4. Time Management
Do you always finish a project on time? Do you keep to appointments religiously? The answer to both should be a resounding yes. Knowing how to use your time well is a very essential skill, and it is part of teamwork as well. When you don’t deliver as you promised you would, you’re letting your team or department down. When you know how to rank and prioritise tasks well, you will find the workday a breeze to get through. Make sure you are organised about work. Filing your work properly will save you precious time the next time your boss asks for a report of the last project you did. By doing this, you will appear as someone who is very on-the-ball and has a firm grip on the task at hand.
Always choose quality over quantity. Don’t stay back for the sake of staying back. You don’t want to be the last one to leave the office because you spent most of the day procrastinating or focusing on the wrong areas of work. You also don’t want to be known as the person who is always late to meetings and appointments. It is a sign of disrespect to the people waiting for you.
6. Networking
It is important to know how to put yourself out there, whether it’s with your subordinates, your peers, your superiors, or industry players. The network that you build around you at every stage of your career is important. The people you work well with today could be your business partners tomorrow. At every step, it is important to cultivate relationships. Be personable with those around you. You don’t have to become best friends with everyone, but make sure when people leave you after an interaction, they remember you positively. People like to work with those who are capable and pleasant. This way, the next time an opportunity comes up, you will be the person they think of.
There will always be politics at work, so it is important that you always play the strategy right. Besides, politics need not be a dirty word; as long as you play the rules of reciprocity well and figure out what the rules are to play by, you can get by with your integrity intact.
3. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Instead of the word “problem”, use the word “opportunity”. There, you have achieved the first step in critical thinking. Critical thinking is about being able to think your way around an obstacle. It could be a personality clash with your co-workers, or a particularly difficult client, or an obstinate boss. Your role is to get yourself out of these tangles with positivity. Don’t get bogged down by the situation at hand; rather, try to stand back and look at the big picture. Is your colleague being obnoxious because there are obstacles in his or her way?
5. Entrepreneurial
You don’t have to own your own business to be an entrepreneur. More and more, managers are encouraged to think like entrepreneurs for their area or department. What this means is that you take ownership of your work. If you’re a lower level executive, it means doing the jobs assigned to you so well that your manager doesn’t need to do any hand-holding. If you’re a manager, if means managing your team excellently so that you are a well-oiled machine. If you’re a top level executive, it means always making decisions that will benefit the company as a whole. Behave like someone who owns the business, and you will find your mindset shifting tremendously. You will begin to see areas that need improvement and think of fresh ideas to benefit your company. By doing this, you turn yourself into a valuable team player and an asset to your bosses.
Perhaps if you help him or her out with the problem, it might solve the animosity between the two of you. Is the client frustrated because he’s not getting what he asked for? Then figure out a way to give it to him.
Article and image source from GRADUAN: http://www.graduan.com.my/index.php/article/view/118
Networking Image credited to www.sparklife.com.au