The Art of Being Proactive

“Proactive” is an adjective which can be defined as “creating or controlling a situation rather than just responding to it after it has happened.” I have twice in the past week prepared draft legal documents for a transaction I am working on which were clearly going to be urgently required, but had not yet been requested. I did this in an attempt to get ahead of the game and anticipate what might be needed - and without really thinking too much more about it. On reflection however being proactive in this manner and not just passively waiting to be asked to do something is a valued professional and indeed management asset which should be recognised as such and encouraged in our working lives.

If say your boss is very busy but you need them to approve or review something, don’t just pass the parcel as it were, but prepare all the facts for them and even offer to take on the task for in their place, anticipating what their concerns or questions might be. Or if you are meeting with a legal client or medical patient don’t just focus on the immediate problem they present, but check if there may be some overarching legal, business or health concern that may lie behind the obvious symptoms.

There is of course a risk with this approach in that things may move on in the transaction you are dealing with, or your boss may not want to delegate, so the anticipatory work may not be needed. However generally even then proactivity will be appreciated by your clients and your co-workers (and hopefully your manager) who will see the value in this extra effort.

For a good summary of what is required to be proactive see this article  What is a proactive worker? which suggests “A proactive worker is an employee who thinks ahead. When a problem arises, proactive people look for solutions right away instead of waiting for direction. They always strive for the best possible outcome and put extra thought and effort into each task they complete.” It lists characteristics of proactive employees including:

• Forward-thinking: A proactive worker plans ahead. They’re always thinking about what they can do to keep things running smoothly
• Independent: Proactive employees are highly independent. They complete assigned tasks, help their colleagues and look for other opportunities to use their skills, all without any micromanagement.
• Action-oriented: Proactive employees avoid procrastination. Instead of waiting until the last minute, they start new assignments right away and often finish their work early.

I found this Forbes article 5 Ways Successful People Are Proactive At Work which proposes that “Being proactive may not eliminate all issues, but it can help you resolve issues more effectively” and recommends ways to achieve this in practice including:

• Be curious – Proactive people crave knowledge. They enjoy learning. They are open to new information.
• Get to know people in other functions - Proactive lawyers will reach out to operations professionals to understand real life processes and better identify risks.
• Connect the dots - Proactive people connect the dots to uncover what could happen in the future.

While another Forbes article The Power Of Being Proactive: 5 Ways To Develop This Surprising Skill identifies the value of this characteristic “If you’re trying to get ahead or nurture greater happiness and satisfaction in life and work, there’s a trait you may not have realized is quite so important: the ability to be proactive.” It proposes that “when employees are more proactive, business outcomes are improved through greater effectiveness and enhanced competitiveness.” According to research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology “40% of whether you’re proactive can be attributed to your genes, but fully 60% is based on environmental factors, so it’s worth the effort to develop the capability.” In order to achieve this it helps to

• Tune In - pay attention and explore your situation.
• Make Plans – aspire for the long term and your ideals.
• Take Action - When you see problems, take initiative to recommend solutions.

This theme is picked up in a wikiHow article, with some good illustrations, simply called How to Be Proactive which starts “If you feel like you’re always planning and never doing, there are plenty of ways to change that.” Its seventeen recommendations include:

• Set concrete, realistic goals.
• Pick a single important task and do it now.
• Accomplish one minor task every day.
• Let go of the stuff outside your control.
• Take initiative instead of waiting for help.
• Be empathetic and explore new perspectives.
• Choose to see the bright side.

Turning to a more academic source this Harvard Business Review article When to Take Initiative at Work, and When Not To provides some balance, recognising the benefits and value of proactive workers but warning that it can go wrong if not channelled in the right way. According to their research analysing positive and negative outcomes they “identified three ingredients that strongly align with psychologist Robert Sternberg’s balance theory of wisdom. The theory argues that wisdom comes from balancing one’s interests with the interests of others and those of broader society. What we define as “wise proactivity,” or the right way to be proactive, thus includes the following three elements.
Managing yourself.
Considering others.
Aligning with organizational goals.”

The speaker and author John C Maxwell sums this topic up nicely “If you're proactive, you focus on preparing. If you're reactive, you end up focusing on repairing.”

As Barack Obama once commented “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
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While (allegedly) Confucius said succinctly “Better light a candle than curse the darkness.”

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