Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern–things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, or the weather. They may have to do some juggling in order to fit them all in; but they never allow a priority task or activity be replaced without first rescheduling it to another time slot. In fact, it could be called a way of life. Proactive people don’t just follow through with planned tasks and events, they follow up as well, and make sure the value received was worth the time and effort expended. Being proactive means controlling situations by causing things to happen rather than waiting to respond after things happen. I have been rated twice as one of the Top 100 employee engagement experts in the world by a New York Times bestselling author. Checklists save time and money and prevent errors. Being proactive means thinking and acting ahead of anticipated events. This allows for those unpredictable interruptions. Managerial courage or being bold is an essential skill for senior leaders, and it is common to face HR interview questions pertaining to it. Being proactive at work requires taking action and initiative. Examples of being proactive are packing a briefcase the night before a meeting, reducing the risk of crime by hiring additional police officers and doing laundry before all the clothes are dirty. With this information at hands, professionals remain productive by being able to plan and execute tasks, while guiding the decision-making process with a focus on results. https://eatyourcareer.com/2010/08/how-be-proactive-at-work-step-system These practices can be developed and nurtured until they become habits. Proactive Employee Definition. They not only put them in writing, along with deadline dates, they schedule time in their planners to actually work on them. Review results. Being proactive is a way of thinking and acting. Although there are certain tools and techniques that proactive people use, a big part of it is their attitude or state of mind. How to build your LinkedIn visibility for career growth? To demonstrate that you are proactive at work, along with this, you can also add that you like to involve the entire team to participate in the brainstorming sessions. Be prepared to take advantage of that autonomy by being disciplined, self-motivated, and proactive. They are people who are not afraid of commitments and try to make sure that other people do the same. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. But when you don’t have any experience or the right kind of experience, being proactive can be challenging. They believe that a candidate who can overcome challenges, and rather consider it as an opportunity to grow would be ideal for them. Schedule time for priority tasks and activities. Be Prepared: You plan for things in advance and therefore you are prepared to avoid any chaos that … In the morning, mentally walk through the day. It is common to face a question during HR Interview on your ability to identify talent or size up people. To ensure commitments are fulfilled, you believe in working as a team — so being action-oriented is something that you also push your team for. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children, or problems at work. This helps you to get an idea of how your day/ project would look like and stay focused on what is important. You can talk about or describe a situation where you had to deal with something like this. Proactive means “acting beforehand.” Taking action in the present will influence things in the future – perhaps even the future itself. Say that making good business decisions is important. During the course of the HR interview, the interviewer would like to know what skills you have to analyze and foresee challenges. In the process, they might decide that they will need business cards, writing materials, an empty carry-on bag to house the information that they will be collecting at the exhibits and casual clothes for the Saturday night barbecue. Mention that having a friendly attitude goes a long way in strengthening relationships. If a wrong shipment has arrived, instead of fretting, you continue with your actionable and redirect the task of managing the wrong shipment to another team. These actions are proactive. It’s no accident that a few people always seem to have a spare pen to loan, a safety pin to offer, a Band-Aid or pain killer when someone’s in distress and shampoo when there’s none in the hotel room. What time will you leave the house, where will you park, what jobs will you do first, etc. These are the people you turn to when you need a hairdryer or a list of meeting rooms or change for the hotel vending machine. Having a to-do list. By being able to visualize the future, they are able to anticipate possible problems and act before they can occur. When you share issues or some challenges that you are facing, you are laying the stepping stones for the team to get active too. As you see your days running smoother, with fewer crises and problems, the more you will be encouraged to become proactive in everything you do. There are instances when everyone is stuck in a challenging situation at work. Mention that having a friendly attitude goes a long way in strengthening relationships. The proactive employee would, for example, initiate an offer of help to their co-workers before they are asked to assist by either their colleagues or their manager. Eliminating ambiguity is one of the first steps to grow. They’re actively engaged, not passively observing. These checklists are updated if necessary after each event. It is fairly common for HR to ask interview question on perseverance, to check the degree of tenacity you have to face adverse situations. Identifying talent, sizing up... Get ready to be asked questions on implementing systems in Job Interview. 5. Here are a few of the tools, strategies, and mindset that form an example of a proactive person. Tell them that you like to optimize your skills and manage your actions in accordance with the situation. Being nimble at work requires an acute responsiveness and openness to optimize your strategy or approach based on a number of changing factors. What is their secret? An article written by motivational speaker, Craig Harper in 2007… Here are some personal tips on how to be proactive and … If you have a good rapport with them, people respond to you. Proactive people set deadlines for every planned activity. Seeking out challenges in your day-to-day activities is the key to defining your attitude at work, creating new opportunities for growth, and helping you develop into a more confident and capable professional. They are aware of Parkinson’s Law, which indicates activities will consume as much time as you have available for them. It is the potential to design practices,... Command skills are equally important for leadership roles, especially in crisis situations, and often gets tested in the HR Interview questions. Proactive people make up checklists for all repetitive events or activities, such as meetings, travel, conferences, sales calls, workshops and interviews. Such employees also like to seize more opportunities than others. It could be that people look up to you and take inspiration from your working style. Take back control. They are the type of people who get things done. I am a Six-Sigma Black Belt along with a certification in using Lean for process improvement. They like to be proactive — be it helping others, or following up on the tasks accomplished in ongoing projects. Here are some ways … Acting to add value without waiting to be told what to do. Mention that you like being consistent and think on your feet so that you can set a good example for your colleagues. Small adjustments made earlier avoid large adjustments having to be made at the last minute. Proactive in Your Career – If you have read Dr. Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” you would know that being proactive is the number one habit he is talking about. Being proactive is key. From leading by example to mindfulness breaks, here are a few ways you can encourage well-being in the workplace. Not only does it help them to feel more involved, it also makes them come up with ideas to improve the company and support customers better. You have entered an incorrect email address! The first thing that being proactive at work will help in your career is the clarity of goals and expected results.