Taking Initiative at work

It is absolutely critical you continue to demonstrate your value to your employer, clients, and colleagues on a daily basis. Showing initiative is a must-do in demonstrating your value at work. But what does taking intiative means

Researchers Michael Frese and Doris Fay define initiative as “work behavior characterized by its self-starting nature, its proactive approach, and by being persistent in overcoming difficulties that arise in pursuit of a goal.”

When you show initiative, you do things without being told; you find out what you need to know; you keep going when things get tough; and you spot and take advantage of opportunities that others pass by. You act, instead of reacting, at work.

So how can we develop the habbit of taking intitative at work. I think this story of 4 employees will make it clear.

Employee “A” in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day? The manager took “A” to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank. “A” completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said “GOOD JOB”

Next day Employee “B” reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also. The Employee “B’ before starting the task saw Employee “C” struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized “C” has the same task. Now “B” not only crossed the river but also helped “C” to cross the river. “B” reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said “VERY GOOD JOB”

The following day Employee “Q” reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. Employee “Q” before starting the work did some home work and realized “A”, “B” & “C” all has done this task before. He met them and understood how they performed. He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task.

He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task efficiently and effortlessly. Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training material. The manger said “Q” you have done an “EXCELLENT JOB”.

The following day Employee “O’ reported to the manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. “O” studied the procedure written down by “Q” and sat and thought about the whole task. He realized company is spending lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, “You no longer need to assign this task to any one”. The manager smiled and said “Outstanding job ‘O’. I am very proud of you.”

What is the difference between A, B, Q and O?

If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated “INITIATIVE” characteristic in varrying degree with O achiveving the highest

Conclusion

Initiative pays of everywhere whether at work or at personal life. If you have initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year’s achievement is next year’s task.