Be proactive in your job
People always say that attitude is everything. A skilled person with a bad attitude is worthless for the company but anyone with a good attitude is a valuable asset.
Why?
Just compare these 2 individuals. Which one do you think you will want to be in your company, if you happen to be the boss?
- Person A – always want to contribute. When free, he’ll try to learn new things by doing self-studying. When he has completed his tasks, he will ask if you need any help. Or when there’s really nothing much to do, he will just go online and read some useful articles to boost his level of knowledge.
- Person B – always pretends to be busy. When free, he will open a small window (or big one for some people) to watch Youtube, play Facebook or even play games. All these activities are during office hours. When he has completed his tasks, he prefers to keep quiet and take a break…..like playing his games.
Now, tell me, if you are the boss, which kind of employee do you prefer to hire? Surely, it has to be the first person since he’s a proactive person who is always looking to improve himself.
If I were the boss, I would worry more about his SOCSO claim
But the funny thing is, the number of people in Category B far outweighs the number of people in Category A. Just look around your office, how many people actually belong to the first group, the proactive group? I believe not many.
Does that mean you should join the rest?
You shouldn’t actually. You should be proactive and don’t sit there playing game. Why?
- Your bosses will not be happy if they know, and they will know if they actually check.
- If others are not proactive, by being proactive, you will be regarded as a better performer.
- Improving yourselves by learning more stuff is way way way better than playing mindless Facebook games or watching useless Youtube videos. You can’t carve out a career out of those 2 (er..actually you can, but that’s another topic altogether).
- Those activities can be considered as misconduct since you are using company properties to do things which are illegal. You can face quite harsh punishment from there. So better be careful.
Last but not least, try to put yourselves in the shoes of your bosses. If you’re in their position, will you be happy if your employees are those not proactive people who need to be ordered around ALL THE TIME, or you would prefer to have someone who is willing to help out with stuff?
I believe the answer is pretty obvious.
As a business owner I would prefer a not-so-experienced soldier who will fight for me than an experienced one who refuses to shoot when ordered.
Taking initiative (= being proactive) can be daunting when everyone is concerned about saving face. Market obstacles can be nothing compared to internal obstacles when you have peers who think you are trying to “spoil the market,” seniors who feel threatened about you eating their cheese, and a boss who ask others what they think of your every opinion which they are only too happy to shoot down. Taking initiative is only rewarding if you are in the right working environment, like a seed that will only grow if planted in the right soil.
Hence what I have always been harping – choose your employers carefully. If you can’t find one, do what I do. Set up your own thing. You’ll be a lot happier.
Damien Tan
8 Apr 09 at 10:25 am
@ Damien
One of the benefits of starting own company is that you can select what kind of people to be on your side, which is actually very important both in terms of career and life.
Talking about the boss who always shoots down ideas..i think i know few such individuals. LOL. And there are also people who…no matter how talented they are…. like to disrupt the teamwork and team spirit. =_= Those people should not be allowed to enter a good organization.
Alvin Lim
8 Apr 09 at 5:35 pm
Yeah, prevention is better than cure. That’s the single most important lesson I learnt in talent management. But everywhere I go, I hear the same thing – good people so hard to find. If they’re good, you can’t afford them or they’ve already set up on their own. If they’re affordable, they won’t make the cut. But, I’m sure you’ll find that out soon enough when you’re on your own.
Damien Tan
8 Apr 09 at 7:44 pm
@ Damien
Everyone wants good people but most of them do not want to pay. Only few employers are willing to pay and that is why those good people will just flock over.
Either that, or the good people are so frustrated with the employers and other below-par folks that they decided to take things into their own hands.
Alvin Lim
9 Apr 09 at 8:46 am
but sometimes…employers are blind! person in category B are good in patching up/defending themselves(many people are born like that). And then make person in category A seem stupid!
What if the person in category B brings more benefit that the person in Category A? example : relationship among high profile poeple or people would recognize him than the Employer itself/person in category A?
ladylikes last blog post..Meat Pie
ladylike
11 Apr 09 at 11:20 am
@ ladylike
It’s too bad that there are employers who are often blinded by such things. Maybe that is why their business never grows?
Alvin Lim
11 Apr 09 at 4:54 pm