Ready when you are!
True for everything?
Lane switching or just looking for growth, we all are explorers at all times. But if we are really pushing ourselves towards newer things, it is best to analyze what we already do have and what we really need to focus on. Just because your colleague was able to explore a good option for himself, don't come under peer pressure as your time will come too. You could be open-minded towards everything that comes across, which might either motivate you or simply confuse you. So, you need to be careful in the situation so that you do not lose your ultimate focus.
Examples of an employee working outside the job description
Some companies give you a role that is a subset of a bigger profile, which would help you reach greater heights. Even though for the time being, you are asked to work on the limited profile, your grasping in other segments that help you become perfect for the bigger role helps you grab more opportunities and lead many people and cater to the bigger role.
Also, sometimes you need to work extra and become ready for the next role to be promoted, which requires new skills. Your current work does not demand those qualities or your manager may not ask you to learn them, but putting extra effort and learning these new skills help you decrease the burden of your manager and also help you get promoted quickly.
Performing duties outside of the job description has a different approach too. We might not be comfortable switching immediately due to a lot of reasons, and that is okay. The responsibilities may come as surprise too sometimes, for which we are sometimes expected to perform well. But if you feel unready, you might need to balance the "not done" with the present duties and sometimes even outperform in them. This will give your supervisor an understanding of your focus as well as make you proficient in one if not two.
So, analyze your range, introspect, make a checklist of going ahead while examining your shortcomings and pace of growth. Here is what you need to keep in mind for When to take on tasks that are outside your Job Description-
Know which stage are you at in your present profile
In your present profile, are you thorough in your roles and responsibilities? If yes, there is no stopping you from moving on or shifting to a newer responsibility. And if you are not proficient in your current role, then first you need to see if taking on new part(s) is suitable for your current role and not interfere with the schedule or pace of the learning the former.
You also need to see how supportive are your colleagues when you are trying to do more than one thing.
Know your Options carefully
Of course, you are surrounded by people who have various talents, which will give you a wider perspective as well as too many options to look at. With so many options, you will have to go through each one carefully to know its suitability for you.
You may need answers to the following while going out of your daily task- Does that match your personality? Does the skill match your career objective? Will that skill match the present needs that your need in you? Will that be complementary to your career?
Another question that might come to your mind is will that skill help in your current job? But this is something you need to analyze further based on your priorities and plans of going ahead.
Hence, start now. Make a list and start researching, asking questions, contacting your peers for your answers, for your growth.
Know your balancing power
This balancing includes two parts:
One is when you are trying to learn, are you able to balance with your current responsibilities time-wise, team-wise, and your own growth-wise in the organization. You being able to allot the required time to both of your workpieces and getting better at both of them is what you need to aim, if you want to do things out of your job description or current profile.
The second is your balance and complementation of the skill for your next step; This means when you are learning a new skill, you have to see if that skill is actually going to be useful for the next step that will lead you to your career goal.
Handling other tasks or additional tasks is a competence we need to acquire eventually. So, whatever suits your flow, pace, goals, think accordingly. Think it through. SWOT Analysis is always helpful for continuous improvement. Look for opportunities, dive in whenever you feel fit, take a few risks, keep going. Your focus should not move in whatever you dwell in. -Sandeep Kumar Yelakanti