If you are one of those people who prefer to blend into the background and do precisely what they are told and nothing more than that, consider emboldening yourself enough to try and take a little initiative. There is nothing more attractive than an employee who can exercise creativity and show his or her concern and enthusiasm for projects regardless of how miniscule their role may be. And contrary to what many fear, superiors aren’t waiting to strike down your ideas and humiliate you! You might be pleasantly surprised at how much encouragement your ideas receive.

“It is of paramount importance for employees to take initiative especially if he/she wants to be progressive and make a difference to the organization. The drawback in current system driven work culture is the incapability of employees to see beyond the defined structure to contribute. People who have inability to take initiative will narrow down opportunities in future,” opines to Dr. N Chandrasekaran, Vice President – Corporate Affairs, TAKE Solutions.

It’s a widely held misconception that only leaders are required to take initiative. In the current set-up, every individual is expected to take initiative as often as the situation demands. “Taking an initiative means taking the first step and doing what needs to be done without waiting to be told what to do. Hence it is equally applicable to everyone in the organization whether s/he is a leader or a ground level worker. However initiatives should not be taken just for the sake of it. One should take an initiative only when one feels that s/he knows the answer to a certain problem, it is within the realm of his/her authority and it supports the organizational or the team’s goals and objectives,” explains Partha Patnaik. General Manager, HR & Admin at Four Soft.

Talking about how initiative taking ability can affect your growth prospects at work, Rahul Kulkarni-Head-HR, Kale consultants says, “If you do not take initiative, people will never recognize you. Most of the times you come into recognition, you come into the limelight, you are visible in the company when you take initiative and take things forward. It also helps you grow and the fast tracker always takes the initiative and the risk. Initiative is always associated with risk. You have to take that calculated risk and initiative and then run with it. This will give a boost to you in your company especially if it is a fast growing company. They will always recognize a person who takes initiative. Your confidence, caliber and the potential have a very important role to play when it comes to initiative.”

HR can go a long way in encouraging employees to take initiative and be open about their ideas and thoughts. Partha Patnaik lists the following ways for HR to help the process:

1. Clearly communicate the organizational goals and objectives at all levels – creativity and initiative should not be practiced in isolation but should be aimed at achieving the expected outcomes (goals) in a more timely and efficient way.

2. Identify and promote uniqueness – in a diverse team every person has his or her own approach to generating new ideas.

3. Channelize the focus - on areas where creative solutions are needed, instead of wasting time on areas that generate little or no return to the individual or the organization.

4. Minimize fear of failure - find ways to absorb risk and regard mistakes as learning opportunities. Having a reward policy for employees who take prudent risks will encourage them to innovate even more.

5. Develop an organizational climate for innovation – where people are encouraged to give innovative ideas for improving performance of their own team or other process areas and feel they can make a difference.

6. Encourage active communications - set up open communication channels among groups for quick and ongoing interactive idea exchanges.

7. Train people to enhance their creative skills and behavior – initiatives and leadership abilities are closely related.

So go out and there and make yourself heard. Who knows, your ability to take initiative may just result in an unexpected promotion or leadership role