Don't Be the "Tumbleweed"

Recently at my work, an executive hit upon a very good subject: being proactive for your career. This is probably one of the best things that you can do for your career, but surprisingly enough, a lot of people are what she calls "Tumbleweeds". These are people that just roll along from assignment to assignment, never really taking the initiative on anything, never suggesting anything, just like a tumbleweed in the desert. They might do a decent job, but that is all that they do. Consequently, when it comes around to promotion time, they usually fall to the wayside.

How do you escape this deadly fate? Are you DOOMED???? Lucky for you, the answer is no (you can get out of the fetal position now, your just embarrassing both of us). There are several things you can do to make sure you are making a positive (positive being the key word here) impact at your workplace. I've outlined a few starters below:

• If you are finished with your current assignment, and you don't have anything else to work on, seek out your supervisor and see if they have anything else they would like you to do. This shows initiative and that you're just not sitting around cruising the internet waiting for direction. Be careful with this though; don't rush through assignments just to get another one. Make sure to keep the quality of what you produce high.
• If you see some way to improve what your team is currently working on, suggest it to your supervisor. The key here is to come up with a plan of improvement first before you talk to them. Don't just say "Oh, this isn't working". You want to approach it like this: "This part of the process isn't working, but here's how I would improve it." For example, say you're working on a software design and notice that the template you are using could be improved. First, come up with an example of what the improvement would be (say a modified template), and then present it. This demonstrates both a deep understanding of what the team is doing and a willingness to help make the project better.
• This next suggestion can be pretty hard for people to do. Basically, if you see an opportunity for new business for your company, you should approach your supervisor and possibly higher executives with this opportunity. Now, this may seem daunting to a lot of people because it is a pretty big step. However, as long as you think that it is a legitimate opportunity, and you have a good set of reasons why it is a good opportunity (this is very important as you don't want to waste anyone's time, let alone your superiors), then this can do nothing but good things for your career. Even if the opportunity isn't acted upon, this is huge in the eyes of executives, as it shows that you are tying to "grow the business" as it is commonly called, or finding new avenues of revenue for your company. This is the kind of thing that executives do everyday, and is a great quality to showcase.
• If you are presented with an opportunity to take on more responsibility, you should take it as long as you are comfortable with it and confident that you can accomplish it with a high degree of success. Taking on more responsibility will show that you are ready for the next level of your career. However, as stated above, make sure that you are comfortable doing it and that you can do it successfully. Otherwise, the effect is just the opposite, and there might not be another opportunity for you for a long time.

These are just a few of the ways that you can take charge of your career. They're a good start, but you should come up with some of your own that are tailored to your specific work situation to use in conjunction with the suggestions above.

Kevin Augustine is the administrator for Workplace Life - Where Every Cubicle Has a Window. Visit us for helpful articles on common Microsoft Office software such as Microsoft Word and Excel. We also have articles on career management, surviving in the office, professional email tips, and bits of humor to lighten up your day.

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