Too often employees enter the workforce with a narrow mindset that their responsibilities start and end with tasks they are directly paid to complete. They totally ignore, or fail to contemplate the bigger picture – e.g. how the work they are doing will be leveraged by other employees. The best way to build experience quickly, and raise through the ranks of employment is to care enough about a company to learn what peers and superiors work consists of.

It is the responsibility of a CEO or President to understand intricacies of every individual department’s workflow, and then make calculated decisions to benefit the bottom line. As a manager or supervisor, one’s direct responsibilities lay around only a specific area or department. Still, to be cognizant of how other departments function in general is one of the most valuable gifts offered to oneself and one’s team. When people are clear about the most important priorities in each area of an organization, they will work around those top priorities and become many times more productive.