Today, our culture heaps praise on entrepreneurs, praising their daring and courage to risk everything in order to achieve success on their own terms. But what if you want to gain some independence and be more self-reliant at work without having to become an entrepreneur and run your own business? In the end, there may be those who do not prefer self employment… It is true that the reward of self-employment is great, but the risks are also many, and you may not find in yourself the qualities, capabilities, or even sufficient willingness to take this risk.
If you are one of those people who seek to achieve more independence without giving up their job or starting their own project, then this article is for you! Today we will learn about the most important skills of self reliance at work and how to develop and enhance them.
What does self reliance entail in the workplace?
Being self-reliant at work doesn’t mean you’ll never work with others or that you shouldn’t ask anyone for help. Rather, it indicates that you take responsibility for your actions and decisions and control them, taking into account your fellow employees and workers in the company. In other words, it means that when you are assigned to accomplish a specific task, you start working on it without the need for continuous follow-up, assistance, or supervision to complete it. Once you are instructed to complete the task and detail it accurately, there is no need for additional intervention from your manager or supervisor. That is, you are able to complete it and deliver outputs of the required quality or better on time and within the agreed budget.
How do I acquire self reliance skills at work?
It is extremely rare that none of your work assignments require you to be self-sufficient.Even if you are part of a team, you will have the responsibility to complete some things on your own without the need for the help or supervision of others. Here you may wonder: How can I develop self reliance skills in my work?
Well, we have collected for you below 6 practical tips that contribute to giving you more independence in your jobs and enhancing your self reliance skills.
1- Put your affairs in order.
The first step to becoming more self-reliant at work is to develop your organizational skills. It’s time to organize your to-do list, your desk, your email inbox, and everything around you!
When you are organized, you will have a better idea of what needs to be done and your daily tasks. The better idea you have about what needs to be done, the more time you have to decide how to complete a project or task in a timely manner and with the best possible quality.
Not only that, when your office is tidy and your e-mail is organized, you show your manager or direct boss that you are in control of everything around you and are able to rely on yourself to deal with the work pressure on you.
2- Take the lead from time to time.
Deciding what needs to be done and then doing it is what is usually called “initiation,” which is a good measure of how self-reliant you are at work. However, here you must take into account some important points:
Always think about your time and how it should be used and managed. Too much enthusiasm and initiative to start the work of others on their behalf can cause a lot of problems in the team. So always start by thinking about your job role. Understand it thoroughly before beginning any project, because it will help you know what you need to do in it and then complete the tasks assigned to you in less time, allowing you to then take the initiative and assist others in completing their tasks as well.
3- Try to find solutions on your own.
When you start working on a new project or task, make sure that you understand it well and learn more about it so that you feel comfortable working on it. You may run into some issues that you can’t fix, which is totally normal. Here, make sure you do enough research, ask the right questions, and try to answer them.
You may not always succeed in finding the right answer or solution, but you will have shown that you tried and relied on yourself in trying to find the solution before resorting to asking for help and assistance from your colleagues or your direct manager, and this is what is important!
4- Take on new challenges.
Armed with your organizational skills and prepared with the proper research you’ve done and the entrepreneurial spirit you’ve developed, you’ll find that self reliance becomes part of your way of working. Once you reach this stage, it is time to take on new missions and greater challenges. It might start with organizing team meetings or sharing meeting summaries with the rest of the staff, but before too long, you’ll find yourself ready and able to run meetings and take on larger projects than you’re used to.
5- Be trustworthy.
In order for you to be able to gain more independence in your job and to acquire self reliance skills, you must first prove to your immediate superiors that you are truly trustworthy.
How is that? Simply do what it says, and do it 100% right every time! Not only that, but you must ensure that all colleagues and managers know for certain that you are trustworthy by discussing your professional intentions for the future with them and continuously following up on your work outputs.
6- Learn something new.
If you don’t learn, you don’t grow or develop, and if you don’t develop, you will most likely find yourself with fewer opportunities and less authority in your work. The learning we are talking about here does not necessarily mean academic education, such as enrolling in higher education, for example, although this is obviously possible. But you can simply attend an awareness seminar on a topic related to your work, or benefit from the experience of a supervisor or manager, or even volunteer to accomplish a specific task that you do not know much about and learn more about it while performing it.
Always strive to be more learnable and to adopt a growth mindset. Not only will it help you acquire self reliance skills, but it may open up broad career prospects for you that you never imagined before.
So, do you find yourself able to take these tips and simple steps to achieve more independence and self reliance in your job?
Do not hesitate and do not be afraid; if you do not get out of your comfort zone, you will not be able to achieve anything in your life. You do not have to risk your job to enter the world of entrepreneurship and start your own company. Start with simple behaviors, and little by little, you will find yourself more capable of taking bigger and bigger steps.
Read also: What are the skills of persuasion and influence?
