Proactivity

In organizational behavior and industrial/organizational psychology, proactivity or proactive behavior by individuals refers to anticipatory, change-oriented and self-initiated behavior in situations.[1] Proactive behavior involves acting in advance of a future situation, rather than just reacting. It means taking control and making things happen rather than just adjusting to a situation or waiting for something to happen. Proactive employees generally do not need to be asked to act, nor do they require detailed instructions.

"Proactive" redirects here. For the acne treatment, see Proactiv Solution. For the Java software, see ProActive.

Proactive behavior can be contrasted with other work-related behaviors, such as proficiency, i.e. the fulfillment of predictable requirements of one’s job, or adaptability, the successful coping with and support of change initiated by others in the organization. In regard to the latter, whereas adaptability is about responding to change, proactivity is about initiating change.

Proactivity is not restricted to extra role performance behaviors. Employees can be proactive in their prescribed role (e.g. by changing the way they perform a core task to be more efficient). Likewise, behaviors labeled as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can be carried out proactively or passively. For example, the altruistic OCB can be proactive in nature (e.g. offering help to co-workers before they ask for assistance). It aims at the identification and exploring of opportunities in taking action against the potential problems and threats . Most of the individuals who are positive , energetic, intelligent, follow the path of proactive. The tools of proactive are considered to as follows. Self confidence Being self motivated Positive attitude towards situations Goal setting Having hope Facing challenges.

History

The use of the word proactive (or pro-active) was limited to the domain of experimental psychology in the 1930s, and used with a different meaning.[2] Oxford English Dictionary (OED)[3] credits Paul Whiteley and Gerald Blankfort, citing their 1933 paper discussing proactive inhibition as the "impairment or retardation of learning or of the remembering of what is learned by effects that remain active from conditions prior to the learning".[4]

In another related meaning, the 1946 book Man's Search for Meaning brought the word to the wider public domain. The author, Austrian existential neuropsychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl, used the word to describe a person who took responsibility for his or her life, rather than looking for causes in outside circumstances or other people. Frankl stressed the importance of courage, perseverance, individual responsibility and awareness of the existence of choices, regardless of the situation or context.[5]

Etymologically, this is a "centaur" word (like "bi-cycle"), combining a Greek prefix ("pro-" meaning "before") with a Latin root, "active". The Latin prefix "pre-" ("before") could have been used, but perhaps it would then be confused with "re-active".

gollark: You could repurpose the `marriage` table.
gollark: It won't be saved anywhere.
gollark: I've actually just shoved the command and counter into RAM, so actually it's more of a useless joke.
gollark: ++jar
gollark: <@213674115700097025>

See also

References

Notes
  1. Grant, Adam; Ashford, Susan (2008). "The dynamics of proactivity at work". Research in Organizational Behavior. 28: 3–34. doi:10.1016/j.riob.2008.04.002.
  2. proactive - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam Webster dates the origin of the word to 1933.
  3. proactive - Definition from the Oxford English Dictionary
  4. Whiteley, Paul L.; Blankfort, Gerald (1933), "The Influence of Certain Prior Conditions Upon Learning", Journal of Experimental Psychology, APA, 16: 843–851, doi:10.1037/h0075141
  5. Page, Randy (2003-01-01). "Responsibility: Are We Proactive or Reactive?". Fostering Emotional Well-Being in the Classroom. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. p. 50. ISBN 978-0763700553. Retrieved 2012-08-18.

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