Initiative - The SuperPower to Get Things Done Before You Are Asked

Initiative is a wonderful superpower. It allows you to

• Accomplish much more
• Impress people
• Allow you to do better work
• Develop your critical thinking skills and world view

In your job or at school, if you look for patterns and see problems that need to be solved, you can take initiative to solve these things before you are asked. 

Why is this so wonderful? 

Because by taking a proactive stance a number of virtuous cycles come together. 

By not waiting, you give yourself extra time to accomplish this problem and maybe the next one. 

However taking initiative is more than just not waiting for someone to tell you to do something, it also means thinking about what the problem really is and how to solve it. That involves both problem solving and also taking a big picture view. Your boss or your teacher doesn't just want you to write a report because they like reports, they want to solve a problem, business or academic, so think about your problem in the context of what they are trying to solve, this will help you avoid doing busy work and will allow you to focus on what is important.

It will be hard at first putting yourself into others shoes but the rewards are well worth it, you will become a better strategic thinker, you will get more done of higher quality and you will impress others.

Taking initiative in a thoughtful manner is something good leaders and managers look for. No good leader has the time to micro-mange their team, so taking initiative will allow your manager to focus on other things and allow them to rely on you for bigger and better things, which will in tern allow you to continue to develop and grow your initiative. 

So take that step and solve that problem.