The Proactive people Are those that predict consequences, risks and opportunities. In addition, they act to anticipate and change the expected course of events.
That is, they do not settle for waiting for the events to occur to act accordingly, they take responsibility for things to happen.
11 Traits of people with proactive personality
Once we know exactly what is meant by proactive person we present your main features or characteristics:
1- Look for different alternatives of action
One of the most brilliant features of proactive people is their ability to respond to complicated or stressful situations. They do not waste time thinking that nothing can be done to solve that problem, nor do they support the idea that there is only one possible solution.
Therefore, it explores different options and the advantages and disadvantages of each of them, that is, their possible consequences and / or the opportunities and risks that each of them entails if they are applied to address the problem (López, 2010).
2 - Accept criticism constructively
Proactive people are always willing to build their skill set and learn from their mistakes for it, they take criticism in a constructive way in order to improve both their professional and personal.
This makes them never collapse before negative criticism and can learn from them incorporating them as complements to the knowledge they had already acquired, something that will help them achieve their goals with good self-esteem.
3- Use positive language
On the other hand, they also usually use a language that seeks possibilities, seeks re-focusing, provides possibilities for action, assumes their own preferences and points of view and is committed to the construction of reality.
It could be considered as a facilitating language of personal actions, responsibilities and commitments. This type of language raises what we believe will happen to make it happen (Parra, S / F).
Attitude of self-control
They are able to control their emotions in stressful situations, which allows them to think quickly of a possible solution to the problem that has been presented to them. This makes once again, the proactive people are demanded by the companies at present for their high level of Problem resolution .
On the other hand, self-control also benefits you on a personal level, as it can often Our self-esteem The possible criticisms or even failures that we can have in any area of our life.
5- They are dynamic people
Proactive people empower to test behaviors, experience new situations and be guided by innovation. Therefore, they often face problems in a successful way and even anticipate the negative consequences and risks that can occur when experiencing new situations.
On the other hand, they are also able to glimpse the possibilities that exist when it comes to approaching a project and targeting innovation and the future. In addition, they are interested in transforming reality driven by their values because they are aware of the influence they have and therefore, they act in the face of the opportunities presented to them (Li et al., 2014).
6- Trust in themselves
All the characteristics that we have named above makes them enjoy good self-esteem and, therefore, have a very high self-confidence. This will allow them to be dynamic and participate actively in all the activities they carry out, expressing their ideas at all times.
7- Have great problem-solving skills
The proactive person not only solves problems but also explores possibilities. East Develops optimism Conscious and realistic that makes it easy to enjoy what you do, seek success and protect your self-esteem.
Therefore, in the event that the person in particular was the leader of a group, he would assume responsibility for his management functions through participation and cooperation with his team in order to find ways to improve.
If we continue imagining that the proactive person is a Leader , This would be characterized by planning the future to deal with problems in a more successful way since it would have the advantage of anticipating them (Parra, S / F).
8- Think long term
As noted above, proactive people are characterized by being attentive to the details of the world around them. If we extrapolate this to the work they do, they will have the ability to appreciate those details that would cost another person a lot.
In addition, they also have the ability to plan in advance the time available for, if we follow the example of the project, develop and deliver it. This is usually a very important quality for a leader because in this way, they will be able to realize the path that their company is following and the goals to which it wants to arrive (Li and others, 2014).
9- They are perseverant
Proactive people are also characterized by being very persevering. They tend to be clear about what they want for what they aim to achieve both long-term and short-term goals.
Not only at the individual level but also at the group level if you are the leader of a group. This trait is linked to the one we explained earlier, since those who think in the long run give them Set goals Which they want to achieve as well as the tasks they will have to perform in order to fulfill them.
10- Reach Your Goals
Having clear goals both short and long term as we have noted above will allow you to self-adjust your time and effort during the time period you have marked to reach them.
Therefore, sooner or later they reach their goals because they do not give up in their struggle to reach their dreams because they believe in their abilities and enjoy good self-esteem to not fall in the attempt.
11- Are aware of their strengths and weaknesses
Finally, another of the traits or characteristics we present to you from proactive people is that they usually have the ability to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
This in many cases is often difficult enough for anyone since we all know what we do right or wrong but we find it difficult to admit the second thing. This will make you able to know what you can do or what you will need help from the people you have around you.
What behaviors are derived from proactivity?
Once we have presented the Personality traits Of the proactive people, we have also seen fit to tell you how this is extrapolated in the conduct of these people.
These correspond to people who are conscious and masters of their acts, capable in addition to self-managing themselves emotionally in an appropriate way:
- Discipline. As you may have deduced, proactive people tend to be persistent in their work, so they have discipline and do not mind spending a lot of time working on a project they have on their hands if they require it. From this behavior can be derived many more that have to do with commitment, which usually make them into habits (Li and others, 2014).
- Assertiveness . Since they have a great initiative, they will usually always be the first to present their ideas as well as actions on a certain topic. For this reason, it is possible that they meet people who think differently and have to defend their opinion, however they will do so assertively and with respect to the other person, not trying to impose their ideas.
- Persuasion. Usually through persuasion you can influence the opinions or decisions that others have on a certain topic. Proactive people as they are faithful to their values and their ideas are often perceived as people capable of influencing others. Therefore, the most successful leaders tend to be normally proactive.
- Initiative. The initiative is a behavior that we have also highlighted above from proactive people. In most cases, this term is often used as a synonym for proactivity in some articles that analyze this personality with respect to companies.
Proactive people often anticipate events and are always thinking about something that can improve with respect to what they do or what projects they can do (López, 2010).
- Prosocial behavior. Proactive people often want to self-actualize and know that it is something that if they do it alone they may not get it so regardless of the context in which they move they are always willing to help the people who accompany it in whatever they need.
- Feeling of control. Finally, another of the behaviors that accompany these people is the sense of control they transmit and have as a result of their great self-esteem and self-confidence. These people know the potential they have and also have a great internal control that increases their confidence and allows them to feed back.
What is the difference between the proactive personality and the reactive personality?
Throughout this article we have been talking about the proactive personality but... Did you know that there is also the reactive personality and that is totally its opposite?. A reactive person unlike the proactive moves by their sensations and does not usually control their thoughts.
For this reason, they are often very Dependent Which need the approval of others because they lack their own criteria. They are also characterized by being afraid of not achieving the success or goals that are proposed, quite the opposite of what happens to proactive people.
In addition, they are overwhelmed by the situations they live and more if they can not control or are too stressful. This makes them only focus on what they can not do, being very negative about themselves and appreciating the changing exterior as a threat.
Finally, we have to highlight that they are people who are often complaining about everything in their day to day life because they are never happy with the life they have (Moreu, S / F).
CONCLUSIONS
As we have seen, proactive people have many traits that could be perfect to be efficient and effective leaders. There are many opinions on whether proactivity can be considered as a behavior or as a personality.
If we consider it as a behavior we could promote it in any person or for any company in order to improve its benefits. While on the other hand, if it is considered as a personality we will not be able to do it. If you want to go deeper into this topic I recommend the book"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"by Stephen R. Covey.
What other characteristics of the proactive personality do you know?
References
- Ares Parra. A (S / F). Proactive behavior as strategic behavior.
- López Salazar, A. (2010). Business proactivity as an element of competitiveness. Ra Ximhai, 6 (2), 303-312.
- Li, W. D., Fay, D., Frese, M., Harms, P. D., & Gao, X. Y. (2014). Reciprocal relationship between proactive personality and work characteristics: A latent change score approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99 (5), 948.
- Moreu Jalon, P. N. (S / F). Reactive personality versus proactive personality.
- Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M. (1999). Proactive behavior: Meaning, impact, recommendations. Business Horizons, 42 (3), 63-70.