Grab the gray

June 06, 2016

Today I had an initial meeting with a mentor that was assigned to me at IBM. During the conversation I was reminded about a slogan my director used to say for career advice, it was “Grab the gray”. It means that on any team/project there are tasks that need to be done which don’t fall under anyone’s specific role. For those looking to take on more responsibility and be seen as a leader you have to “Grab the gray”. By taking on those tasks that don’t really belong to any individual you will be seen by leadership and co-workers as a valuable resource who gets the job completed and further enhance your career.