Main Idea
Are you afraid of failure? Do you hesitate to take a risk? When was the last time you tried something just because you wanted to do it even though in the back of your mind, failure was a real possibility? When did you follow up on something just because you were curious?
Expansion of Idea
One major difference between great team members and good team members is the amount of initiative that they have. Great team members are trying something new to help the team. Yes, there has to be boundaries. However, team members who are looking for something new to help their customers or other team members are invaluable. Maybe they are not looking to do something new for the customers but instead they are trying something that their boss normally does. They are asking for more work and more difficult work. They want to be challenged. This may be something as simple as asking an extra follow up question to a customer. Or it may be something more complicated like realizing that your systems could be simplified and taking the time to design a newer system. They take a few minutes to follow up on a problem to make sure that the problem was resolved. They send a thank you note to a coworker who helped them.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard Terri Kelly, the CEO of Gore-Tex, speak about the culture at their company. Basically, anyone could take an idea and try to develop a team to spearhead the project. If they were able to sell enough people to join them then the idea would go forward. While this may be an extreme case of initiative, it shows the benefits to a business organization. In roughly 50 years they have become a $2,500,000,000 company. Initiative can be good for business.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Is there something that I know I should do but just have not done it because it isn’t required? (DO IT!!!!)
Is there something that I could do that is completely unexpected by a coworker or customer but would be deeply appreciated? (DO IT!!!!)
Is there a technical piece of our business that I do not know enough about but which would help me in my job? (LEARN IT!!!!)
Is there something that your boss is doing that you could do and free up your boss to do even more important work? (ASK ABOUT IT!!!!)
Is there something that you could add to your service that would make your customer’s lives so much better? (EXPLORE IT!!!!)
Make a list of better questions to ask yourself and then go do it.