What does it really mean to be proactive?

In this Quick Spoon, Ross reflects on a key insight from his conversation with business psychologist and author, Dr Joanne Gray.

Many organisations say they want proactive employees, but we often confuse proactivity with simply being helpful or saying yes to every request.

Jo explains that real proactivity is different. It's about spotting opportunities to improve things, taking initiative, and creating positive change before someone asks you to.

Ross explores the difference between reacting to what's already happening and making space to shape what happens next.

Something to Reflect On

Am I spending most of my time responding to what's already happening...

...or am I creating even a small amount of change for the future?

Listen to the Full Episode

Powering Workplace Proactivity with Dr Joanne Gray

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• Full episode - Powering workplace proactivity with Dr Joe Gray – on Apple Podcasts
• Find Joe on Instagram
• The Progress Lab | We’re on a mission to make workplaces work better, helping people & organisations unleash their potential.
• Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
• Joe's website - Powering Proactivity
• Joe's Book - Powering Workplace Proactivity

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QS3 what is proactivity?

[00:00:06] But the proactivity is much more about, [00:00:10] you know, you see an opportunity to change something, improve something, to take initiative, and it's, comes from you. It's not necessarily someone asking me and me [00:00:20] agreeing. It comes from me, so it's self-initiated. It is about trying to make improvements, trying to, create something different for the future.

[00:00:57] Ross: Those things matter, but they're not [00:01:00] necessarily Proactive. Proactivity is different It's noticing something that could be improved and taking the initiative to do something about it. It's [00:01:10] future-focused, and it's change-oriented, and sometimes it's uncomfortable because it involves challenging the status quo.