The business benefits of proactiveness are a given, and most senior Executives understand just how crucial proactiveness is for the long-term success of their organisation. The key (which fewer succeed in), is putting this into practice. So - what exactly do you need to do to help your team be more proactive on an individual level? Here are three simple ways:
Lead by Example.
Employees tend to assimilate what they are exposed to, so an open innovative and proactive leadership style will influence the way they approach their day to day work - and the bigger picture.
Encourage proactiveness
This can be on an individual level by getting everyone to internalize what proactive behaviour really is. Encourage your team (leading by example) to choose proactive lifestyle choices after hours. Things like eating healthily, exercising and sleeping well will not only improve the quality of their life but also lead to benefits such as increased quality and productivity. Making healthy lifestyle alterations in a team member’s own time will increase the likelihood of the same mentality being applied at work.
Understand Culture
Finally, the culture of an organisation will hugely affect whether your team members are proactive or not. Giving employees opportunities to use their initiative and make decisions in an open and transparent environment is obviously going to foster proactiveness. A restrictive culture where even the smallest decisions have to be run by management will obviously have the opposite effect on proactiveness.
Once you have all individuals practising a proactive mindset, this paves the way for proactive operating models to work to their full capacity. This will then lead to strategic proactiveness thriving - resulting in an effective organisation, capable of adapting quickly to change.
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