How to take initiative at work
- Be proactive. You can be proactive by anticipating what work needs to be done and doing it before you are asked to.
- Find opportunities for improvement. You can take initiative by looking for opportunities for improvement. ...
- Voice your ideas. Sharing your ideas at meetings or individually with colleagues and supervisors is another way to take initiative at work.
- Be decisive. You may find yourself faced with challenging decisions where there are several courses of action you could take.
- Improve systems, procedures and policies. If you notice that a policy is outdated, a great way to take initiative is to review it and make suggestions on how it ...
- Address and prevent problems. You can show initiative by recognizing and working to solve problems. ...
- Be prepared for meetings. Attending meetings with suggestions and questions prepared demonstrates that you’ve taken the initiative to put time and thought into the meeting’s purpose.
- Anticipate questions and prepare answers. You can show initiative in the way you react to situations by being prepared to answer questions. ...
- Set realistic standards. You can set achievable standards by taking initiative only on tasks that you have the time, energy and resources to contribute to.
- Voice your ideas.
- Be curious and learn about the work going on around you.
- Find a new opportunity for improvement within your workplace.
- Address any problems you notice.
- Step in when someone needs help, and ask about team progress.
- Offer help when training new employees.
What are some examples of showing initiative at work?
- You work in a shop and notice certain products sell best at particular times of year. ...
- Your colleagues struggle to set up the laptop and projector before the team meeting. ...
- After the meeting, everyone drifts back to their desks. ...
- You work in a call centre and notice you there are certain queries that come up again and again. ...
How to get employees to show initiative?
“A powerful way to encourage initiative at work is to show people that you reward it. You can do this by publicly recognizing and appreciating your employees who do a great job in solving problems and coming up with ideas.
How do you take initiative at work?
What Does it Mean to Take Initiative at Work and Be Proactive?
- Complete Your Assigned Tasks Early. In many cases, being more proactive means taking on additional work. ...
- Perform Unassigned Tasks. When you finish your tasks early, you have more time for additional work. ...
- Request Additional Responsibilities. ...
- Help Others Complete Their Assigned Tasks. ...
- Share Your Knowledge with Others. ...
- Respond to Emails and Memos Promptly. ...
How do you take initiative in the workplace?
How to take initiative at work
- Be proactive. You can be proactive by anticipating what work needs to be done and doing it before you are asked to.
- Find opportunities for improvement. You can take initiative by looking for opportunities for improvement. ...
- Voice your ideas. ...
- Be decisive. ...
- Improve systems, procedures and policies. ...
- Address and prevent problems. ...
- Be prepared for meetings. ...
How do you demonstrate initiative skills?
How to take initiative at workBe proactive. ... Find opportunities for improvement. ... Voice your ideas. ... Be decisive. ... Improve systems, procedures and policies. ... Address and prevent problems. ... Be prepared for meetings. ... Anticipate questions and prepare answers.More items...
How do you answer how do you show initiative?
Focus on a time when you had to take initiative in your work or projects. The best answer would also involve others, but it can also be simply taking personal initiative on your own. The ideal answer is one where you took initiative independently, without prompting from others.
How do you show initiative in a team?
How to take initiative in the workplaceBe proactive. ... Aim to exceed performance expectations. ... Develop a career plan. ... Build your confidence. ... Be decisive and actively request feedback to improve your work. ... Try to anticipate and prevent workplace issues. ... Be prepared for opportunities and work-related activities.More items...•
What are initiative skills examples?
Examples of initiative skillsConfidence.Self-management.Decisiveness.Problem-solving.Professionalism.Conflict-resolution.Adaptability.
Why is initiative important in the workplace?
Taking initiative on certain projects establishes you as a valuable team member at work, and may lead to future success. By taking initiative in a job, it demonstrates self-confidence and shows that you are willing to put in the hard work necessary to improve your professional life or personal life.
What is one way you can take initiative?
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. Taking initiative shows the hallmarks of a leader in the making. Examples of initiative include: when you see others struggling reach out and offer help.
How do you present a new initiative?
Tool for Successfully Presenting a New Initiative Review your organization's goals, strategy and current environment. What critical problem or significant opportunity does the new initiative impact? of the goals or strategy does it help the organization achieve? What is your organization focusing on?
How do I become proactive and initiative?
How to show initiative at workDo more than what is expected of you.Make your career plan.Work on your confidence.Develop a team mentality.Actively request feedback and follow it.Always keep a positive attitude.Be prepared for any opportunity.More items...
What are three initiative examples?
If you're unsure where to start, here are a few company initiatives to consider:Employee health initiative. ... Kindness initiative. ... Volunteer initiative. ... Work-life balance initiative. ... Shadow initiative.
How do you explain initiative on a resume?
How to say you take initiative on a resumeLed a team or project.Manage other employees.Suggested or spearheaded a new initiative.Identified and solved a problem.Sought out professional development and passed it on to your team.Gone above and beyond what was required.Earned a promotion.
How do you demonstrate initiative in a cover letter?
Here are three ways you can clearly show on your resume that you take the initiative:Use verbs like “initiated” or “drove.” The verb “lead” or “led” on a resume is used a lot. ... Indicate self-created roles. If you created your role, make sure people know.
How do you show initiative on a resume?
How to say you take initiative on a resumeLed a team or project.Manage other employees.Suggested or spearheaded a new initiative.Identified and solved a problem.Sought out professional development and passed it on to your team.Gone above and beyond what was required.Earned a promotion.
How do you assess initiative in an interview?
INITIATIVEDescribe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. ... Describe a situation in which you recognized a potential problem as an opportunity. ... Tell me about a project you initiated. ... Tell me about a time when your initiative caused a change to occur.More items...
How do you show initiative in nursing?
How Nurse Leaders Can Take Initiative and Promote Positive Nurse/Doctor Interaction for Best Patient ResultsMaintaining Control in Emotionally Tense Situations. ... Emphasize the Value of Constant Learning. ... Encourage Full Collaboration. ... Create a Respectful Environment. ... Inspire Self-Confidence Among Staff.
How do students show initiative?
Crushing a nasty rumor or initiating a fund-raiser for a student whose family just lost their home to a fire are examples of taking initiative at school. Leaders take ac- tion. They see a need to move things in a certain direction, just as a soccer player moves a ball toward a goal.
How to show initiative at work?
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.
Why do we take initiative?
You should take initiative because it gives you visibility at work, you stand out, you get recognition, and it enhances your value and personal brand.
How to solve a problem in the workplace?
A quick way of solving problems in the workplace entails: 1 Understanding what the problem is. 2 Listening to and assessing all available viewpoints. 3 Identifying what solutions have been tried already if any. 4 Brainstorming possible solutions. 5 Analyzing how the problem arose. 6 Resolving the problem. 7 Lessons learned. 8 Mapping out repeatable steps for the future.
How to develop initiative muscles?
How to Develop Your Initiative Muscles. 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.
What does "taking initiative" mean?
Taking initiative means going the extra mile or going above and beyond your normal job responsibilities to make things happen.
What is the habit of initiating?
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.
Why is it important to take initiative?
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. Having initiative also helps to identify opportunities and capitalize on them. The habit of taking initiative strengthens your personal brand.
How do I demonstrate my initiative skills to employers?
Initiative skills are cropping up more and more on job descriptions, and if this is the case, you’ll need to mention it in your cover letter or application form. And you’ll almost certainly get the chance to talk about it in person in your interview.
How to show initiative?
Since employers love initiative, it's really important to be able to talk about when you've demonstrated it yourself. Since half the struggle is recognising initiative in yourself and others, here are some examples of showing initiative at work: 1 You work in a shop and notice certain products sell best at particular times of year. You create a display for seasonal items by the checkout and come up with a rota for what to display when. 2 Your colleagues struggle to set up the laptop and projector before the team meeting. You know how, so you go and set it up before the next meeting. 3 After the meeting, everyone drifts back to their desks. You see the room is a mess so you tidy up, stack chairs and make sure the room is as you found it. 4 You work in a call centre and notice you there are certain queries that come up again and again. You create a cheat sheet for you and your colleagues. 5 You work for a charity and you and your colleagues are each stuffing envelopes with various fact sheets and leaflets. You realise it would be much quicker to create a production line and organise your colleagues to do this.
What does initiative look like?
Because initiative is quite a vague quality, it can be difficult to imagine what it looks like in practice. It’s not like communication or IT skills which are easy to visualise – it comes in a number of guises.
Why is it important to employers?
Think about it from the employer’s point of view. Would you rather have an employee who does their job well as long as they’re told exactly what to do and when to do it? Or would you prefer someone who understands the wider purpose of their role, and who thinks of ways they can improve their work and puts them into practice?
How can I get better at using my initiative skills?
Well, next time your at a club or society, or doing a group project in class, try thinking about the bigger picture – what is the aim of what you're doing? When you think this way, it's often easier to see a better way of reaching it.
Why do employers love initiative?
Employers love to see initiative skills in a candidate because it means they’ll strive to do their job better by thinking of new and creative approaches. As a young person who may have less experience than other candidates, showing that you know how to use your curiosity, creativity and drive can be a good way to set yourself apart from other applicants, since initiative can make up for a lack of hard experience.
What does "initiative" mean in a job description?
Initiative is related to the word “initiate”, or “start”, which is a good way of remembering what it means, because using your initiative is all about getting things started under your own steam. If you hear words like “self-starter”, “self-motivated” or “proactive” – which are favourites of employers and often appear in job descriptions – they’re ...
1. Offering to help when no one asks
Good examples of showing initiative include offering to help when no one asks and without being asked. It shows that you see someone struggling or not getting something done and decide to reach out and offer your assistance rather than just standing back and watching the struggle continue and thinking about helping later.
3. Taking care of small issues before they become big
Taking care of small problems before they become big ones is one of the examples of showing initiative. It is such a simple concept, but so many people do not act on it.
5. Inquisitive about what the job entails
Being inquisitive about what the job entails — and who does or will do it in the future, especially those with whom you share the responsibilities – helps you know how to do a job better.
Why do we need to show initiative?
A person who takes initiative does the right thing, not because they’re going to get rewarded, thanked or praised for it. Not because they’re going to even be noticed for it.
What is an example of taking initiative?
Basic Example of Taking Initiative: You see someone broke a glass bottle and it’s on the floor in the shared office kitchen. No one is around when you walk in and spot it. You can either clean it up or you can leave it there and no one would ever know you saw it.
What does "taking initiative" mean?
Taking initiative means you are the person that cleans it up. Who doesn’t think twice about cleaning it up you just do. You don’t leave it there, and pretend you didn’t see it, or leave it for someone else to deal with. You either clean it up yourself or you notify the janitorial staff.
What is the act of coming up with an initiative?
The act of coming up with An Initiative and running with it, is a high level way of taking initiative on a small task or a part of a larger task. Here is an example of showing initiative at work by way of creating a brand new initiative, rather than simply seeing one thing that needed to be done and doing it.
What does it mean when someone doesn't take initiative?
A type of person who doesn’t take initiative may be someone who is lazy, they don’t think it’s their problem to pick up the glass (or the pen), because they didn’t break the bottle and THEY didn’t leave the pen on the floor… .
Why do people not want to take initiative?
Another reason someone may not want to take initiative is that they are afraid that if they do something because they might do it wrong. They are afraid they might get in trouble, told off, or corrected. They may decide out of fear that it’s not worth it to take that chance.
When does the first take responsibility?
The first takes responsibility when something is put in front of them.
What are initiative skills?
Initiative skills refer to your ability to assess a situation and take action without direction from someone else. This type of skill may help you perform better in the workplace and increase your chances of being hired when listed on your resume and cover letter. Various skills can contribute to your ability to take initiative in the workplace, but many of them involve thinking critically and quickly to decide the best course of action and taking that action with confidence.
Why is it important to notice when opportunities to take initiative arise?
In the workplace, it's important to observe details to notice if there are things you can improve or new projects you can complete.
Why is confidence important in the workplace?
Confidence is a key skill for taking initiative in the workplace because it allows you to follow through with your decisions and encourage your colleagues to rely on you. When you display confidence in your work performance and choices, people are more likely to believe in your abilities, which may make you feel more secure taking initiative. You can practice confidence by initiating actions before others and supporting your choices.
Why do employers want decisiveness?
Employers expect decisiveness from people who take initiative because they want you to be positive about your decisions and to take action without hesitation. Often, being decisive helps you make effective decisions quickly, which gives you the opportunity to take initiative sooner than someone else. This makes you dependable for quick, successful solutions in the workplace, which employers typically appreciate. You can show decisiveness by understanding a situation and providing a decision quickly rather than letting a colleague take initiative.
How to make a plan for a new job?
Consider creating a list or timeline of goals you want to achieve and reviewing it every few weeks. 2. Practice self-confidence. Taking initiative means putting yourself in front of others and making a decision, so it's important to have confidence in yourself to make the best decisions for your workplace.
What is the importance of research in the workplace?
Doing research provides you with the knowledge necessary to take initiative confidently and create successful solutions to challenges in your workplace. Researching current projects, changes in your industry and other relevant information prepares you to make decisions and impress your employers.
Why is it important to develop goals?
Developing goals allows you to set your own pace and understand what you want from your career. This helps you take initiative as soon as your employer presents an opportunity without having to think about it for too long . This also helps you save time by applying for jobs that fit your plan and gives you more time to initiate contact with specific companies or recruiters. Consider creating a list or timeline of goals you want to achieve and reviewing it every few weeks.
Why is Showing Initiative at Work Important?
You may well be a talented individual and have all the required skill sets to contribute towards the growth and development of your company.
How Your Initiative can Influence our Superiors?
If you take the initiative at your workplace and start taking up issues which you otherwise wouldn’t have, it would have serious impact on your superiors.
What to do if your inputs are not of great help?
Even if you feel that your inputs might not be of great help, don’t pull your horses back, go ahead and spell it out. This is the kind of attitude which companies these days are looking for, someone who is up-front and not scared of being criticized.
Do you know when an opportunity will knock at your door?
You never know when opportunity will knock at your door. When it does, you must make use of it. Always be prepared to face the odds. In your professional life, at your work place, you are likely to face challenges on a regular basis. These challenges, obstacles might involve you in particular or your company at large.
Do you have to promote yourself to be a boss?
This is a fact! You must promote yourself. Now, self promotion doesn’t necessarily mean being a “ Yes Boss ” employee.
What does it mean to take initiative?
Someone who takes initiative is willing to admit their mistakes and fix the situation. Employers ask this question to see what kind of response you have when you make a mistake. Show them that you are willing to admit your faults and do whatever you can to make things better. Emphasize how you try to learn from your errors and be proactive about preventing them in the future.
What does it mean when a candidate values an innovative and fast-paced work environment?
When a candidate values an innovative and fast-paced work environment, it shows they are willing to challenge themselves and make things happen. Use your answer to show you want to work with people who are always trying their best. Explain how you want to work for a company that values hard work and innovative ideas.
How to point out someone's mistakes?
It takes a lot of initiative to point out another person's errors in a productive way. This question helps employers assess your communication skills along with your desire to help the company. In your answer, show that you can politely point out another person's mistakes. Show that you are patient and willing to explain how to do the task correctly. Make it clear that you would rather be proactive about helping someone rather than waiting for them to ask for it.
Why do employers ask Star?
This question helps employers gain insight into your problem-solving skills. They want to see that you can come up with ingenious solutions to everyday problems. Think about a time you took it upon yourself to make something better and more efficient. You can use the STAR method to frame the situation, discuss the tasks, explain your actions and highlight the results.
What is the Star method?
Share a time when you made things happen on your own or when you took charge before other people did. Prove that you are someone who is always looking to do more for your employer. When sharing your example, use the STAR method, meaning that you explain the situation, tasks, actions and results.
What does "stay motivated" mean in an interview?
Staying motivated gives you the drive to take initiative at work. This interview question helps employers learn what strategies you use to stay motivated and productive. In your answer, share a few techniques and tools you use to motivate yourself.
How to tell if you are passionate in an interview?
This interview question can help you show that you would fit in with the company culture well and are driven enough to engage in activities outside of work. Share a few hobbies or interests you have that might pique your hiring manager's interest. Try to be a memorable candidate, sharing something that shows you are well-rounded and cultured.
How to demonstrate strategic vision?
Demonstrate that you have a strategic vision by positioning yourself as a thought leader. Try reading about the cutting-edge developments in your industry and sharing them with colleagues or in professional settings. Add your own commentary and critiques to showcase your vision, and consider publishing your own forward-thinking pieces. Seek out opportunities to speak about your strategic vision at work to establish yourself as a thought leader.
How to show leadership?
To show leadership, be accountable for your contributions, even when they lead to poor results. Identify which systems could use improvement and spend time revising them. By demonstrating that you can accept praise and criticism equally, you demonstrate stability as a leader. 5. Set a strong example.
How to find a mentor?
To find the ideal mentor, think about where you envision yourself professionally in 10 or 20 years. Consider the challenges you will need to overcome and the skills you will need to master. Even if your mentor works for another company or in another industry, you can learn critical leadership skills and gain guidance from someone you admire professionally.
How to develop leadership style?
Craft your own approach to leadership that incorporates your unique goals and vision. Start by identifying your core values. Consider what qualities you admire most, the type of corporate culture you want to encourage and the resources that help you do your best work. Think about your professional goals, what you want to accomplish in the workplace and how your team can contribute to something greater. Together, all of these factors can help you craft your own authentic leadership style.
How to build a more capable team?
Strive to identify strengths, and embrace diversity to avoid limiting your growth. By opening yourself to new approaches and considering innovative viewpoints, you can build a more capable team in the process.
How to show leadership skills at work?
Here are 11 ways to show leadership skills at work: 1. Listen and learn. As a leader, you spend a lot of time communicating with your team. Part of this communication will include listening closely to those around you . Aim to remain receptive to others’ ideas and to learn from their approaches.
How to communicate effectively in leadership?
Nonverbal communication can also help. Use eye contact, hand gestures and body language to emphasize key statements and give your message a greater impact.
