SPEAK UP!

In my experience with corporate environments, often the loudest voice is really just the biggest opinion and not always the facts. In your workplace, if you have an idea, an ambition or a passion you need to pursue it. You may run into people who don’t see the same opportunity or vision but that doesn’t mean yours is wrong. In fact, often the more innovative you are the less others will adopt your ideas … initially. Watch out for the voice of experience, the voice of reason, the voice of “I’ve been in this business for …” All of these voice stifle real breakthroughs.

In your company you need to be the one coming up with fresh ideas and fresh ways to tackle the work. That is really what the boss will value. So how often are you quietly seeing opportunity and then allowing an internal voice or the one in the next cubicle to tell you otherwise.

As a great exercise, start to come up with 5 solutions for every one of the problems you have in front of you today. The first 1 or 2 are easy. Then 3 pops up and then you really start to hit some new territory when you find 4 and 5. Maybe it’s a hybrid of 3 and 5 that you present in the next meeting. Maybe you float your new idea quietly over a coffee … but get it out there. The best ideas come from the people in the business every day. The same people often thinking, no one will listen to my ideas. Are you saying them out loud?!

Business owners and managers love people that are creative, innovative and always working to solve a problem. They won’t take all your ideas and implement them but they will appreciate and remember your voice and efforts. So speak up.

Step Up & Stand Out

One of the worst expressions from any staff member or service person is, that’s not my job. It appears people are so quick to push off responsibility and do the bare minimum in their jobs. When was the last time you had the chance to go further for a client or for a project and stopped, using the idea that it wasn’t really your issue or responsibility to improve it.

Every employer I have ever worked with has wanted more from their staff; more initiative, more effort and more responsibility to solve the issues at hand. Contrary to that popular quote, you DO get paid to think. Most of your income and value comes from your thinking and solving problems. So own it. Initially you get paid to do a certain function or role. So own that and be responsible for everything in it. If its in charge of admin supplies then make sure everything is stocked, inventoried, you’ve asked about everyone’s needs, you’ve compared prices. When you take full responsibility for your area (no matter how small) it demonstrates you can do more. It demonstrates all those great qualities all companies want to showcase – pride in work, organization, initiative and, of course, personal responsibility.

You want to get paid more? Then demonstrate your level of personal responsibility to your tasks and your area of the business. Take whatever you are supposed to be doing as the most important thing in your life. Oh sure, maybe its not but do your customers or your employer want to know that?! No.

When you stop making excuses for your job, things change. It’s no longer the traffic, the bad customers, the desk you use, the lack of sales materials, the old computer, the bad boss. It is you that makes the job great. You can overcome any surrounding circumstance to stand out. So do it.