How do you foster a culture of initiative among your colleagues or subordinates?

1 Define expectations and goals

The first step to encourage initiative is to clearly define the expectations and goals for your team or department. This will help them understand the purpose, scope, and impact of their work, and motivate them to seek innovative ways to achieve the desired outcomes. You can also involve them in setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives, and provide regular feedback and recognition for their progress and achievements.

2 Empower and delegate

The second step is to empower and delegate tasks and decisions to your colleagues or subordinates, based on their skills, interests, and potential. This will give them more autonomy, responsibility, and ownership of their work, and encourage them to use their initiative to overcome challenges, improve processes, and deliver results. You can also provide them with the necessary resources, support, and guidance, but avoid micromanaging or interfering with their work.

3 Promote learning and growth

The third step is to promote a culture of learning and growth among your colleagues or subordinates, where they can develop their skills, knowledge, and confidence, and explore new ideas and opportunities. You can do this by creating a safe and supportive environment, where they can share their opinions, suggestions, and feedback, and learn from their mistakes and successes. You can also provide them with learning opportunities, such as training, mentoring, coaching, or cross-functional projects, and encourage them to seek feedback and improvement.

4 Lead by example

The fourth step is to lead by example, and show your own initiative in your work. You can do this by demonstrating proactive behavior, such as identifying and solving problems, proposing and implementing changes, or taking on new challenges or responsibilities. You can also show your creativity, by generating and testing new ideas, or finding better ways to do things. You can also show your independence, by working autonomously, taking calculated risks, or making informed decisions.

5 Recognize and reward

The fifth step is to recognize and reward the initiative shown by your colleagues or subordinates, and celebrate their achievements and contributions. This will reinforce their positive behavior, boost their morale and motivation, and inspire them to continue taking initiative. You can do this by providing verbal or written praise, public recognition, incentives, or career advancement opportunities. You can also solicit and act on their feedback, and involve them in decision making or planning processes.

6 Prepare for interviews

The sixth step is to prepare for competency based interviews, where you may be asked behavioral questions about your initiative. These questions are designed to assess how you have used your initiative in specific situations in the past, and how you would use it in the future. To answer them effectively, you can use the STAR (situation, task, action, result) method, where you describe a situation where you used your initiative, the task or goal you had, the action you took, and the result you achieved. You can also provide examples of how you fostered a culture of initiative among your colleagues or subordinates, using the steps mentioned above.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?