Taking Initiative
Submitted by whiskerybeast on Mon, 11/05/2007 - 18:28.
Recently I asked for some feedback from one of my bosses. I had only been at the job a short time, and wanted some constructive critism to keep on top of things. One of the things that he suggested that I work on was taking initiative. Can someone give examples of exactly what this means?
Taking the Initiative
I question myself a lot over this. I can be prone to sit back and wait for others to prod me.
I had a good example of this only this afternoon. My company is building a new product for a major corporation in the media world. It is going very well and, when it is completed early next year, will not only be a first-of-its-kind but will also give us the kudos that, as a young company, we have previously lacked.
As a consequence, other organisations are beginning to come to us. However, perhaps the best opportunity we have is version 2 of the current product.
The customer is yet to be convinced of this however. To be fair, they may be waiting until early next year when the current product is proven. However, in the meantime there is the opportunity to sell the concept further into them by taking a proactive stance to promulgate our point of view.
My boss e-mailed me this afternoon asking if I could do some research into the area which our product fits and which is expanding rapidly. The idea is that we will then present a paper to our customer outlining why they should proceed to next stages and a strategy for realising it.
I could have thought of this! It is an opportunity and something I should have picked up on.
Because of my Asperger, I do have a tendency to sit back when I am in a routine - or comfort zone - and not think laterally about how I can push things forward. In other words, I can be mentally lazy!
My suggestion would be to identify some issues which you know are important to your company and, maybe, your boss. How do the problems manifest themselves as a result and what are the potential answers.
Then gradually, put your thoughts down and start to formulate some solutions.
Don't forget you can ask/bounce things off other colleagues also; particularly trustworthy ones if you are unsure of anything.
I might be wrong but, from
I might be wrong but, from what I gather.. "using initiative" to over simplify, means to figure it out yourself.
As I said, I'm hardly an expert =p
Re: I might be wrong but, from
I don't think you're wrong when you say basically "using (or taking) initiative" means to figure it out yourself. I can agree with this. Also I would say taking initiative means just jump in there and do it without anyone telling you to do it. Meaning to do something and continue doing it without people telling you to keep doing. Plus I would say it also means when you notice something else needs to be done just get it and do it!
I try to be initiative in my life and in work but sometimes I have trouble with this too.
Well Yeah..
In essence, I believe "using your initiative" is just..having a mind of your own, something any decent Manager would like, to a degree. Ok I don't expect you to pull a Mark Corrigan and start telling him how to run HIS Business, but you know..a mind that's allowed to do as it pleases is never unfocused :P
I asked for clarification
I asked for clarification later with this boss, and he basically summed what you guys have said (Sorry Malcolm). That I should try to figure out solutions on my own instead of waiting for another to point out the next step, and that I should make a better effort to see things in general that need to be done and then do them. Of course, there is a limit to what kinds of things I can do, as pointed out above, you don't want to overstep your boundaries, or it may seem you are trying to one-up your boss.
I agree with all those above
I agree with all those above posts about taking initiative but would like to add one thing. Being able to take initiative comes from experience as well. When i was a party chief i never expected a green(new) survey assistant to be able to take initiative, they don't have the necessary experience, their still settling into their job and trying to get a understanding of what their job duties and responsibilities are.
If i ended up with a survey assistant who has 6 months or more experience i expect them to be able to take initiative, some were good at this others weren't.
One of the biggest things i looked for is how quickly they would get out of the truck once we arrived at a jobsite and started unloading the quads and getting out all the necessary equipment out and strapped to the quads. I consider that good initiative.
I also liked it when i get a survey assistant who will look through the job folder containing all the survey plans etc on the way to a jobsite to try and get a better understanding of whats going on instead of falling alseep. I consider that good initiative. I also liked it when a survey assistant, new or expereince, will ask questions. This shows that they have a willinginess to learn about the job they have been hired to do. I will take that as good initiative as well.
These are things i considered forms of taking initiative. My examples are little more specific to surveying but im sure there is an underlying priniciple and possible connection.
In my current job, when its slow and i don't have any GPS data to anaylise, which is my main job responsibility, i will read up on everything i can about GPS and troubleshooting issues(my other job responsibility is to be a GPS troubleshooter). I will also find an old gps processed job and work through it for practice. These are examples of initative i will take that are specific to my job responsibilites and help me become better at the job i was hired to do.
I apologize this is a little long winded but hope this helps anyone.
Good Point
Good point Malcolm. I have to agree that initiative does come from experience also. Sometimes to take initiative you have to know what's going on, what you're doing, are you comfortable with it and if there's time.
Anthony
(No subject)
Taking initiative can be a minefield. If something needs doing, it could be another person's little "territory" but for whatever reason, they aren't doing it. I also like to take time to really get used to a place before trying too much initiative in case I get it wrong.
Opposing Routine
Very useful comments.
I too try and read up on things to increase my knowledge etc.
I think it is important to be seen to be actually doing things even if they are small.
One thing I have been guilty of is hiding my inner thoughts and standing back when things are comfortable and I am set in a - AS - routine. This can be very dangerous.
Whenever I feel this I ask my superior. That is what they are there for. Being seen to be proactive is a massively beneficial management technique and helps overome the difficulty we sometimes have in projecting ourselves.