3 Reasons to Say Yes to a Work Challenge - The Muse

3 Reasons to Say Yes to a Work Challenge - The Muse3 Reasons to Say Yes to a Work ChallengeRecently I welches asked to lead a project that would have a positive impact on not just my team, but on other teams across my company. Because I have a hard time turning things down at work, I accepted the challenge without a second thought. But there was one catch Id never led a project like this before. And frankly, itd been a long time since I led a group of people toward a shared goal- and the last time I tried, it didnt go particularly well.I struggled throughout and as we made our way through the process, I thought Id made a mistake in accepting the challenge. I kept thinking it would have been better for everyone if I had said, Maybe next time. But then a funny thing happened- the project got done and I became an authority on something I previously knew nothing about. Even though its easy to believe youll fail when you say yes to doing something new, its just as easy to believe in yours elf. (OK, almost as easy.) If you need encouragement in the right direction, here are a few things I learned from taking a leap and saying yes.1. Youll Find Out That You Were More Qualified Than You RealizedHeres the thing Unless your boss is trying to get herself fired, shes also under a lot of pressure to get things done. She has goals she has to hit and she cant do it herself. As tempting as it would be to assume that shes given you this assignment because theres nobody else to do it, the truth is that your manager wouldnt have trusted you with it if she didnt actually think you could get it done. I know that your impostor syndrome is making you say, Youre not up for this and you dont know anything. But heres the thing- the only rolle telling you that youre unqualified is you. After all, your boss asked you because she thinks the exact opposite. It took me a few days to realize this, but when I did, I knew that the only person who was skeptical of my abilities was me.2. Youll Lea rn That Asking for Help Really Doesnt Make You Look DumbThe natural conclusion to taking an assignment youre unfamiliar with is to keep all your questions to yourself. You want to prove that you can crush it, so you take it upon yourself to find every relevant resource out there thatll help you become a subject matter expert in no time. But what I ended up learning is that approach can actually make you look less qualified than simply asking for help. Its OK you dont have all the answers. Your boss probably knows thats the case. But he also trusts you to figure out the right people you should be leaning on for help. So dont rely too heavily on your own skills (or Google), especially since you know youre lacking some of the necessary experience to get this task done- and done well. 3. Youll Realize Its OK That the End Results Not PerfectIn terms of the project I was leading, I didnt maintain the process we established at the onset perfectly. At times, I ran around like a madman becau se I had no idea how to resolve certain issues. And ultimately, while we completed it, there were plenty of things I wished had gone differently. But the good news for me? Most of my I wish Id done this differently thoughts didnt matter to the end product. I turned in what was asked, even if it wasnt exactly what I wouldve liked to submit. In the likely scenario that your final result isnt exactly what you hoped it would be, focus more on the lessons youve learned throughout the experience. Were there breakdowns in communication that you can resolve for the next time? Were there knowledge gaps that you currently have the answers to for future attempts? Even if the project wasnt executed perfectly, youll learn plenty of valuable lessons from the experience. In my case, I learned so much about a completely new area of the companys business that Ive now become the subject matter expert on it. Hey, I get it. Its easy for me to sit behind my computer and tell you to accept more assignmen ts at work, even if your previous experience would suggest that youll aufgabe on your face. But Im a total scaredy cat about new challenges. And not only did the project get done, I learned a few things that will impact the rest of my career. So, if someone like me can survive this harrowing experience, Im totally confident that you can too.