Is this an inherent skill, or can people work at it?

[Echobelly]

It's always slightly bothered me that while I am good at my job, I keep things ticking over, it feels like I've never been one of those people who can come up with smart new ways to do things and spot opportunities - I can't seem to go above and beyond and provide all those 'achievements' you're supposed to have on your CV to talk about at job interviews. And it just seems to come naturally to those who do.

I have a newish colleague who is great at this kind of thing, she just sees things that would never occur to me. Not massive stuff, but little connections she draws that I just don't seem to be able to pull together, despite having been there for 6 years.

Due to mat leave cover, I'm doing some management work for 6-9 months, and also my team has been moved to a wider team that is much more relevant to our work so there should be more opportunities to move up or sideways as I'd like to. But it feels as though if new colleague were to go for the same opportunity as me, she'd frankly deserve it much more than I do as she is so much more dynamic. And regardless of that, I do want to move my career up a notch now my kids are a bit older and I'm not sure how I can become more of an 'above and beyond' person for opportunities - internal or external.

When I was learning to drive, my instructor always said “have you looked for the bikes?” before making a turn. His theory was that you have to scan your field of vision and actively look for bikes/motorbikes- you can’t just wait for one to pop up in your eye line. I’ve defibitely found, over the years, that I’ve always been able to spot bikes well in advance because I work off the assumption that there’s one there, unless I can prove to myself otherwise.

Process improvement is like that. You have to go looking for mistakes and inefficiencies, because they’re definitely there.

I think a bit of both.

I work in change for a huge company. I definitly have a knack for it. Me and my team actually laugh and call it laziness. We are always watching for a way to make stuff easier, remove steps or un nessacary work.

My main tip is to always be questioning everything. Why do you do something? Dont take 'because we just do'.

Although I think it come naturally to me, after 4 years of working I change I ask myself why a thousand times a day. If I get an answer I try to verify that answer too.

I have definitly developed the skill more than I used to

Have you been in your workplace a long time OP? Nothing like going somewhere different to compare how things are done to how you have always done them, which is probably why new girl can do this and you can't.

There is a brilliant book called 'how to have ideas'.

Some of it is about having a fresh pair of eyes. However people who have lots of ideas are often prolific readers and read v widely.

Having new ideas isn't necessarily a good thing, sometimes these new ideas or new approaches are not compatible with the type of business you are in.

Balance what your collegue is saying within the current business framework initially and see if it would fit, accept the positives but look for holes in their suggestions as to why they wouldn't fit.

Spotting the holes is the key

Thanks all, that's very useful.

I'm probably not giving myself enough credit... I did push quite hard for a change to how we did one aspect production which everyone had been a bit coy about because it mean taking some work away from a very good but rather workaholic person who was taking too much on themselves and seemed resistant to changing things, but once the right conditions were in place he was actually OK about it.

But I should take the opportunity to review more processes anyway.

It sounds like you are doing good things already.
A quick and dirty way of assessing something new is to look st them in terms of easiness/cost x impact.
E.g. high impact & low cost is a no brainer. High impact and high cost would need planning. Easy to do but low impact - why would you bother (it's amazing how many people are doing these types of things...)

I think it's also important not to be intimidated by people who see things differently from you. Your new colleague obviously thinks in a different way to you, but your way of thinking is equally as valuable.

Case in point - I am a very idea-sy, big picture thinker; I can always see how things are going to fit into the bigger picture (or not!) and can easily point out that changing x will mean y falls apart, and always come up with novel solutions. But the flip side of this is that I can't be bothered with the minute details of things and easily miss them. I recognise both my skill what I'm not so good at, and I try and find someone to work with who does see the small stuff and work together with them so we're both sides of the coin.

I think that you first need to assess your skill set, be confident as to what you offer and play it to your advantage. See the value in it.

As for opportunities for things to put on your CV, you have to actively find them, they won't land in your lap. I coach people a lot at work and this is a common problem, and what it comes down to is that if you aren't finding things it's down to you. If people aren't inclined to take opportunities, I find they won't even if they're put under their nose. It's a mindset.

Echobelly understanding how to land change is a big part of it.

Coming up with ideas isnt the be all and end all. If you dont know how to interact with people and get them on board with it.

It seems you have that skill. Some people have loads of ideas, but just cant land anything because they dont have people skills. Or dont have the right people skills.

There are lots of books out there on improving processes. They give you an insight in to how others think as well as examples of how you can improve things. Also improvements don't need to be large as the cumulative effect of many small changes shouldn't be underestimated.

I have a 1:1 with my boss tomorrow and I'm going to ask if there are any projects or things she thinks need a deeper dive into that can be done in a 4-6 weeks timescale. I work on publications, and there's always a bit of a gap at one point in the year (usually June-July, as it is this year) so I'm wondering if there's something useful I can do in that time when my desk is a bit clearer for a while. I generally do extra reading/research in that time, but maybe there's something else I can cover during that period.

Do you have a projects team or business improvement or change team?

During the quiet period as to spend time with people who do that sort of thing if possible.

I have someone shadowing me, who is interested in working in change as I am the change manager. Just a few hours a week.

But the flip side of this is that I can't be bothered with the minute details of things and easily miss them
^^ this

I am in a role where I have great ideas, have to come up with strategy etc. But I'm not good at the implementation at all - I don't have the patience. I work really well with detailed focused people who like the implementation side of things.

Everyone has a strength and noone can do it all!!

Me too WorriedMum. I'm really glad to hear it's not just me. I think my knack comes from the fact that I am the most critical person you could meet. Despite coming across as really sociable and enthusiastic, I am always slightly peeved that things aren't absolutely perfect and will continually think "It would've been better if..." People think I'm really strategic and driven but in truth I'm just impatient and an arsehole .

I feel similar to @StrippingTheVelvet and @W0rriedMum in that in every job I've had I have ended up being the big idea person (pulled into pitches / parachuted into failing projects to turn them around with new thinking) but I know that colleagues are better at actually executing the plans because I am usually already thinking about a new one by the time the previous one is signed off!

I think it's partly natural aptitude - some can think outside of the box, some are brilliant at detail etc - but I think a lot of it is confidence in speaking up. Even in my first jobs I was a gobby little shit at times, always able to voice an idea BUT not precious at all if it was shot down - I never took it personally. I think that's really important, to voice ideas confidently and articulately but not be a bulldozer in meetings.

Now I'm an employer I understand more than ever you should hire to play to skillsets. One of my lovely staff is ever so quiet in meetings but my god she is priceless with details, checking and procedure. It takes all sorts!

Sometimes, finding a different way to describe the processes can result in spotting an alternative.

For example, whilst the existing process for ordering/dealing with a supplier could be 20 steps bouncing hard copies to and from managers, different staff in finance, the finance manager, the line manager's line manager, directors and their PAs and the post room. It sort of works, but it would be more efficient to go from Electronic Order Form - Line Manager Approval (Electronic) - Finance Electronic Order - Electronic Invoice to Finance - Finance pay electronically. But if you don't understand the entire process, you can't easily find a solution.

It might be an overgeneralisation (or just completely wrong), but the other people I know who can do this are similar to me - quite good at technical things, like repairs, reading wiring diagrams, following patterns or plumbing - I suppose the phrase is Being Mechanically Minded.

I like seeing how things work. I love maps, I love fixing things, seeing how people and things fit together and interact. I also tend to go outside and stare off into the distance when I've got a problem to solve, wave my hands about when talking and, once I have a rudimentary idea of the situation, I'll use an A3 pad and marker pens to put both the current situation and the proposed solution into a clear, bright and easily read/visual form.

If you don't do that already, try it. Rather than describe a lengthy process, see if you can form an image of it in your mind or on paper. It's a different way of learning/planning, compared to description and tables of numbers/dates/names, but it might help you?