Proactivity in project management: the difference between supporting and taking ownership
Proactivity in projects goes beyond taking initiative. Understand what it really means and how to apply it with your team.
Have you ever gotten feedback that you needed to be more proactive, even while being sure you already were?
That happened to me. Let me tell you how, and what I learned about proactivity from that moment on.
The situation that made me rethink what proactivity is
I was in my first month reporting directly to the company's CEO when I got pulled into a high-stakes issue. He asked a simple question, "who's leading this," and addressed the message to four directors.
Shortly after, three of them responded, explaining where things stood. Since I was new in the role, I decided to act "proactively": I positioned myself as support in structuring the issue and said I'd join the next working meeting.
Right after that, I got direct feedback: I needed to be proactive.
I stared at that message trying to understand what I'd done wrong. When I realized how I had positioned myself, I recognized he was right and thanked him for the feedback.
This is a skill that's valued in project managers, and sometimes we slip without noticing, even while thinking we're being proactive. It happens, and it has nothing to do with seniority.
What proactivity really means
Most people see proactivity simply as the act of taking initiative and doing something. It goes well beyond that.
Proactivity means that we are responsible for our own actions, and that our behavior is the result of the decisions we make, not of external conditions. It's tied to three elements: initiative, choice, and taking ownership of that choice.
Back to my story: when I positioned myself as support in structuring the issue, I was simply reacting to the event and putting myself on standby, when I could have chosen to take on the responsibility my position called for.
Take ownership and stop blaming external factors
We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen. Responsible people don't blame circumstances or conditioning for their behavior: they make conscious choices about how they act and own the consequences of it.
The reflection that stays with me is: "I'm in this situation because of the choices I made."
How to apply proactivity on your projects
A few practical things I use to build this mindset within teams:
- Structure projects so that the combined effort complements itself, creating accountability for each workstream and for the project as a whole. I call this "the project comes before the areas."
- Guide people, individually and as a group, toward self-accountable attitudes, and watch for phrases like "I already sent an email a week ago, now it's just waiting for a reply," "area XYZ is the one who has to decide," or "this isn't on me, they decide." This pattern is common in traditional, low-maturity companies, and recognizing the signs is the first step to changing the dynamic.
- Encourage the team to bring solutions along with the problems they raise. Simple questions help: what will our response be? What can we do right now with what we have? What initiative can we take in this situation?
- Publicly recognize proactive attitudes in project meetings.
The outcome
As for the issue that triggered the feedback: I corrected course, acknowledged I'd gotten my positioning wrong, and took the lead on that front. Today there's a collective sense of ownership in how the team works on that project.
That feedback also changed how I handle proactivity outside work, at home and with my family.
At the end of the day, the responsibility for acting is yours. We're only where we chose to be.
If this theme of coherence between what we say and what we do interests you, I wrote about it in Start here, show your values.
Leandro | PMP | Project and Portfolio Manager
