The Eastern Way: Fundamental #10 – Be Proactive

This week’s fundamental was written by Ana Lage who has been with Eastern Funding for over 2 years and has over 18 years of experience in banking. Today, Ana serves as a Funding Officer for Eastern Funding.

Fundamental #10: Be Proactive

Proactive employees are the most valuable assets employers could obtain in any organization. They are efficient and effective while providing excellent customer service to his/her customers, vendors and co-workers.

According to eatyourcareer.com, proactive employees “control situations by causing things to happen rather than waiting to respond after things happen.” They don’t sit around waiting for answers; they’re resourceful and find the answers to complex situations.

If there is a customer service issue with a customer and/or vendor, I would make it my main priority to ensure a smooth and reliable resolution is in place to ensure the utmost satisfaction. Customers are the key to our company’s success and we need to ensure our employees are proactively engaging the necessary actions to ensure not only the best resolution possible but repeat business from our fellow patrons.

Thinking proactively means consistently moving forward, looking toward the future, and making things happen. For me, it is a way of being and a part of my daily work and life routine.

Being proactive in my personal life is a must! I am a working mom, constantly on the run. Working at home, doing homework with the kids, baking cakes, while being proactive to honor my commitments as an employee, mother and entrepreneur.

As a Funding Officer it is extremely important to perform to my best ability and maintain the best relationship with my colleagues in order to work together to make funding a seamless process. Always being proactive to ensure all fundings are completed efficiently and in a timely manner.

There’s a reason why being proactive is linked to success. Taking an active role in the workplace helps employees perform better and receive managerial recognition. A take-charge mindset is empowering, because it gives you a sense of control over your role, allowing you to balance multiple responsibilities without compromising the quality of your work. And we all know that quality is important in our daily tasks.

By learning how to tackle tasks more readily and skillfully, you can be more productive, avoid pitfalls and experience faster professional growth – all while maintaining the strength of our excellent customer service.

According to eatyourcareer.com, there are 5 key behaviors involved in being proactive:

1. Predict
In order to be proactive, you must first develop foresight. Proactive people are rarely caught by surprise. Learn to anticipate problems and events. Understand how things work, look for patterns and recognize the regular routines, daily practices and natural cycles that exist in your business. Come up with multiple scenarios for how events could unfold. Proactive people are always on their toes.

2. Prevent
Proactive people foresee potential obstacles and exert their power to find ways to overcome them before those obstacles turn into concrete roadblocks.

3. Plan
Proactive people plan for the future. Avoid one-step, “here and now” thinking and instead, look ahead and anticipate long-term consequences.

4. Participate
Proactive people are not idle observers, they are active participants. In order to be proactive, you must get involved. You have to take initiative and be a part of the solution. Recognize that you are only a piece of the whole and that you influence—and are influenced by—the actions of others. Don’t simply react to them. Engage with them. Exert your influence and make a contribution.

5. Perform
Being proactive means taking timely, effective action.You must be decisive and willing to do the work NOW. Procrastination is not an option. Take ownership of your performance and hold yourself accountable. Stand behind your decisions. Being proactive means you have taken careful, thoughtful steps to choose the appropriate path, and are not just reacting impulsively to your environment.

Thank you for spending a few minutes reading my email and I hope you have enjoyed and learned from my fundamental.

Happy Holidays to all!!!

Ananya is up next with Fundamental #11, Follow up on Everything.

Thank You,
Ana Lage