If you’ve been feeling a little stuck lately and aren’t sure how to grow and gain recognition beyond your current situation, try some of the seven tips below.
As a company grows and competes in any industry, so do its demands of its employees. We’re required to produce results; better, faster and in greater volumes than ever. With the introduction of automation into the workplace, it’s become easier to accomplish our tasks, but the flipside of this is that if our skills aren’t growing with the demands of our roles, we run the risk of becoming obsolete ourselves. If you’ve been feeling a little stuck lately and aren’t sure how to grow and gain recognition beyond your current situation, try some of the seven tips below. Remember, if we aren’t growing, we’re dying!
1. Be a problem solver.
As worried as many of us are about being erased by automation, the truth is that technology will never solve everything. Be the first to spot challenges in your role and learn to come up with creative ways to resolve them.
2. Do MORE than what they pay you to do.
One of the best ways to demonstrate your value is to go beyond what’s required or even expected of you. Look for ways to deliver more than you’ve been asked for; help others with their projects or spearhead new ones. Volunteer to take on more responsibilities at work. After all; if all you ever do is your “job” how is your boss supposed to know you have other skills?
3. Get into the habit of embracing change.
You may not realize this, but change management is very hard on your boss. Steering a company in a new direction can be tough. Dealing with the external face the business now needs to project, and the objectives it must now achieve, all while putting out the many fires that inevitably pop up during the process of adopting new systems isn’t easy. Don’t make it any harder for him/ her. Try to embrace workplace changes as they appear by learning everything you can about them and how you can use your own style to adapt.
4. Learn the objectives of your company’s next 5-10 years.
If you know where things are headed -t time arrives to try and figure out your next move. The opportunity to begin shaping your own direction is here, right now.
5. Update some of your skills.
Whether these are skills relevant to your current role, or for a future role you have planned for yourself, it’s a good idea to either brush up on them or add a bit more to your knowledge base. Take an online course or two that fit with your schedule and complete them in your down time. The extra effort will put you in good stead for any coming changes to your role and workplace as a whole.
6.Ask your boss for a “stretch assignment”.
A stretch assignment is a project designed to challenge your abilities and push you to develop additional skills in order to successfully complete it. Take the initiative and ask your boss to provide you with one of these. The result; your boss will take note of your willingness to grow, and your skill-set and confidence will expand significantly due to the experience.
7. Feed Your Mind.
A person who wants to be of value to themselves as well as their organization, is an eternal student. In addition to enhancing the skills required for your job, take the time to nurture your mind and your motivation by reading as much as you can. If you aren’t much of a reader or you honestly don’t have much time to really curl up with a book, the digital world offers you tons of alternatives. Try podcasts, or even audiobooks that you can listen to during your daily commute.
