Skills that help you “go the extra mile”
During this quarantine period (#StayAtHome, #YoMeQuedoEnCasa, #EuFicoEmCasa), I decided to take some old ideas off paper and put them into practice. With this, my first article on LinkedIn came to life :)
I have been reflecting for some time on trends and career evolution in IT (my area of work), which has also led me to reflect on what are the main skills a good professional must have, and what skills make that a good professional become differentiated, become someone who “goes to the extra mile”.
Due to the digital transformation context that we are living, a good professional needs to have the needed knowledge and seek to be updated to perform his/her job. This is required for both IT and other business areas professionals. A good professional is also expected to have a good set of “soft skills” — knows how to communicate, negotiate, work well with the different types of people he/she will meet on a project, etc.
However, even having a good set of soft skills and having the needed knowledge, what makes that a good professional becomes a differentiated one, someone who goes the extra mile? First, what means to go the extra mile?
Go the extra mile is to reach further; it is to do more than is expected, to strive to achieve a different result. Often everyone around you is doing only the bare minimum, or unfortunately, in some cases, not even the bare minimum, and it is precisely in these situations that going the extra mile can lead you to achieve something new.
Going the extra mile helps you to gain confidence, to create “good impressions” (sometimes a “good first impression” that can help you in you the future), and more importantly, it helps you to grow not only as a professional but also as a person.
What types of skills can help you to go the extra mile? There are various that you can use, but for me, the following ones stand out:
1. Commitment: Here we can consider the dedication, energy, and motivation that a professional has for his/her daily tasks, and commit to the work he/she is doing. I was introduced recently to the chicken and pig fable. Professionals who go the extra mile have the same level of commitment as the pig has.
2. Problem-solving: a set of skills that helps you to anticipate and solve problems. One of my old bosses used to say that the worst thing that you can do in a project is becoming a “prophet of what happened” — communicating a problem after it already happened and when nothing else can be done. Problem-solving involves several types of skills: analytical skills, creative thinking, initiative, adaptability, and flexibility, etc. Solving problems is part of the day-to-day work of all of us, and therefore, having this set of skills is essential.
3. Resilience: There are many definitions of resilience, but we can sum it up in the skill to deal with the ups and downs and bounce back. Being resilient is an extremely important skill. Going the extra mile is not easy, especially in unfavorable environments and situations. That is why resilience plays a major role here. I’m sure you’ve heard of at least one the “bamboo lessons” — a set of life and work lessons from Japan’s bamboo forest. One of these lessons is one great example of resilience: “In time, even the strongest wind tires itself out, but the bamboo remains standing tall and still”.
Going the extra mile is something that will help not only in your career but also in your life and it is worth it. You will not regret it. In case you are still wondering, I leave you this quote that sums it up.
“Going the extra mile can give you insight and a good reputation, both of which attract opportunity. Many obvious opportunities are found in places no one else has bothered to venture. If you put in the extra effort to make a good project an even better one, or you get to know your equipment better than anyone else on your shift, you will see things others overlook and be in a position to make use of them. Leaders who need a job done think first of people they know who will do it well. If other people respect you for the quantity and the quality of your work, you will find yourself advancing past others who regard their jobs as drudgery. For all the extra service that you’ve rendered, you’ll find yourself more than amply compensated by opportunities others never grasp.” — Napoleon Hill
Let me know if you if can you think any other skill can be used to go the extra mile and your view about this.
References:
Chicken and Pig fable:
https://www.visual-paradigm.com/scrum/scrum-pig-and-chicken/
Bamboo lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g8T8MsFIp0
http://dannielsen.com/2011/06/15/lessons-from-the-bamboo/
Napoleon Hill Quote, Book and Youtube video:
http://www.naphill.org/tftd/thought_for_the_day_thursday_september_20_2018/
https://www.amazon.com/Going-Extra-Mile-Publication-Foundation-ebook/dp/B01LY2Q8B0
