‘Next Steps’ Put Electricity Into Buzzwords

Be proactive. But how do we do this? Be empowered. But what does that mean? Take the initiative. But how does this happen?

We get this advice. We hear these words. And at first they seem to make a lot of sense. But when we try to put them into action, we have no idea of what to do.

Unfortunately, they become another set of buzzwords that raise our expectations but can’t be delivered. Yet these are substantive concepts and when understood can elevate our work and careers. The problem is figuring out how to start and what we might tangibly do.

“Next steps” can be the key to effectively using such advice.

Imagine that Jan is one of your employees. She has just finished summarizing the conceptual plans for a major project and you are pleased with her work. Thinking that Jan’s presentation is done, you begin to ask questions, when Jan starts discussing possible next steps.

She outlines a handful of key actions, such as identifying the implementation team, training, acquisition of resources, project reporting and the scheduling of progress meetings as follow-up to this project.

You are surprised, pleasantly so. You appreciate the initiative she is taking.

Jan has taken the time to think beyond the completion of her assignment, the development of conceptual plans.

She has exceeded your expectations and demonstrated that she cares about her work and this project. By defining key next steps, Jan has helped sustain the momentum of the project and increased the likelihood that value will be created from the company’s investment in analysis and planning.

We all would like to improve, to enhance the success in our careers, to fulfill our potential. “Next steps” has evolved as a tool that can help you use the advice you receive--such as “be proactive,” “be empowered” and “take the initiative”--and begin to implement it.

“Next steps” are suggested actions that accompany a completed task, complement the results of a meeting or provide specific follow-up for a progress review.

We all enjoy the sense of completion when a project or meeting is finished. Yet our jobs continue.

Often, we tend to narrow our focus on tasks and not goals.

As a result, we define success as a completed task and not how the accomplished task is a step toward attaining larger organizational goals. We need to fight the temptation of stopping our work with the completion of a project. We need to overcome the inertia at that time--perhaps the desire to reward ourselves with a short break--when the pressure to complete a task is gone.

We need to take a moment to define the actions required to implement an idea, to improve a situation or to best utilize resources now available. By doing so, we link the accomplished task to achievement of a personal or organizational goal.

With the ever-increasing workloads and shifting priorities of today’s work environment, sustaining momentum and realizing value from the implementation of a project can be a challenge.

Have you seen plans developed at great expense, but whose most important value to the organization has been as a gathering place for dust, sitting on a shelf? Do you know of a new spreadsheet tool or operational report that has been created but doesn’t seem to be used? Have you ever completed an important project and found that nothing happened with your work?

As illustrated in Jan’s case, “next steps” is a tool that can sustain momentum.

Identifying those next steps requires thinking about the results of your work in context with achieving larger departmental or organizational goals.

To define the next steps, reflect on the purpose of the project and the benefits to the organization. For example, the purpose of developing a pricing analysis template on a spreadsheet might be to save time, increase productivity and encourage use of a framework for consistent pricing. But the value is not realized until people begin using it, thus saving time, becoming more productive and having a common foundation of analysis. After creating the pricing analysis template, the next steps are the follow-up actions you define so co-workers will use the template.

Employees who not only accomplish their assigned work but anticipate and communicate suggestions are a joy for a manager. With “next steps,” an employee demonstrates initiative and a goal orientation rather than a task orientation.

Instead of viewing the completion of a task as the objective, you place the results of your work in context of achieving organizational goals and creating tangible value.

Deepen your successes and enhance your career. When you complete your next project, take a moment and think about possible next steps. Translate initiative into actions.

Be empowered. Be proactive. Use “next steps.”