Being a leader is about living your life in a way that inspires or encourages others. Here is the 16th in my series of monthly newsletters, each with a section on the skills you need so you can be a leader of your life. To lead is to serve. If you make it your goal to do the best that you can and to help people, then you can't fail. I encourage you to commit to keep learning.

The content below is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills - Taking Your Career to the Next Level.

If you want to be successful you have to have the ability to assume responsibility and be open to taking ownership of new projects that come your way.

If there's a task that needs to be done and it's assigned to you, it means there's confidence in your ability to see it through to completion. You're being trusted to figure it out and do it the best way you can. When a new task comes your way, you might not be that willing to take it on; it might even feel like an intrusion—you’re already busy and the last thing you need is something more to do! However, part of growth and being good at your job is embracing new tasks and responsibilities and by doing so it demonstrates your willingness to grow. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable and stressful, but if you work out how to adjust your schedule to get it done, you’ll feel a huge sense of accomplishment afterward. There's an old saying, "if you want something done, give it to a busy person".

Figure out how to get it done. When a task is assigned to you, it’s 100 percent yours until completion. So, what do you do? You already feel as if you have too much work. What you need to do is to review all of your current projects, prioritize them and consider any issues or obstacles that might impede their completion. Map out the different options that you have and present them to the person who assigned you the task so you can discuss and agree as to how to move forward. Share your thoughts about the various ways you can manage the time to accommodate the new project, such as:

1. Working overtime
2. Not doing your other tasks
3. Doing this new task and shifting your calendar out
4. Assigning this or other tasks to someone else
5. Putting this task further out on the calendar to do at a later time

Once everyone is clear about the impact of this new task on your existing workload and the options are clearly laid out, the decision can be made as to how to get it accomplished.

Now that you’ve accepted responsibility for the task, and you’re excited because you know you’re valued, your focus will be on how to get it done. It’s important that people working with you on other projects or people waiting on projects from you are aware of the consequences to them of this new project of yours.

1. Be sure to that you notify anyone who’s already waiting on you for something that your schedule has changed, and let them know what the new completion date will be.
2. Review your existing tasks. Find a way to streamline all or at least some of them, so they take less time. That will allow you to accomplish many tasks close to their original deadline. Always give a timeline that you know you can beat. Under-commit and over-delivery.

Now what? You might feel overwhelmed and not know how to begin. You have to start somewhere, so just take a moment to think the project through and then start.

Understand the big picture. If you hit a roadblock, always go back to the person who gave you the task rather than asking someone else for guidance. This other person you ask may have no clue as to the goal or intended purpose of the project, so they might guide you down the wrong path. When you go back to the person who gave you the assignment your issues can be resolved. For example:

• They might realize they didn’t make their goals clear.
• You might not have understood how this project was to be used and that understanding is what you were lacking.
• It might even happen that when you re-discuss the goals and the purpose the whole nature of the project may be refined or changed. You might have to start all over again, but at least you’ll know what the vision is.

In order to do the task correctly, you need to understand the big picture. More importantly, you must understand its context. Make sure you understand the end goal and what you’re trying to accomplish. Talk it through so you can be clear on your direction—ask questions so you know your destination. You might not be in a position where you can push back or doubt the person who gave you the project, but what should surface from the discussion is that there’s agreement on its value, that it’s worth pursuing, and also that it’s part of the 20 percent you should be focusing on now.

Get it done. Once that’s established, you need to take control of the task until it’s done:

• Identify the time frame for its completion.
• Find whether or not there’s someone else on the team with whom you can collaborate.
• When you email, or correspond, be sure you include everyone involved in the task or project and most importantly, the person who assigned it to you. Keep everyone in the "loop" so that all are on the same page about the status of the project and who it might be waiting on.
• If the next person in line can’t get to their part immediately, it’s their responsibility to email back, copying everyone, saying when they think they can get to it.
• Since the person who assigned you the task is copied on the correspondence, they have the option to say nothing and accept the revised schedule or move priorities around to get it done sooner.
• If days or a week go by and you don’t have what you’re waiting for, send a reminder email, and copy the person who assigned the task to you. Remember it’s still your responsibility to push the task to completion as quickly as possible, so you don’t want it to fall off the radar. Everyone gets busy, and your boss might just assume it’s been taken care of, when in fact it’s waiting on someone other than you.

Remember, it's your project. You own it so take charge and proceed in a way that shows you have the vision and authorization to complete this project. If you need something from others, don’t ask for permission just go and get what you need. If you ask other people if they can do this for you, that just opens the door for a negative response. Tell them what you need to get done and get their feedback on the best way to accomplish it. Asking for permission is saying you don’t believe that you’re authorized to do so. If you need to ask for something because you need help, that’s a different story—you should always ask for that. You’ve already been given the authorization, so do what it takes to get the job done. Be assertive in making sure the goal is met.

While you’re working on the task, take full ownership of it by doing any necessary research. Search the internet and learn everything you can about the topic. By seeing how others approach it you can increase your odds of doing an exceptional job. You might see an opportunity for a new idea that wasn't apparent initially. What a picture of success that would be! Especially when you become the expert in whatever it is you were tasked with.

Always be willing to accept new tasks. In fact, invite them! Sure, you may make mistakes, but embrace that fact as a part of your growth. Growth doesn’t come from remaining comfortable or a lack of motivation or ambition. Remember, there’s no such thing as inactivity unless you’re planning on being out of a job or going out of business! Accept responsibility for the tasks that are assigned to you and make adjustments in your attitude or workflow to accommodate them.

Change means you’re growing and that you’ve tried something. The truly successful person who cares about their career will be open to new tasks and expanding responsibilities—this shows they care about their future and the business that hired them. Think about how great it will feel to know that you’ve significantly contributed to the company’s success by your willingness to keep growing and finding ways to add value.

A word of caution. If you have skills and knowledge and keep accepting responsibility, you can fail miserably! You can fail if you assume too much. You will become overwhelmed, you'll start dropping the ball, making mistakes, omitting the small details and missing deadlines. You must learn when to push back and say you can't take in on at all, you can't take it on now, or you can do it, but at a later time. If you assume a responsibility, then along with that comes the need to know how and what to delegate from your current tasks the things that you don't need to be doing personally. That way, you can deliver what you commit to.

We'd love to hear from you about this series, and the ways you're using it. Send us your comments and feedback by clicking on Post a Comment below. Look out for the next part in this series a month from now, and please share with your colleagues.

To review or catch up on previous newsletters on business and personal development click here.
The above content is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills textbook.

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