10 Attributes every employer will reward (Final part)

8. A Spirit of Innovation & Creative Ideas

The mind is a very fertile ground and can conceptualise unique ideas, thoughts and patterns, which when implemented can transform one’s life and organisation. An important key for achievers is the ability to cultivate imaginative abilities and to consistently generate creative ideas. Determine that you will always make a creative contribution to the way things are done in your organisation. Innovation can be achieved by looking at what everyone else is doing and spending time redesigning yours to make it faster, stronger, more functional or cheaper than that of the competition. Your ability to be innovative and imaginative will easily set you apart from others. It all begins with ideas; creative concepts that provide better alternatives to the way things have always been done.

Ideas are powerful forces. Every business, organisation, movement or vision starts with an idea, which is often in the mind of one person. Bests

• Differentiation. A good idea differentiates you from the competition as well as from all others doing the same thing in your organisation.

•             Equity. Ideas have become important factors of production, just like land or capital. Many people have become shareholders in thriving business entities by contributing their ideas and partnering with others who have the financial or technical resources. As you contribute your ideas to make your organisation prosper, you increase your value to the business and ensure your rapid progress up the organisational ladder.

• Leadership. Today’s knowledge-driven world is characterised by a contest of ideas. Without ideas you cannot lead or compete. Individuals and businesses with the best ideas and the most creative solutions to the challenges we face daily will always have the advantage. Determine to make your contribution to ensuring that your organisation is always at the cutting edge of innovation and that you are an integral part of the effort.

• Access. Great ideas and imaginative concepts give you access to people that you otherwise would never have met. You can improve your chances of gaining recognition and promotion by consistently releasing good ideas that endure the business’ progress.

You can cultivate your imaginative abilities by developing a curious attitude. Ask all kinds of questions about the way things are done around you; and for everything you see, question whether there cannot be better alternatives. As you challenge the status quo, you push out the boundaries of thought and knowledge and open up your mind to new ideas and solutions.

Resolve to create an environment around you that is conducive for the continuous generation of ideas in your mind. Create a database of your own ideas or what we choose to call an Idea Bank. Carefully document all creative ideas as they come. Ideas can flow at all times, even in our sleep. It is therefore recommended to always have a diary or notepad within reach. Continually polish or refine your raw ideas with the new insights that are bound to come with time and continuous application. The ultimate end of a good idea is its eventual implementation. That is when it can contribute to making the world a better place. It is no good if you get ideas but do not do anything about them. That is why Thomas Edison said that, “I have far more respect for the person with a single idea who gets there than for the person with a thousand ideas who does nothing....”

9. Passion and Energy

Another attribute that every employer will reward is passion for the work and the energy to execute assignments. Achievers need high levels of physical and mental energy to be at the very top of their fields; they always have to be alive, fit and productive. You need passion and enthusiasm to feel continually motivated to take advantage of opportunities around you.

Passion is the fuel of achievement. It is that which burns is you and keeps you going when everything suggests you have done enough. Passion is the fire that burns within. It is the inner urge that makes you want to do something as if your very life depends on it. Passion is visible and contagious. It is demonstrated or evidenced by the enthusiasm of a person about the organisation and about their work in particular. You cannot excel and make the desired impact in your organisation if you are not passionate about your work.

10. A Strategic Leadership Mindset

The final one in our series of attributes that every employer looks out for is a strategic orientation or a strategic leadership mindset. Strategic thinkers in today’s changing world develop the ability to see things in motion, and to make sense out of a cloudy and uncertain future. They are able to spot interdependencies between what is going on around them and what they are doing and are thus able to give their organizations an advantage. The key objective is to find a fit between the organization and its environment.

A strategic thinker overthrows existing paradigms that militate against progress and growth. Paradigms are barriers in our thinking. These could be in the form of mindsets about given ways of doing things. I could also be a feeling that new ideas disturb the status quo. Paradigms are reflected in a dogmatic refusal to see anything beyond the limits of our perspectives.

Aspire to be a strategic thinker or thought leader. Thinking like that is one sure way of getting to the top of your organization. Here are some common characteristics of strategic thinkers to help you measure your own progress:

a.            They take a systemic or holistic view of their lives and their organisations. Their attention is always on the big picture.

b.            They assess the long-term consequences of their decisions.

c.             They are always searching for new ways to compete.

d.            They show a strong sense of awareness of the environment they operate in.

e.            They focus on achieving competitive advantage

f.             They model the difference between mediocrity and excellence

g.            They have a clear concept of life and business based on an understanding of the economy and its critical success factors

h.            They are proactive, far-sighted and innovative risk takers. They see opportunities from afar and often at times when others cannot see them. They are therefore able to take advantage of them first.

i.              They are the force behind the organisation’s strategic progress.

j.             Strategic thinkers drive the process of change and always introduce innovations.

Becoming A Strategic Thinker

So you now have an idea about whether you are a strategic thinker or not. If you desire to grow your strategic thinking capacity, the following three ideas might be useful for you.

-              Prepare ahead of time. Spend time preparing and positioning yourself ahead of impending opportunities. That would first require an ability to see things while they are far off and to run towards the opportunities.

-              Continuously Enlarge Your Capacity. Continually ask yourself what you would do if you got ten times the opportunities you were expecting in a particular period. You must generate clear and well-documented answers to this question as a blueprint for enlarging your capacity to deliver on your core business. Spend time and invest your attention on expanding your mental, physical and financial capacity to take advantage of your opportunities.

-              Build a network of relationships. Your perspective on life and leadership is influenced by those you keep in your inner circle. Invest in quality relationships that would stretch you and challenge you to be all that you can and to head for the very top.