Permission Or Forgiveness

One of the most common traits of successful people is that they do not ask for permission, PERIOD!


Here is the scenario.  You are working for a company and you are the best at everything you are supposed to do.  You complete all your projects on time.  You help train others that are new or struggling.  Yet, every time there is a position that comes up that would move you up in your career, you get overlooked.  Not only do you get overlooked, but the people that typically get the position are ok at their jobs and occasionally get in trouble for some of the things they do.

How does this happen?

You have been tricked.  When you were young your parents told you that you needed to behave.  When you didn't, you got in trouble.  This "trouble" was easily avoided by being "good".  Then, the same thing happened in school.  You caught slack from other kids, but the teachers praised how good you were.  Matter of fact, even when you got into the workforce this seemed like it was the right way to work.  Your bosses praised your quality and efficiency.

Congratulations, you've officially been trained to be a cog in someone else's machine.

Somewhere along the line you woke up and decided you wanted your own machine.  Again, congratulations are in order.  Good for you, but how do you break the pattern of being "good"?

To break the pattern, get into trouble, tactfully.  If you have an idea for a new way to do something at work, just do it.  Think about the absolute worst thing that could happen.  As long as the worst thing is getting in trouble, do it.  One thing to bear in mind is that you may be oversensitive to potential consequence of your actions.  The years of believing that some great cataclysm was going to occur if you stepped even slightly out of line has trained you this way.  The fact of the matter is, people are generally very forgiving.

If you try something at work that you normally would ask permission to do (and get denied, while someone else tries it and gets promoted because it worked), be prepared for a little shock from you managers.  It will take them a bit by surprise when their normally obedient servant begins to think for themselves.

If the idea doesn't work, apologize.  Then, say that it won't happen again and be "good" for a while.  After a short time, try again.

I know this sounds terrible, especially if you are used to following within all the rules.  However, if you want to succeed, this is how its done.