The habit of initiative entails seeing something that needs to be done and either doing it or figuring out ways to do it. The more you work on initiative, the easier it becomes.
The key is finding ways to be resourceful and taking action or doing something before others do it or before you are told to do it. Examples of initiative include: when you see others struggling reach out and offer help. When you see areas where your life is not going as well as you would like to and you decide to do something about it. Other ways of developing your initiative include learning to ask the right questions, probing questions which can bring to surface negative undercurrents that need to be addressed.
Taking initiative helps to build and strengthen your decision making skills and analytical skills where you get to analyze pros and cons of different courses of action. A person who takes initiative will be a role model to others. You will chart a new path and try out a new way of doing things that could help improve your life and those of others. Taking initiative means going the extra mile or going above and beyond your normal job responsibilities to make things happen.
Taking initiative means the ability to see something that needs to be done and deciding to do it out of your own free will without someone else telling you to do it. Doing something that needs to be done out of your own personal drive with a desire to make things better than they were before or improve processes and ways of doing things.
Doing more than your normal work duties and adding a little unexpected surprise for others at work. Being proactive instead of reactive , thinking ahead and taking action. Developing your initiative begins by knowing what you want to achieve in your career, what things you have to and are willing to do and how fast you want to achieve your career goals. Learn how things work and figure out efficient ways of working. Look for opportunities in problems.
Persevere and be willing to start small. Observe colleagues who are masters at taking initiative. Talk to them, learn from them, work with them, learn their thinking processes and most importantly study how they execute ideas and accomplish goals. Practice speaking up and making your voice heard. You could start by contributing and participating actively in small group meetings then graduate slowly to larger groups. Let people get used to hearing your input.
When you consistently offer good ideas, suggestions or recommendations, your opinions will be sought over time. Learn to be decisive. Become comfortable at making decisions rather than agonizing endlessly over decision making. Think long term. Study how different things are interrelated and connect the dots such as the interplay between individual annual goals and the strategic goals of the company.
Typical ways to demonstrate or show initiative at work include the following: detailed explanations are available below this summary. Begin by doing your actual job exceptionally well and then identify areas where you can contribute over and above your normal tasks. When you have identified specific work-related tasks and projects that you can do, run these by your manager to let them know what you want to work on and reassure them that this will not affect your regular roles.
The next step is to begin working on a few small tasks over and above your normal duties and keep repeating these tasks till you get comfortable doing them and gradually increase the amount of extra work that you are capable of handling. You can also help your manager to handle some of their priorities.
Over time you might end up doing a lot of extra tasks that add value to your team and department and you could even end up being considered for a job promotion.
In a typical work setting, problems occur every now and then. The first step in problem solving is to clearly understand the problem so that you can come up with correct solutions.
Some questions to ponder on during problem solving process include: What is the problem? When did it happen? Why did it happen?
What solutions have we tried before? How can we solve this particular problem? How much time do we have? If the challenge being addressed is big, break it down into smaller pieces and resolve each section at a time. Each time you come up with a solution for a problem then implement the solution and it work outs well, this in-turn helps to strengthen your problem solving skills. Some solutions may work and others might not, on average strive to come up with as many good solutions as possible.
Brainstorming with others similarly helps to identify options and narrow down choices. One way of showing initiative at work is by being a fast learner and training others or explaining things to others. When you attend a professional development training course, you can organize a brown bag lunch to cross-train colleagues who might benefit from the knowledge.
When new staff are hired in your team, you can give them orientation training regarding your department and the company and help them to settle in quickly. Additionally, you can deliver companywide training on areas and skills where you excel in such as delivering training on advanced spreadsheets, how to use databases, budget preparation and management, report writing, presentation skills, closing a sale, fundraising and prospecting, basics of project management etc.
Ways of helping coworkers can include being responsive, helping to clear backlog, assisting in coming up with solutions, helping to explain complicated processes, training them on using new systems and being collaborative in sharing relevant information with team members. Other methods are listening to others view points and opinions, willingness to learn from others, supporting other departments, giving kudos to team members on their accomplishments, participating in office communal and volunteer activities and participating actively in meetings and voicing your thoughts and comments.
Additionally you can act as an accountability partner to check-in, encourage and motivate a colleague who is working on achieving specific goals. Demonstrate willingness to pitch in and help others when they run into challenges. If necessary, be willing to roll up your sleeves and do what it takes to help a colleague meet a critical deadline even when it might call for working a few late nights and weekends.
Aim to provide regular progress updates to both internal stakeholders such as your boss and coworkers on one hand and on the other hand keeping external stakeholders regularly informed as well such as other departments, clients, customers, funders etc. It helps to be on the same page with your boss regarding your priorities. When you are working on your assignments or when you have been assigned tasks by your manager, aim to give them periodic updates on not only what you are doing but also on your progress.
Similarly when collaborating with colleagues on tasks, especially sequential or dependent tasks where one person has to finish their part, in order for the other to start their part, plan to give regular status updates on your progress as well.
One of the great honors in the workplace is being a person that people want to genuinely work with. Building strong working relationships with coworkers goes beyond small talk. It requires genuine effort and takes time to achieve. When you start working in a new organization, introduce yourself to others and learn how different people work and interact with each other.
Make a sincere effort to get to know others by asking respectful questions, learning what they do, inviting them for lunch or a walk and getting to know their interests both at work and outside work. Maintain regular contact with your colleagues.
When nurtured well they could turn into lifelong friends. Furthermore, having strong work bonds and friendships at work can help to increase your morale, job satisfaction and productivity. In any organization, department or team, there are usually some specific activities or tasks that most people shun from doing.
These are typically low priority tasks that when left unattended can turn into major priorities over time. Examples of these kind of activities can include filing, organizing hardcopy and electronic files, scanning, shredding, archiving old documents, cleaning up data including filling-in incomplete information and removing or merging duplicates, spotlessly cleaning the office fridge or microwave, organizing departmental filing cabinets etc.
When you have some downtime at work, you can make an effort to quietly complete one of these kinds of projects. Spread your tentacles across the organization by not only working with your immediate team but also looking for opportunities to work with teams from other departments. This enables you to learn what other teams do, create new working relationships and raise your visibility in the workplace because others will in turn know who you are and what you do.
Other avenues for participating are office social committees that help in planning office activities such as baby showers, annual parties, team lunches, employee appreciation and awards ceremonies, office contests and games, office parties, ice cream socials, happy hours etc. Demonstrate willingness to step in when needed during times when a colleague is unavailable or absent. Ways of assisting include offering support in doing routine tasks or even during emergencies and acting as a backup when a colleague is on vacation then working with your manager on prioritizing tasks.
Additionally, you can extend your help to support colleagues who work remotely and also staff who are out on business travel or in the field. Innovation at work can take the form of coming up with new ways of doing things or improving existing systems and processes.
Ways of developing your innovation skills include the following: questioning the way things are, asking how tasks can be done better, inventing unique solutions to problems, looking at unrelated industries and professions for inspiration, combining unrelated ideas to come up with new methods, asking colleagues for tips, suggestions and ideas and dreaming big and visualizing expected outcomes.
Other ways are looking for people to critique your ideas and offer suggestions for improvement, seeking feedback from customers, observing competitors, analyzing constant complaints to identify patterns, setting high goals that stretch your abilities, reading books and watching video tutorials for inspiration and collaborating with others on improving things.
More ways of honing innovation skills are revisiting failed ideas to see if they are salvageable, seeking coaching and training to expand your thinking, acknowledging failure as part of the process towards innovation, attending industry events, exhibitions and conferences, participating in focus groups and making regular upgrades, edits and changes to services and products.
Despite our best intentions of working harmoniously with colleagues, inevitably conflicts and disagreements occur at work. Unresolved conflict especially over long periods of time can damage work relationships and productivity. Unresolved conflict can manifest itself in different forms such as tension, negativity, backbiting, uncooperativeness, name calling, hostility, nitpicking, silent treatment, unhappiness, arguments and undermining each other.
When you have a misunderstanding with a coworker , take the initiative to work out your differences as quickly as possible. Sometimes you could be the one in the wrong and at other times you could be the aggrieved party.
It pays to acknowledge the problem, privately discuss it, find a middle ground or a resolution, apologize and find ways to move on. You could be surprised by how much knowledge you have to offer especially if you have been in a company for a while. As a mentor you can offer a support system for others, help in on-boarding, answer questions about the company, transfer skills, offer encouragement and help others to grow in their careers.
Benefits of being a mentor consist of developing your leadership and coaching skills such as giving feedback , becoming better at guiding others and communicating well. Mentorship enables you to increase your network within a company and is likewise a good way of giving back to others. A good way of showing initiative is volunteering for leadership roles at work such as leading events or meetings, leading planning sessions and working with different teams and departments.
These types of activities help to develop leadership skills such as public speaking, communication, negotiating, decision making, resource allocation, delegating, motivating others, collaboration, team building, mentoring and providing feedback. It also helps you to assess your areas of weaknesses and proactively work on improving your strengths in these areas.
When you know a person who meets the requirements for an open position within your company, it makes sense to refer them for the job. Benefits of employee referrals to companies include: it helps to save time in the recruiting process and it reduces the level of risk and unknowns because the existing employee vouches for the job applicant.
If the person is hired, you can even act as a mentor to help them find their way around and bring them up to speed on how things work in the organization. When your team or department has a job vacancy, volunteer to help in the initial rounds of interviews to interview future team members. Armed with inside knowledge, you can provide value by assessing candidates who can be a good cultural fit and assist in selecting exceptional candidates. Offer your feedback and opinions to the hiring manager or evaluation team on whether a candidate is a good fit for both the job and the company and your evaluation on whether they can succeed in your organizations work environment.
This opportunity gives you a chance to improve your interviewing and listening skills as well as gaining practice in applying consistent standards or criteria for evaluating all candidates. Begin by offering as many ideas as possible, then help in narrowing down the options, identifying the pros and cons of the top solutions, questioning assumptions, connecting the dots and finally selecting the best alternative.
Improve your brainstorming skills by asking questions such as: What are we trying to achieve? How can we make this better? What else has been done? What do we know? Is there a better way of doing this?
The major benefit of generating and sharing ideas in a group setting is the value addition process that raw ideas are subjected to. You can come up with a basic idea, for example, how to improve a product, then someone else adds another angle or element to the idea and this process is repeated over again.
Ways of being a good team player in the office include communicating clearly, being reliable — someone others can count on, staying committed, being open minded — listening to different opinions without your ego getting in the way and working with others to set and achieve common goals.
Additional ways for becoming a good team player are having fun and a sense of humor, steering clear from gossip, apologizing when you make a mistake, paying attention to body language, being approachable, taking time to learn what others do and networking with colleagues in other departments.
Align your priorities with your supervisor. Make it a habit to have regular check-in meetings with your boss where you update them on the activities that you are planning to work on as well as the ones you have completed.
This makes their work easier when they have to choose among alternatives rather than figuring things out from scratch. Other ways of supporting your manager include finding out their strengths and weaknesses and actively supporting their strengths while helping them to overcome their weaknesses.
For example, if your manager is fond of leading rambling agenda-less meetings, help them to get focused by working with them to prepare draft agendas and help them to follow or stick to the agenda during meetings. It is easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself with others and feeling that your skills and contributions at work fall short. You can take an active role in ending this cycle, especially as a leader or manager, by making it a part of your role to regularly identify and bring out the best in others.
Make a point of letting others know what you think their strengths are. You can even write down their strengths and hand over the document. This kind of exercise can be an eye opener for the other person. It can help to confirm what they are good at and excel in doing. Additionally ask others what they enjoy doing and put them in roles and teams that can best utilize their skills and help them shine.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is helping others to discover their weaknesses and actively work on helping them to improve and excel.
Now you've got those creative juices flowing, keep up that initiative by finding out how thinking like an entrepreneur can help you excel whatever career you end up pursuing.
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What does initiative look like? Why is it important to employers? Do I have initiative? Have you got it? If you don't, you can learn it! How can I get better at using my initiative skills? Skip to content Home Resume How do you show your initiative at work? Ben Davis June 2, How do you show your initiative at work? What else can you do to Take Initiative at Work? How do you answer an initiative question? How do I get more initiative? What is the word for taking initiative?
What is a good initiative? What does great initiative mean? How do you use your initiative? What is a business initiative? What is strategic initiative? What is using your own initiative? How do you teach an employee initiative? What does lacking initiative mean?
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