The term “proactivity” is commonly used to describe individual efforts “to initiate positive change” in a community, a specific setting, or society as a whole (Strauss, Griffin, Parker, & Mason, 2015, p. 63). Self-initiated changes do not imply mere passive adaptation to uncertain environments but mean that a person attempts to identify and forecast potential future demands and try to achieve improvements. When speaking of proactivity in the organizational context, it may refer to innovation endeavors or an organizational change in any area of performance. At the workplace, an employee can show proactive behavior by offering new ideas and actualizing them in projects.
As mentioned by Strauss et al. (2015), initially, an employee’s suggestions for change can be underestimated and met with significant suspicion. Therefore, one of the important qualities of any proactive person is persistence. In my opinion, perseverance and long-term thinking are two of my strengths which can positively impact my efforts to achieve favorable changes either at the workplace or in the community. When judging my ideas critically, I also prefer to stay enthusiastic and refine them until I am sure they can be interesting and topical to many people. It is important because it is almost impossible to explain the importance of any idea in a rational manner and inspire others to implement it without both self-criticism and enthusiasm.
It is possible to say that there are a few basic phases on the way from the generation of ideas to their implementation. First of all, to become a proactive and productive member of society or any organization, it is important to conduct a preliminary analysis of situations which concern you most and identify the environmental factors impeding the desired improvements. It is also important to explore evidence that may prompt excellent solutions and serve as the basis for generating new ideas. After this, the problems, methods, and formulated objectives should be communicated via different means, e.g. social media, presentations, public discussions, etc. To achieve better success in promoting ideas, it is useful to communicate them directly to those stakeholders and social actors who can be especially interested in the project realization and its positive outcomes. It may be difficult to achieve successful implementation of ideas alone, but when you consider the interests of diverse social members, you have a chance to gain their support and assistance which may largely facilitate the accomplishment of any aim.
One of the current and topical goals for change in the UAE society is the increase of awareness of the need for environmental protection. Environmental incentives contribute to the sound social development and creation of welfare. Therefore, it is important to involve as many people in the achievement of greater ecological efficiency and safety as possible. The ecological principles can be followed by individuals and organizations as well. For example, time after time I participate in the community clean-up programs which aim to remove waste in different city areas. I also intend to promote environmental initiatives at my workplace by sharing ideas regarding various methods for bettering organizational energy and waste efficiency. In my opinion, since environment pollution is larger in scope at the corporate level than at the personal one, the integration of green policies into organizations of different size can contribute to the enhancement of the situation in the country. However, it is important to remember that profitability and positive financial outcomes are similarly important for every company in any sector of performance. Thus, as a proactive member of society, I conduct research on the methods which can reduce the organizational negative influence on the environment and, at the same time, can be associated with cost efficiency. Later, I plan to communicate my findings and achieve the implementation of potentially effective solutions in business.
References
Strauss, K., Griffin, M., Parker, S., & Mason, C. (2015). Building and sustaining proactive behaviors: The role of adaptivity and job satisfaction. Journal Of Business & Psychology, 30(1), 63-72. Web.