The First Step

"We really want to participate, but why does this requirement exist...(sad noises)."

One day, three of my friends, who also happen to be electronic geeks, came across a hardware-designing competition. Their motivation was through the roof, but sadly the contest required a team of 10 people. Now, the three of them sat there worrying about this mandatory requirement.

This was a significant problem until one of them decided to float a form to find like-minded people from our college. They received an enthusiastic response from our batch and took the initiative to start a hobby group related to hardware and IoT with around 20 members in the beginning.

Fast forward four months, and the hobby group contains more than 60 active members. Today, not only have the teams won several competitions, the members of the hobby group have collaborated to publish a few papers while in their sophomore and undergraduate years.

So, what did I learn from this? Like every other story, this also has a great summary behind it. The one thing that solved this issue was taking the initiative. Even though it seems easier to do than think about doing it, taking the first step is a challenging task. Here, I will provide a guide to taking the initiative and the few repercussions that come with it (:P).

Initiative in the bigger picture - building the 'Skill'

Taking the initiative, in simple words, is to fix a problem without being told to fix the problem. Another way to interpret this is that it differentiates those who lead from those who follow.

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

• - Milton Berle

The initiative is one of the critical components of leadership. When times are tough, leaders must take the first step, even when others are hesitant. However, like any other aspect of life, taking the initiative is a skill that can be learned by applying some steps.

1. Have an open mind.

"Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."

-Issac Asimov

All the ideas, either a world-shattering idea or an effort to improve an everyday task, it is necessary to keep an open mind. To come up with new ideas, you should allow all the thoughts to flow and cherry-pick the important ones.

2. Don't fear failure.

When Rosa Parks refused to give up a seat in the struggle for racial equality, she was not afraid of failure or opinions. That was her first step which led to the civil rights movement in America. There were chances of failure, but she took the initiative and emerged as a leader.

As a leader, you must make tough decisions when the stakes are high.

3. Take "calculated" risks.

This might seem to be limiting, but every decision that a leader makes involves a variety of factors. Thus, it becomes important to take a practical approach and think logically before taking a decision.

Good luck in your journey to implement these and build your skill of taking initiative.

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