Happy Wednesday folks,
So when we asked fellow students what it means to be a leader (see What is Whiteboard Wednesday?.), many of the replies revolved around taking initiative. Taking initiative is an essential quality of a leader. All it takes is to do things without being told so, right? It may sound simple, but there is more to it than you think.
Let’s start by looking at example…
Lets say that you are in a small presentation room (with 10 people) where a guest lecturer arrives to give his talk. The lecturer starts to have immense trouble connecting his laptop to the projector in the room. The group of students in the room realize that the problem lies within the projector. As time starts to tick away, a couple of students go up to check if there are any technical issues. Then, identifying that a quick solution is needed student X gets up and inspects the neighboring rooms for a free projector. Upon finding one, he brings it to the room resolving the issue.
While it seems that many people in the room realized, student X was one of the very few people who actually took the initiative to help. Even though there were probably several people in the room capable of helping the lecturer, only a few walked up to provide aid. Secondly, taking initiative requires creativity or innovation. For example, student X could have simply stayed with the rest of the group and tried to trouble shoot the projector. However, student X realized that a better way to deal with the situation would be trying to find a new projector rather than wasting time with the existing one.
Now that we have an understanding of the topic, let’s look at some key characteristics owned by individuals who take initiative and how you can develop them.
1. Assign, organize and do it
People who take initiative assign themselves tasks which they want to see happen and they make it happen. They are DIY types where they don’t wait for others to do the work for them but rather do it themselves the way they want it to be done.
“I am a leader because…I challenge myself with new tasks”
“I am a leader because…I try new things”
Go ahead and assign yourself some challenging tasks or try new things which you have always wanted to do. Certainly, they might not always work the way you want them to but it is always worth a try. And who knows? Maybe you will learn something valuable along the way.
2. Add something
People with initiative make the things they are involved with better by adding something only they can bring. For example, if you are a great cartoonist and on the school newspaper, but the newspaper doesn’t include cartoons, here’s your chance. Volunteer to do a cartoon for each issue of the paper.
“I am a leader because… why not?”
Why not give it a special touch of your own to make it more meaningful.
3. Ask something
People with initiative, take every chance to ask and learn new things and they are not afraid to do so. Besides, if you don’t ask how will you know what opportunities await?
“I am a leader because…I am the one who knocks”
4. Go above and beyond
People with initiative go above and beyond of what it expected of them. In addition to doing what is required of them they go an extra mile to make their participation significant. And for those who try the sky is the limit!
Sky is the limit.
Source: Pinterest
There! Hopefully the above key points helped you understand a bit about what it means to take initiative. Go ahead, and try some things which you always wanted to do and say to yourself confidently “Yes, I take initiative!”
“I am a leader because…I take initiative”
Student Life at Guelph 