Success is always tied to action.
Success is tied to action: without action there is no success – even if action alone does not guarantee it. Conrad Hilton put it this way: “Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
The quality in detail
Four steps through the quality: understand, check, connect, apply. Open any topic to read more.
The core messageWhat the quality means – and what it doesn’t
Without action there is no success. When you lead, you set things in motion instead of waiting for others to do it.
- It does not mean
- That every action leads to success. Action is necessary but not sufficient – blind activism does harm.
- That you must not make mistakes. Whoever undertakes something makes mistakes; standing still is the bigger one.
- Strictly speaking
- In meta-analyses, personal initiative and proactive behavior are linked to performance and career success. But “always” is too absolute: pushing ahead is not welcome in every situation, and sometimes waiting is wiser.
- People are more likely to take initiative when they feel responsible for a change and trust themselves to bring it about. So you encourage it when you hand over responsibility clearly and build confidence – in yourself and in others.
- Applies to
- New ventures in a company, to projects in church and club, to matters waiting to be resolved in the family, and to your own life, for example when you tackle a goal you have long put off.
The explanationWhat the quality means and why it matters
The wordplay behind it: an entrepreneur is someone who undertakes things – otherwise they would just be a bystander.
This applies to every role – to a project member as much as to a club chair or an executive board.
Initiative begins with goals. Staying indecisive for long and being effective at the same time rarely go together – deliberately waiting, on the other hand, is a decision, not hesitation.
The signs3 signs the quality is present · 3 that it is missing
- You raise problems and offer a first proposal for a solution before anyone asks you to.
- With you, ideas from a meeting turn into concrete next steps with a date.
- You set yourself goals and get started, even if not everything has been settled yet.
- You wait for instructions or for someone else to take the first step.
- Good plans stay stuck at “We really should …” for months – or everyone in your area waits for you to take the first step.
- You justify inaction with a lack of information, time or permission.
The research5 sources: 2 meta-analyses, 1 primary study, 1 review, 1 theory · 1999–2013 · with the limits of the research
- low
- moderate
- high
High – Personal initiative and proactivity.
- 1999Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison & Corey C. Phelps
Those who feel responsible for change and feel efficacious are more likely to take initiative.
- 2000J. Michael Crant
Overview of proactive behavior in organizations.
- 2001Michael Frese & Doris Fay
Personal initiative: self-starting, proactive and persistent.
Backed by meta-analysis. Proactivity is not desirable in every situation; “always” is too absolute.
The originJohn C. Maxwell · “Initiative”
- 1999OriginJohn C. Maxwell
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Quality 10
- InitiativeIn essence: leaders don’t wait for things to happen – they take the initiative themselves.
- todayWEGVISOR: Initiative
The WEGVISOR version of “Initiative” ties success to action and has initiative begin with goals. Research gives good support to the value of personal initiative; the statement holds as a necessary condition, but not as a guarantee of success or with an “always.”
The related qualities and lawsQ06 Courage · Q16 Responsibility · Q14 Problem Solving
Initiative often takes courage. The first step is risky, and only those who act despite fear get moving.
Whoever feels responsible is more likely to take the initiative. And whoever acts also answers for the consequences.
Solving problems starts with the decision to tackle them. Initiative brings you to the problem; problem solving gets you through it.
The action points5 stages of growth – from first awareness to passing it on
- Become aware This week, note one situation in which you waited for a signal or a request, and ask yourself what the smallest step of your own would have been.
- Lay the foundations Take an idea you have had in mind for a long time and carry out a first small step of it within the next 48 hours, without weighing it up any further.
- Make it a habit Every morning, ask yourself which problem in your area you will no longer leave lying, take the first step that same day, and count on Fridays how often you managed it.
- Deepen deliberately Set a change in motion that nobody feels responsible for and whose outcome is open, and ask someone who watched you do it for feedback on where you hesitated too long.
- Pass it on From this week on, ask in meetings – in your team, project or club – who started something on their own, honour it visibly even if it failed, and help them carry it forward themselves instead of pulling it to you.
The reflection questions5 questions for you or a conversation with others
- Which problem have I been seeing for a long time without taking the first step?
- What am I waiting for right now – and is it a good reason or an excuse?
- What goal have I set myself, and what am I doing for it this week?
- When was waiting last wiser than acting, and how did I recognize that?
- How do I encourage the people around me to take initiative themselves – and where do I hold them back because everything has to go through me?
Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.
The picture to rememberOne moves first. The movement ripples like a wave through the entire row.
- One moves first.
- The movement ripples like a wave through the entire row.
What initiative looks like in practice
The skater who landed the first 900
When skateboarding lost popularity in the 1980s, Tony Hawk kept going. In 1999 he became the first to land the “900,” founded Birdhouse Skateboards and brought the sport into pop culture with a video game series.
She learned to code before the machine arrived
Dorothy Vaughan realizes that IBM computers will replace manual calculations at NASA. Instead of waiting, she teaches herself programming and trains her team – while Mary Jackson goes to court to study engineering.
The idea that set knowledge in motion
Around 1440, Johann Gutenberg developed printing with movable metal type to produce books faster and in greater numbers. Despite money troubles, legal disputes and losing his print shop to investors, he kept going.
