--
ways for employees to take initiative is to be on the lookout for
ways to improve the work processes, products, services, and systems
that are a vital part of how the organization does its business.
In fact, the closer you are to an organization's actual product, the
greater the chance is that you have more daily contact with its real
business--its customers, clients, products, and services--than do
those who are higher up the ladder.
Perseverance and Persistence: Employees who excel at taking
initiative usually must also persist in the support of the ideas
and actions in which they believe. This type of initiative can,
at times, include overcoming the resistance of higher-ups or of
entrenched policies and systems that work to ensure the maintenance
of the status quo. It often takes a certain degree of courage to
take initiative in the first place. But to persist--even over the
objections of your manager or others--takes even more commitment and
courage.
Taking initiative can be as simple as asking "what if." So, the next
time you're doing a routine task, remember that it's the person who
does the job who is in the best position to know how to do the job
better--whether this improvement means identifying new ways to cut
costs, how to make improvements to the way products are developed
in your company, how a process might be streamlined, or how to enhance
the level of services your customer receives.