 Are
you a Spider or a Lion?
By
Karen Schmidt
When it comes
to change, are you a spider or a lion? Do you sit back like the
spider and wait for things to come to you or do you go out and hunt
for your opportunities like the lion? When it comes to workplace
change we need to have the attitude of the Lion. If we sit back and
wait to see what happens we will usually be disappointed. There is
an old saying that goes “good things come to those who wait” but
today we need to remember that the only things left to those who
wait are the things left behind by those who hustle!
In the jungle
the “hustlers” are the Lions. They are the kings of the jungle for a
good reason. If you want to be the king of your workplace jungle
then you need to learn the difference between the spider and the
lion. The lion is proactive and the spider is reactive. So what do
these terms mean?
Proactive
A proactive person is someone who understands that they are in
control of what happens to them in life. They take initiative and
are responsible for their own actions. A proactive person has a high
level of self esteem that is not affected by what other people
think. Proactive people are driven by their values.
Reactive
The reactive person is the type with a "wait and see" attitude. They
don't actively make decisions or take action but instead react to
the decisions and actions of others. They are easily influenced by
the behaviour of others and their mood is determined by how others
treat them. Reactive people are driven by their emotions.
When it comes
to dealing with change, we need to be proactive. If you wait around
hoping other people will do things to make the change easier for you
then you will be disappointed. Being proactive does not mean you
have to be pushy, aggressive or unreasonable. It simply means taking
action to make things happen.
Proactive
people are the ones who initiate change rather than being the
victims of change. If a proactive person doesn’t agree with a change
they don’t complain about it. No, they go out and hunt down another
way to achieve the same result. In the mean time, the reactive
person is using all their energy to fight the change and, lets face
it, most of the time they don’t win.
So if you want
to take charge of your career what sort of action do you need to
take? Here is a list of suggestions that will turn you into a
proactive person.
• Make
suggestions to your manager on small ways to improve productivity.
Little things add up!
• When a mistake happens, be open about it. Then take the time to
analyse why it happened and work
out ways of preventing it in the future
• Keep up to date with what’s happening in your industry so you can
anticipate opportunities
• Develop a network of contacts so that if the worst does happen and
you lose your job you will have
plenty of new opportunities
If you want to
be someone who benefits from change at work learn the lesson of the
Lion. Become a proactive person and you will guarantee your success
at work well into the future.
About the
Author: Karen
Schmidt is an award winning professional speaker, workshop leader
and author who is on a mission to create fresh workplace attitudes
that help people and organisations grow!. Karen believes you can
increase productivity and bottom line results if your people have
the right attitude in 5 key areas of: work, change, customers,
people and managing. To find out more visit
www.letsgrow.com.au |