“It has long come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things," said Elinor Smith.
Imagine, your child or younger sibling decides to clean the dishes, but they are too small to reach the sink. So, they grab the jug of water from the refrigerator, and use it to clean the dishes, spilling all the water on the floor and creating a mess. Seeing the disaster, what will your response be? Such circumstances are given to us almost every day, and our reactions can involve anger or patience. Being Proactive is one of the habits from Stepehen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that guides you towards the path of patience and ambition. Exemplary leaders understand that to make extraordinary things happen in organziations, they must be proactive.
Personal Level
Being proactive is a choice we have on a daily basis, even if we don’t realize it. It means controlling a situation by being calm, relaxed, patient, and positive rather than reacting to it right after it happened in a rude and negative manner. In the introductory example, getting furious at your sibling would be considered reactivity, whereas helping them clean up and staying calm would be considered proactivity.
Being proactive really means two things:
You take responsibility for things happening in your life.
You adopt a “taking initiative” attitude - making something happen, rather than waiting for something to happen to you;
If the weather is cloudy and rainy, reactive people decide to be grumpy or depressed on that day. Proactive people, however, will not look be affected by the weather, rather appreciate it.
Covey explains this concept in terms of “Circle of Concern” and “Circle of Influence”. The circle of concern is a large circle that embraces everything in our lives that we are concerned about. The circle of influence is a smaller circle within the circle of concern that embraces the things that we can actually do something about. Some examples of things in our circle of concern could be the pandemic, the weather, global politics, and current wars. Some examples of things in our circle of influence include our work, health, and relationships with family and friends.
The reactive people focus more on the circle of concern and it causes the inner circle of influence to diminish. While proactive people focus on the circle of influence and as a result the circle increases resulting in positive results.
Leadership Level
Exemplary leaders understand that they must be proactive when achieving an organization's core values. This is exactly what Ivan did when he became chairman of a commitee of trainee solictors, when the organization arranged a conference for all of the trainess in the nation. Ivan decided that he would do all he could to make the event a success. He gathered his team members and expressed his feelings where he envisioned a packed and successful event. He wanted at least three hundred delegates at the conference, compared to the planned seventy-five. After having a proactive focus and taking initaitive on the goal, the event ended up surpassing expectations. A leader by definition is someone who leads, and someone who leads is one who takes initaitive.
Final Thoughts
Being proactive is the key that unlocks the door toeffective communication and leadership. If we ignore this habit, we may not be able to implement the other characteristics that lead to a successful organization. This habit makes us take responsibility for our situations and do something to improve the livelihood of not only ourselves, but our team.
Note: All knowledge and ideas are attained from the book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change". This blog summarizes the content from the book, but may unintentionally contain the same wording.
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