Initiative
- Is the person proactive, taking action now to solve a potential problem or seize a future opportunity?
Definition: Initiative makes people act in a “proactive” way by doing things and not simply thinking about future actions. People with initiative not only react to situations but also anticipate future opportunities or problems and act upon them well in advance.
CONTEXT:
This behavior finds a favorable ground in organizations characterized by:
- A certain openness, fluidity in communications
- A business culture which favors “actions taken for the future”
What hinders this behaviour is:
- A denial of the “right to be wrong”, along with a number of obstacles placed on the road to innovation (conformist attitude)
- A strong command hierarchy in which tasks are more important than results
- Too much short term pressure
| Level |
Standard |
Developed |
Highly developed |
| Summary |
Acts decisively |
Acts ahead |
Anticipates for the long term |
| Behavioral Indicators |
- Accurately identifies the urgency of situations and the time available to make prompt decisions
- Reacts quickly in a crisis or other time-sensitive situation
- Takes immediate measures to remedy an unexpected drift
- Does not wait for “all the data/all the answers” before acting to seize a present opportunity
- Implements solutions, fully addressing issues as they arise
- Thinks about why a crisis happened and what could be done to prevent it from happening again
|
- Anticipates future problems and seeks to minimize them or prevent them from happening
- Considers short-term (<1 year) opportunities for the business and initiates actions to capitalize upon these
- Considers the implications of current or planned actions and takes the appropriate measures to optimize their impact on the business
- Recognises the implications of unexpected changes, adapting schedules and plans in advance
- Decides on a specific action in order to prevent a potential risk or to create an opportunity in a near future
- Reacts rapidly to internal and external developments, capitalizing on early warning of future changes that will impact on own area
|
- Thinks about long term business scenarios and designs detailed plans to achieve them
- Takes time out to think about the future of one’s own team or department and acts accordingly
- Avoids excessive deliberation, providing clear unequivocal strategic direction to the organization
- Identifies and communicates a clear view of the opportunities and threats Nestlé will face in time for the organization to prepare itself to meet them
- Prepares, adapts or restructures the organization in order to best respond to anticipated changes
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| Behaviors which are not representative include* |
- Waiting until he/she is up against the wall to act
- Being always taken by surprise, treating problems on the spur of the moment
- Letting opportunities go by without doing anything
- Waiting to see without weighing the consequences
- Always putting things off until later, finding excuses for not acting
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