Proactivity

Being proactive is about being anticipatory and taking charge of situations.

In Organizational Behavior and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, proactive behavior (or proactivity) by individuals refers to anticipatory, change-oriented and self-initiated behavior in the work place. Proactive behavior involves acting in advance of a future situation, rather than just reacting. It means taking control and making things happen rather than just adjusting to a situation or waiting for something to happen. Proactive employees generally do not need to be asked to act, nor do they require detailed instructions.

Proactive behavior can be contrasted with other work-related behaviors, such as proficiency, i.e. the fulfillment of predictable requirements of one’s job, or adaptivity, the successful coping with and support of change initiated by others in the organization. In regard to the latter, whereas adaptivity is about responding to change, proactivity is about initiating change.