Proactivity: meaning, synonyms and examples

George Alvarez 18-10-2023
George Alvarez

Proactivity refers to the attitude that certain people take on in order to meet situations or tasks that need to be controlled, such as responsible management and high responsiveness.

In the labor and organizational field, the term proactivity is used and valued, mainly because it refers to the attitude that is sought after and expected by workers.

In other words, a proactive person is active, highly responsive, has initiative, and is willing to face any circumstance.

Proactivity

It is important to detail what proactivity is. Proactivity has to do with the attitude people take on to overcome various circumstances. It is worth emphasizing that it is not only at work, but also in personal life, since the purpose is to always be better.

In other words, the positive and active attitude that each person takes in a situation is fundamental to take control and start developing ideas and methodologies to improve what happens around them and their responsibility.

In this sense, some synonyms for which the word pro-activity can be substituted are: undertake, dynamism, develop, solve, and others.

Why do companies look for these profiles at work?

One of the skills or qualities that HR managers look for most in an employee is proactivity. This is a profile associated with success and productivity.

For this reason, companies tend to look for professional profiles with this kind of character. After all, what organization doesn't need a worker with initiative of his own, with lots of ideas and willing to face all kinds of professional challenges?

Therefore, employers highly value creative and decisive employees because they know that they can contribute a lot to their work teams.

How to become a proactive person

Being a proactive person will bring you closer to success. Not only will you feel better doing quality work, but you will also demonstrate your leadership ability within the company.

With productivity being one of the skills for an attention-grabbing resume, it is important that you know how you can be proactive at work.

Be a strategist

One aspect of being proactive is anticipating problems, so you should think about situations that may occur during the day and make plans to act on each type of complication.

And since it is impossible to predict every scenario, you must also have the ability to react quickly if necessary.

See_also: Human Behavior: what it is, list and characteristics

Set Goals

You can't get anywhere if you're not sure where you're going, so you should set short-term goals and tasks and establish how you can solve them productively.

It is important for you to see if what you are doing right now will lead you to fulfill the goals you have set for yourself.

Stop procrastinating

Procrastination is one of the things that hinders proactivity. It is important that you perform your pending tasks on the spot without procrastinating. You can use productivity techniques such as 'pomodoro' to set times for completing your tasks.

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Anticipate and prevent problems

A proactive person has already analyzed possible scenarios to solve each problem that arises. But the best thing is to be able to anticipate in order to prevent it from occurring. In this way, you prevent a small problem from turning into a headache.

Eliminate unnecessary tasks

Being proactive also means knowing what to do and what not to spend. If you are the boss or the leader of a group, you must know how to divide some tasks to your work team. Therefore, it is important that you make the assignments and consider hierarchy, responsibilities and attitudes of each person.

Be organized

Organization is the key to being proactive, which is why you should keep a calendar with all the important dates, be it meetings, deliveries, interviews, etc. It can be manual or automatic. The latter has the advantage of being able to set reminders and alarms to help you stay more alert.

Read Also: Schizoparanoid and depressive positions according to Melanie Klein

Prepare yourself professionally

Today the competition at the professional level is enormous. It is not enough to be proactive at work, but also to have the right training, so it is essential that you keep up to date with new ideas and training related to your career.

Persevere

Giving up is not a word in the dictionary of proactive people. Bad results are never a reason to give up. On the contrary, you should always be persistent and do your best to improve. If something goes wrong, the key is to change your strategy until it works.

Trust your abilities

A proactive worker is confident in his abilities and in front of others. You should put insecurities aside and not be afraid to speak your mind and expose your ideas. This, in fact, is a way for your superiors to see that you have initiative and a desire to do things well.

Work with determination and optimism

Stress is the worst advisor at work. If you allow yourself to be affected by the environment and that your work becomes a routine, you will kill creativity. Therefore, you should always work with determination and optimism.

Take stock of your goals

Each objective or goal you set should have an evaluation. It is important that you write down what worked for you, so that you know what you can continue to do and what you should change.

Don't limit yourself to just doing your job

One of the secrets to being proactive is to have initiative. For this reason, you can't just do what they ask and go home.

Organizations value the active participation of employees, because this means that they are committed to the company's success. Therefore, a proactive person gets involved in the problems that arise in order to provide solutions.

Avoid personal problems

Making sure that your work environment is always pleasant is fundamental to being a proactive person, so if a problem arises in dealing with your boss or a co-worker, you should act calmly.

See_also: Erik Erikson: psychoanalyst of the Theory of Psychosocial Development

It is important that you analyze whether what you are doing right now will lead you to fulfill the goals you have set for yourself.

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Be responsible for your actions

Proactive people take responsibility for their mistakes or failures. You should know that acknowledging a mistake does not mean that you are less efficient, but that you are much more correct and empathetic.

Stay motivated

Motivation is the key. You must enjoy what you do and look for ways to make the environment as pleasant as possible.

Final considerations on

As we can see, being proactive is a skill that will help you not only professionally and at work, but also in your daily life.

Multiply your proactivity and be more effective by enrolling in our online psychoanalysis course, where we will help you face the challenges that are presented to you on a daily basis.

George Alvarez

George Alvarez is a renowned psychoanalyst who has been practicing for over 20 years and is highly regarded in the field. He is a sought-after speaker and has conducted numerous workshops and training programs on psychoanalysis for professionals in the mental health industry. George is also an accomplished writer and has authored several books on psychoanalysis that have received critical acclaim. George Alvarez is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and expertise with others and has created a popular blog on Online Training Course in Psychoanalysis that is widely followed by mental health professionals and students around the world. His blog provides a comprehensive training course that covers all aspects of psychoanalysis, from theory to practical applications. George is passionate about helping others and is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of his clients and students.