#50 On Leadership Initiative: Everyone is Just Waiting for Someone Else to Do Something

There's a small reflective exercise I enjoy using to wrap up leadership workshops that I facilitate. And in those, I hand everybody a three by five card. Shocking, I know. And I ask the participants to answer a simple question on one side, and that is, if I were acting as an exceptional leader today, I would be doing what? And after giving them a moment to respond, I then have them flip the card over and answer a second question. And that is the thing keeping me from doing that right now, is what now? The exercise forces us to name the assumptions, whether real or imagined, that hold us back from the leadership impact that we say we want to have. But also imagine applying that same exercise now to the most frustrating, annoying, or obstructive issue that you're currently facing at work. Given that problem, what would you ideally be doing as an exceptional leader to address it today? And what specifically is holding you back? Sure, we can list plenty of external forces that limit our action, but these questions also reveal the many ways that we can take responsibility and act. Anyway, now pause real quick. I want to offer a short and seemingly unrelated story real quick. Yesterday, I was. I was on a run, and I ran past my daughter's elementary school. Now, mind you, it's like early March here in the Northeast, so there's still like feet of snow on the ground. But the school's digital sign flashed a message as I as I passed by, and it said, if you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine. Cute. Right? Now, consider both these. I maybe at this point, however, you're. You're kind of maybe wondering, like, what the heck are you talking about? And maybe even like, what are you getting at with all of this? So I hear you with these two stories. What I'm trying to say is that together, these two seemingly unconnected anecdotes point to a lived reality for all of us. And it's that everyone is just waiting for someone else to do something. Let me say it again. Everyone is just waiting for someone else to do something, whether out of fear, laziness, uncertainty, or indifference. Maybe, like many people and many leaders freeze until they're formally like, quote, unquote, authorized to act. Maybe put another way, like this argument is just for initiative, regardless of your role, rank, or level of responsibility. So let's dive into the important topic of leadership initiative. In this episode, we're going to talk about what it is, why it matters, and then also what it looks like in action. And in the end, we'll walk through five simple things that you can start doing now to lead A little more with a little more initiative, or maybe just to help others around you to do so. So let's get started. This is the 3 by 5 leadership podcast. It's a show dedicated to making more intentional leaders regardless of role, rank or responsibility. And it's because we believe that better leaders just build a better world. The reality is, however, that you cannot successfully and sustainably pour into others from an empty cup. So how do you keep your cup full as a leader? This show aims to help, and we do that by filling your cup with simple, practical strategies so that you can live, lead and learn more intentionally. I'm Josh and thanks for joining me for today's episode. So getting back into it, I'd say that it's pretty common for leaders to express frustration about their team's lack of initiative, often wondering like, just why can't people self manage? Why do they have to wait to be told what to do? And it isn't just a frontline problem. Leaders of leaders say the same thing. So I'd imagine, and I would argue here, like initiative is a universal challenge across echelons and industries. So the question becomes then what must we understand and what must we do to access this essential component of team effectiveness and our leadership impact? So let's start by clarifying what we mean with the word initiative. To understand initiative, I often return to Clay Scroggins book. It's titled how to Lead when youn're not in Charge. His premise within the book is pretty simple. Great leaders lead well when they're in charge because they were already leading long before they had that authority. Many quote unquote leaders love the comfort of like, problem identification, saying like hey, if I were in charge I would. But they hesitate to do anything that actually requires responsibility or effort. And so to these people I say like hey, great, thanks for identifying a need. Why must we wait until you're in charge? How would you like to address it? And hey, where can I help? In his book, Scroggins also notes that if you always wait for your boss to tell you what to do, then your boss ends up doing not only their job, but also yours. And if you're always waiting to be handed more responsibility, you likely just won't be the person trusted with anything important. Why is that? Well, because leaders trust the people who are already handling the most. They rely on those who take initiative to solve problems that they haven't even noticed. So let's define initiative here to just be very clear in one sentence, I would say initiative is the Proactive ability and willingness to take action without waiting for direction. I'm going to say it one more time. Initiative is the proactive ability and willingness to take action without waiting for direction. So a few clarifying notes about that definition. The word proactive, that means you have certain skills, you have some influence and doesn't have to be big, and you have some awareness, which is like a sense of what needs to be done, given that you don't need to be told what to do. So that's proactive. We also use the word ability, which means you don't have to solve every problem. Start with the ones that align with your skills and your interests. I would say that there are likely plenty of those to begin with. The word willingness that signals that initiative is a choice, it's intentional, it's leadership that does not need a title to have an impact. And then lastly to take action. Taking action means that problems can be inconveniences or opportunities. And really we have a choice of which one we choose to view them as leaders of initiative. Choose the latter opportunities. Now, it's also worth acknowledging that initiative requires taking on additional responsibility. And that's probably not appealing to everyone. I get that, that's fine. But initiative is a hallmark of leaders who want to be intentional, create meaningful impact and improve the conditions around them. And I just kind of end this section here about defining initiative. Just go back to Brendan Burchard's book titled Motivation Manifesto. He just simply states like, hey, we must not wait for permission to begin. Okay? So having a simple foundation to understand initiative. Now let's talk about why this idea of initiative matters. And to do that, let's look at three metaphors that help explain why initiative is so powerful. And those are momentum, ownership, and yeast. Yes, yeast. So let's consider momentum. Winning begets winning, energy begets energy, and initiative begets initiative. So momentum means that small wins create a snowball effect, the spark becomes a fire. And so when one person takes initiative, others catch it. Choose momentum. There's also ownership. Think of like a. A home, right? Who invests more in its long term value? The owner or maybe the renter who's occupying it at the time. Owners care, they improve and they, they act with initiative. And initiative is where the difference between it's like not my problem, which is like the rental's mentality and the owner saying, you know what, like hey, I am responsible for this place. And then it takes action of give in response to that. So we have momentum, we have ownership, and then we also have Yeast, right? A tiny amount of yeast spreads across and transforms an entire batch of dough. Right? Think of bread, but also applies to, like, brewing beer. Same thing. So initiative works the same way, right? When one example exists, it can permeate the whole team. So taking these three metaphors together, let's say the message is pretty simple, right? Be the source of initiative on your team. Because it simply starts with your example. Again, regardless of your role, rank, or level of responsibility, your example is the spark that others are just waiting for. And again, everyone is just waiting for someone else to do something. So if you're here at this point and saying, like, yes, I get it, I'm in. Now what? Right, we'll transition here. Let's transition to putting this idea of initiative into practice. And we'll do that by looking at five practical steps that you can start now to just try to lead with a little more initiative. The first one is to be relentless and be unreasonable. Relentless and unreasonable. Those are bold, maybe even intimidating words. I know, and I put them in there purposefully because I think they need to be. They are the enduring reminder to not accept the status quo. Teams drift, right? They drift away from standards, they drift away from accountability. They drift away from the willingness to confront obstacles. Initiative, however, challenges the belief that assumption of this is just how things are. Or the more infamous one of this is how it's always been done around here. So initiative instead insists that something can be improved and that you can help and improve it. So it starts with a choice and an attitude. Be relentless, be unreasonable. So that's number one. Number two is to approach problems with curiosity. I generally say that, like, identifying problems is easy, complaining even easier, which is probably why it's so popular. But leaders acting with initiative, they begin with curiosity, not frustration. So leaders with initiative, with curiosity, they ask questions like, what's really going on here? Or maybe what's the history in the context? Just so I can kind of to understand. They also ask, like, hey, help me understand the forces that are shaping this problem. And then maybe even the probably better question, maybe the best of the list here is, again, what am I missing? Help me understand. So curiosity opens doors that judgment generally slams shut. It also invites others into collaboration rather than, like, standing off with, like, conflict there. So start with a posture of curiosity, not judgment or frustration when facing a problem or a task or an issue. So that's number two. We have number three, which is to make a plan and then bring some energy to that plan. The question here is, how do you eat an elephant? And the answer is one bite at a time. What about a marathon? And by marathon I mean like how do you finish it, not eat it? Again, one step at a time. You can approach a problem or a need with initiative in the same way. Once you understand the problem now we can just break it into manageable steps. Small tasks can prevent overwhelm as well as create visible progress, which is the fuel for momentum. Remember, back to the point of the small wins. So pairing that with genuine interest and positive energy and like you've got the conditions for initiative to spread there. Okay, so once we identify the problem, we've kind of been curious, trying to investigate a little bit to really understand it. Now we can like, hey, I'm going to do something about this. Again, a choice. And from that I'm going to make a plan, break it down and bring some energy to that. So that's step, that's step three. Step four is to get started, move and then also invite others throughout that. Okay, so get started and invite others in. You don't need to broadcast your efforts. People will notice, I promise. But as you begin taking action, invite others to contribute where their expertise is valuable. Now people are busy. And sure, by doing this, by asking people to inviting them to participate and help, you are asking for their time and attention and that can feel daunting. But people enjoy being sought after, they enjoy being needed and they enjoy being able to add value with their expertise. So when you invite others to participate by asking for help, you'll actually be surprised by how many are not only willing to help, but but I also would say that are excited to help as well. And it doesn't have to be this big scary kind of thing. It can be as simple as asking a question like, hey, I'm working on creating a quick reference guide to help everyone upload slides and documents for our staff meeting dashboard more efficiently. Right, But I need some help figuring out how to explain those instructions to get the documents uploaded onto the SharePoint page. I know that you're really good at this. Would you be willing to walk me through those steps sometime and then also help me explain it in like simple terms for this guide? Again, it's a humble approach. It's a simple approach, but it's an invitation. An initiative then becomes a team sport when you ask for help. Okay, so that's number four. Get started and invite others in. That brings us to number five, which is to keep the flywheel turning by asking what's next? Initiative isn't a one time act. I would Argue it's a rhythm. So once you finish addressing a problem, don't wait for recognition. Don't wait for someone else to point out the next need or issue here. Look around and ask, what's next? This can take several forms. I'd say for individual contributors, you can move to the next small opportunity as your capacity allows. Okay, so more is not necessarily better. Same thing with like, you don't have to solve all the problems, just do the ones that necessarily align with your interests and your abilities. But find the next opportunity as your capacity allows. But then there's leaders of teams. And if in your, if that's your case, highlight where others are taking initiative, celebrate small wins publicly and make opportunities visible so people know where they can contribute. But more than anything, I would offer, just refer back to step one. When all else fails, go back to step one. Do not accept the status quo. Be unreasonable. Be relentless. Set the standard, communicate expectations, and always see those through to prevent drift. Again, initiative begets initiative, but high standards and energy do too. So the goal here is to build a culture where initiative is normal, not heroic, and where people don't wait or have to wait for permission. Okay, I want to wrap up by addressing the matters of permission. Again, kindness. And then just also some final thoughts here. Now, after reviewing all this to this point, you may still feel a little hesitant. Like acting without permission feels risky. Especially if you've kind of had like a micromanaging boss, you've had past bad past experiences, or just kind of a low level of anxiety about what if outcomes of this effort here. Those concerns are valid, absolutely. But I'd argue that most leaders would rather reign in someone with a lot of initiative than have to keep pushing someone who won't move. Okay? And so instead of asking for permission, you can inform your boss of your intent. Different I word. And so instead of asking for permission, inform your boss of your intent. You can say like, hey, I'm planning to do X and Y in order to help address the issue with Z. Before I move forward, though, I do want to see if you have any guidance or recommendations. Now, that's not asking for permission. That's demonstrating ownership, but inviting others in, making them aware and making it a more holistic and healthy collaborative approach. And remember, like, I want to point to this kindness part about this too. Initiative does not require arrogance, aggression, or being a jerk. Okay? You can act with initiative and kindness at the same time. So don't weaponize initiative as an excuse to bulldoze people. So here's your challenge identify one problem, a frustration, or maybe some need in your current environment. Name the smallest and meaningful action that you can take today to improve it, and then take that action without waiting for permission. It's really just a matter of identifying the need, being willing to do something about it, and then simply starting. So be the spark, be the owner, be the sunshine. I'd say everyone is just waiting for someone else to do something and that someone can be you. Now before you go one just give the show a like a review and click the subscribe button if you find this valuable and want to keep enjoying these insights. 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