If investing in your career is a priority for you, you’ve probably heard about the most desired professional characteristics . If not, we’ll explain! These are some personality traits that make all the difference in an employee’s performance in a company, regardless of their profession.
One of them is proactivity. There is a lot of talk about developing it throughout your career to gain opportunities in the job market . In fact, it helps professionals stand out in front of their employer and teammates. But the importance of being proactive goes far beyond that.
Next, learn more about this subject!
What is proactivity?
Being one step ahead of situations, getting your hands dirty in search of innovation, having an attitude and not waiting for a request or order to carry out tasks: these are some characteristics that make up the professional profile of a proactive person. These are traits that are highly valued in the market and can make a person stand out from the rest.
Some people have this proactivity naturally, since childhood, but it is possible to develop it throughout your career. So, don’t be discouraged if this characteristic is not part of your usual posture.
What is its importance?
You may have noticed that a proactive person is the opposite of a reactive person. This means that, long before a problem arises, they will look for solutions – as they say, “prevention is better than cure”. For companies and managers, this is essential in an employee. But there are also several benefits for the employee themselves.
Consider a very simple example: to build an efficient network , you need to have the spirit to seek out contacts. If you wait for other people to take the initiative, you may miss out on great opportunities to share experiences with excellent professionals in the market.
Especially if you have a resume with no experience , this proactivity in seeking qualifications and interaction helps a lot to boost your image in the market. Some of these professionals who know your experiences can refer you to opportunities that suit you.
How to develop it?
We’ve reached the practical part. Understand the main steps to working on proactivity right now, even in small situations.
Set your priorities
Young people in the job market tend to want to be proactive on many occasions, but a common mistake is to try to take on several tasks at the same time, without being able to dedicate the time and effort they require. In the end, their performance is not decisive for the company’s results and can even lead to dissatisfaction with their work.
To avoid this situation, it is worth defining your priorities within your scope –– whether at work or in your studies. This way, you can direct your efforts to what is really necessary or urgent and, as soon as you finish, move on to another task. This even increases your productivity.
Think creatively
Much of proactive behavior comes from creativity. Let’s think about a problem that has been unsolved for a long time, but for which no one has found a solution yet. It is possible to think of innovative alternatives to not only solve it, but also to prevent similar situations from happening.
Luckily, creativity is another characteristic that you can develop in your daily life. To do this, start writing down your ideas, observe the scenarios around you more closely, talk to people with different ideas, and so on. Contact with new things creates challenges for your mind and boosts proactivity.
Solve your problems
Sometimes, to avoid stress and headaches, it’s easier to leave some situations unresolved. We do this quite often, right? Know that it’s possible to work on being proactive in these small things and then apply them to different occasions in your life. Make it a habit and seek resolution as soon as possible.
To do this, it is worth using the creativity we mentioned and not letting small problems accumulate –– after all, they can all explode at once, consuming more of you.
Get an overview of the process
To locate bottlenecks and find solutions for them, you need to visualize the process as a whole. If you only focus on what is part of your job, you may not achieve the proactive results you want. So, invest in this mindset to be able to anticipate any situations and prevent problems before they become too complicated to solve.
With this overview, you also understand what is not working today and what can be improved. If you are not the best person for the task, you can direct it to others and give your creative suggestions.
Know your limits
Remember that proactivity and productivity are different. Therefore, don’t force yourself to be active all the time. There are times when it’s worth giving in to a mental break to renew your energy and recover for the next stage of work. If you push yourself beyond what you can, you’ll open the door to certain problems.
Have you ever heard of burnout syndrome? The disorder typically occurs in individuals who can’t take a break from work for even a minute –– and when we speak of work, that implies any activity whatsoever, even studying, right? It’s a weariness that results in the depletion of an individual’s strength.
So, do the continuous exercise of seeking proactivity until you reach your limits. There is no recipe for identifying them: you will understand them over time, with trial and error, but always focusing on your mental health.
Seek efficiency
It is worth emphasizing: there is no point in being proactive and leaving tasks half-done, poorly resolved or with problems for other people. Create action plans, focus on resolutions and, if necessary, study the scenarios from different angles to find the solution.
If the issue depends on more than one person, seek alignment of expectations. The intention should never be to override the thinking of others.
Keep in mind that one of the best places to develop productivity is at university. In this environment, you will face great challenges and unique opportunities to work on a variety of skills. In addition to professional techniques, you can invest in the behavioral skills that are most valued by the market.
