3 Reasons Why You Should Go Bold or Go Home at Work

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1. You'll Never Be Bored

You could play it safe. You could show up to work, check your email, update the spreadsheets that need updating, dial-in to the calls that need dialing into, and never step on anyone's toes.

Or, you could do that and a little extra. You could take the lead on a call with clients or customers. You could buck consensus at a meeting by offering a different point of view. Whether you get others on board may not matter so much because the point is, there's a bit of a thrill in stepping outside of your comfort zone. And you never know, you could stumble upon something new you love to do that you may not have discovered if you hadn't taken on that new project.



2. You'll Get Your Boss's Attention

Here's a scenario: Your team is floundering in dysfunction and bogged down by so-so leadership. You could sit idly by and stick it out. Or, you could map out a better team structure. You could commit your idea to a presentation and run it by your boss and his or her boss. Sure, you run the risk of offending your boss' primacy, and it's a little unconventional for a subordinate to propose a re-org. But you also stand the chance to gain some attention. And whether your idea is implemented or not, you reveal yourself as a formidable employee with a mind for solutions.

After all, if you take well-intentioned risks that benefit not only you, but your team as a whole, you begin to position yourself as a leader. Too often people are motivated by personal gain, and their actions reveal them as such. But if the risks you take align your advancement with that of your team's, you show the kind of rare and invaluable leadership that companies are starving for.



3. You Build a Brand of Innovation

It takes creativity to take risks. In fact, one could argue that creativity and risk-taking are pretty similar. Both require you to bypass groupthink and step outside the mainstream by way of original thought.

For example, if you are working on a project or task that others have done before, and you think to yourself, "I know a better way to do this," speak up. Though it can be tempting to maintain the status quo, even incremental improvements are valuable in the workplace. And as it concerns your career, when you propose a new method, produce a better client deliverable, or simplify a complicated process—boom, you're an innovator.

It could even spark a chain reaction. The more you innovate, the more you'll be trusted to propose and implement ideas, and the more value you add as a result.



Final Word

If you're content in a career that's predictable and safe, that's great. But if you seek to create more opportunities for yourself than others create for you and be creative and stimulated in your work life, there's no way around it—you'll have to take risks.

Source: https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-reasons-why-you-should-go-bold-or-go-home-at-work