Being proactive mainly would mean foreseeing  before hand what can happen and taking appropriate action to guard against the negative consequences of that event. For example, learn the geology before and not after the earthquake, and take action to safeguard that the earthquake does not damage your building. In relation to dealing with people, being proactive would mean to start building relations on your own initiative rather than waiting for others to take the initiative  and then react. 

What is the definition of proactive? Let use the following examples. Two people in the same position may tackle the job in very different ways. One takes charge, launches new initiatives, generates constructive change, and leads in a proactive fashion. The other tries to maintain, get along, conform, keep his head above water, and be a good custodian of the status quo. The first tackles issues head on and works for constructive reform. The second "goes with the flow" and passively conducts business as usual. The first person is what we can call “proactive”; the second is not. To be proactive is to change things, in an intended direction, for the better. Proactive behavior distinguishes individuals from the pack, and organizations from the rest of the marketplace. Proaction involves creating change, not merely anticipating it. It does not just involve the important attributes of flexibility and adaptability toward an uncertain future. To be proactive is to take the initiative in improving business. At the other extreme, behavior that is not proactive includes sitting back, letting others try to make things happen, and passively hoping that externally imposed change "works out okay."

Many organizations see proactive behavior on the part of their employees as crucial for their survival in today’s fast-changing business world with its increasingly complex work tasks. At the organizational level, adapting and reacting to changes in one’s environment is not enough; companies need to be proactive to stay ahead of competitors and survive. Such modern workplaces need flexible and responsible employees who go beyond narrow task requirements and who approach work proactively.

Proactive behavior can be directed at changing the self (e.g. attaining new skills) or the environment (e.g. making suggestions on how to improve service) and can be contrasted with both passive and reactive behavior. There is a large range of different task- and organization-focused behaviors that can be seen as proactive, such as feedback seeking, making suggestions for improvements, or whistleblowing (reporting wrongdoing at one’s organization), but also more self-directed activities, such as managing one’s career (e.g. by taking the initiative to attend training that might prove useful at work in the future). All of these activities can be characterized as being self-initiated, change-oriented and future-oriented. There are certainly aspects unique to specific proactive behaviors; for example, proactively seeking feedback is driven by the employee lacking information on performance, whereas making suggestions on improvements in one’s organization is based on the employee having an advantage in information and wanting to share this. Employees who are highly committed to their organization try to solve problems, develop and implement ideas on improvements in their organization, take the initiative to share knowledge or help others, proactively search for feedback, and so on.

Research has shown that proactive behavior – like most other behavior –is determined both by situational and by personal factors. A 2010 review by Bindl and Parker gives a good overview of these factors. For instance, having more autonomy and freedom to take decisions at work (which is the goal of ‘empowerment’ programmes in companies) stimulates people to make use of this freedom and become proactive. Employees also interpret autonomy granted by their supervisor as a signal that they have the abilities needed to take initiative. This increases a sense of confidence or efficacy that they are able to successfully affect their environment and, as a consequence of such an increase in experienced efficacy, employees are more likely to show proactive behavior. There is ample theoretical and empirical evidence that proactive behavior is strongly influenced by environmental factors.

Knowledge about the situational antecedents of proactive behavior, such as autonomy and support from supervisors, is valuable as it enables organizations and managers to stimulate such behavior in their employees. On the other hand, as we experience every day, different people behave differently in the same situation. This also goes for proactivity. Where some people tend always to be the first to take charge, others are far less likely to anticipate what is needed and show initiative. In line with this common wisdom, researchers have also investigated the influence of dispositional factors on proactive behavior. Here, researchers have identified a proactive personality trait as a distinct personality factor that is only moderately related to other personality dimensions like extraversion or openness to experience. Proactive personality describes a person’s general tendency towards proactivity and is a personal characteristic that is relatively stable over time and that employees possess to different degrees. Some individuals who score extremely low on the dimension of proactive personality show little proactive behavior even in the most stimulating and encouraging environments. Such information on dispositional factors may help organizations during the personnel recruitment and selection phase to be able to select the proactive employees they need. However, the available research clearly shows that proactive behavior is more than personality. It is also strongly driven by situational cues, such as job autonomy or a supportive supervisor; traits alone are not likely to be sufficient in all cases to trigger proactive behavior.

People engage in many actions that can bring about change. But not all of them are truly proactive. First, change can be evoked unintentionally, for a negative as well as a positive outcome. This is not proactive behavior. Second, people can engage in cognitive restructuring by psychologically reframing or reinterpreting situations. This can be useful and beneficial, as when a threat is reconstrued as an opportunity, or a situation of high stress is viewed as controllable. It can also be detrimental, as when managers deny the existence of real problems, or convince themselves of the viability of an untenable strategy. This, too, is not proactive behavior, because it changes perceptions without changing reality.

Third, people can make conscious decisions to leave and enter situations, as when they take a new job, make acquisition or divestment decisions, or enter new markets. This is a form of

proactive behavior; it places people and firms in different environments.

Fourth and most important here people can intentionally and directly change things through the creation of new circumstances, or the active alteration of current ones. This is what is meant by true proactive behavior.

Proactive individuals, engage in the following behaviors:

1. Scan for change opportunities.

2. Set effective, change oriented goals.

3. Anticipate and prevent problems.

4. Do different things, or do things differently.

5. Take action.

6. Persevere.

7. Achieve results.

Dear Jorge Morales Pedraza ·:

Great reply on my query! Thanks a lot for your views and detailed reply!

Best wishes

Sundar

Dear Sundarapandian. Many thanks for your comments. I am glad to know that the comments sent, which is the view of some experts in the field, could be of a good help in the debate initiated on this important subject.

I think one prerequisite is to have a culture in the organization that nurtures creativity and thus proactivity. Simpler said than done.

Dear Anthony - Awards and recognition for innovation and proactive actions of employees help in an organization. Constant encouragement is also helpful. In research, proactive ideas really help us. It is great to develop a mindset that looks to solve problems instead of dwelling on them.

I have put Jorge Morales Pedraza 's ideas in the form of a flow-chart!

Hope RG friends make use of this! Let us do good work and prosper!

Best wishes

Sundar

Thanks, Sundar

Being proactive mainly would mean foreseeing  before hand what can happen and taking appropriate action to guard against the negative consequences of that event. For example, learn the geology before and not after the earthquake, and take action to safeguard that the earthquake does not damage your building. In relation to dealing with people, being proactive would mean to start building relations on your own initiative rather than waiting for others to take the initiative  and then react. 

Dear Debi:

I thank you for the views. I found the ideas on this topic by Jorge Morales Pedraza very illuminating. I put it in the form of a "flow-chart" for my practice. I wish I could draw it better, but the ideas are more important.

I got very interested about "pro-activeness" ever since I read this great work by Stephen R. Covey! (7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

With best wishes

Sundar

Proactive refers to initiatives and making the events and decisions. Proactive leader has a vision and his/her decisions are not reaction to the problems or to what is happening.

Thanks for the definition of proactive dear @Jorge; yes indeed, to be proactive is to change things, in an intended direction, for the better. Proactive behavior distinguishes individuals from the pack, and organizations from the rest of the marketplace. Being proactive means being a leader in a creative way.

Dear Abedallah. Many thanks for your comments. I am please to know that my comment could help the debate of this important concept.

In all cases, this checklist is very interesting and practical... Many thanks for it and for all  comments induced. Jean.

I do not knoe what a "proactive" means!

Dear @Costas, maybe this reading will help you regarding proactive meaning!  It means "controlling a situation by making things happen or by preparing for possible future problems" (sort of term adaptive, predictive...)!

@Sundar, the next link is related to proactive vs reactive...!

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proactive

http://www.ere.net/2011/06/01/proactive-vs-reactive-approaches-to-your-business-and-talent/

Dear @Sundar, "Over the last 15 years innovations in customer support software have exclusively been in reactive technologies such as CRM, Chat, call center and social or peer-to-peer communities. There has been zero innovation in proactive support. This is about self-service through the authoritative and branded knowledge, which allows users to self-educate and self-support while also making the reactive channels more effective."

http://www.mindtouch.com/blog/tag/cx

Many thanks for the link Ljubomir. Jean.

Thank you Ljubomir for the links! It seems that I stopped to "reactive"! 

Excellent Costas.

Thank you Jean!

Pro-activeness in an organization - is seen only when

• Market Pro-activeness is reciprocated by
• People response Pro-activeness

Its a vicious cycle where the Market demand makes Managers SMILE with their team members to achieve the set target through unfounded love and welfare measures which are not to be quoted as precedence. This action leads to reciprocation on the employee to stretch and add quicker contribution.

To be proactive for a manager does no mean only to follow as fast as possible the laws of the market (or anticipate) but to support collaborators in all situations (crisis, etc.) and help them to better react. Jean.

Dear J Perriot - Thanks for your valuable reply in this thread!

Interesting view by Krishnan on Market Pro-activeness and its reciprocation by People response Pro-activeness

To be clear in economic terms, business organizations are PROACTIVE as along they see there is appreciably less resistance from the Market and Operations.

Research has proven that in institutionalization of organizations, those which were "cautious" in their expenses sustained to become as institutions (long lasting). The institutional view of the firm is thus no more idealized than is the profit-maximizing view. Well established practices, such as R&D and marketing, cannot be tied to profits in the short or long runs.

If companies are to serve a purpose beyond their business portfolios, they must expand their investments to include employee empowerment, emotional engagement, values-based leadership, and related societal contributions.