I heard these words from an executive at a leadership event a couple weeks ago. His frustrations weren’t anything new. Why can’t employees take more initiative to solve organizational problems?

It’s a common question with a wide variety of possible answers. Unfortunately, we usually get the level of initiative we reinforce. Let’s take a closer look at what initiative really means – and how to inspire the initiative you need to be effective.

6 Levels of Initiative

In his thought leadership on management, William Oncken introduced several levels of initiative a person can take in a given circumstance. It’s quite a wide range. Take a look:

1. Wait until told (lowest level)
2. Ask what to do
3. Recommend a course of action and then act after approval
4. Act and report immediately
5. Act and report periodically
6. Act independently and report if asked (highest level)

Determine the Level Needed

If you’re in the same boat as the executive mentioned above, you probably looked at this list and immediately identified the level preferred. If not, that’s where you need to start. There is a huge difference between level one and level six. We often bemoan a lack of initiative, but depending on the business situation, taking too much initiative can actually be extremely damaging. And don’t forget to factor in your own preference for hands-on or hands-off management.

Communicate Expectations

Once you’re clear on the level of initiative you desire, you need to communicate it explicitly to your employee(s). Until you do, nothing has actually changed. And be sure to differentiate between tasks and situations. Some tasks you may want to be asked about and others you may expect your employee to take care of himself.

As a young consultant, I was often intimidated by the client leaders I supported. They had experience and authority. I didn’t have much of either. But my bosses gave me explicit expectations that my job was to come to the table with recommendations. Regardless of how uncomfortable I felt at times, I knew it was my responsibility to deliver. (This is probably one reason why I now encourage everyone who wants to increase their influence to do the same).

There is no benefit of the doubt when it comes to expectations. Unclear expectations are always costly.

Adjust as Necessary

Aside from results, one of your chief duties as a manager is to develop talent. Let’s face it, if your talent doesn’t grow, neither will you. As your employees’ capacity expands, adjust (and communicate) the expectations for their initiative higher. Take it step by step. Development levels are often different between employees – but each will grow with your support.

When we don’t give more initiative, unskilled employees become stunted and skilled employees start looking for opportunities elsewhere.

The next time you wish an employee would take more initiative, you have the opportunity to turn your focus inward. Do you know what level of initiative you want? Have you communicated clearly? Do you need to adjust? Follow these steps and you’ll see your team’s productivity spike.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Unfortunately, I’ve learned it can be – mostly because of the challenges I’ve noticed or inadvertently created for myself over the years. So if you’re a go-getter, keep it up. But know when to go fast and when to slow down. Otherwise, you may experience some of these unpleasant reactions.

Lack of Buy-In

Leaders are responsible for creating change, but most of us depend on other leaders (and entities) to work together to bring the change to fruition. Herein lies that challenge. Consensus takes time and effort. If we skip this step (either because we’re too impatient or aren’t very good at it), we’ll create more problems than we solve. Our ideas become increasingly independent and siloed – and therefore less realistic and validated by the organization. The longer we go, the more difficult it becomes to gain the consensus we need. If you’ve ever had to scrap a project and start over, you probably know what I’m talking about.

Wasted Time & Resources

Big decisions need to be made before certain initiatives should be acted on, whether a key hire, planning review, feedback session or budget. Neglect to wait and you may need to execute a complete about-face. As irritating as placing projects “on hold” can be, sometimes it’s the best strategy until larger issues are cleared up.

Political Backlash

The more collaborative your role is, the more you will inevitably come into contact with information that hasn’t been made public yet. Then, in the course of your work, you’ll have moments when people either ask for your input or act with the information they have and you’ll be forced to make a choice. Should you be “helpful” with the relevant information you’re privy to or withhold and let things get off course? There may not be a black and white “right” answer. Just realize the inherent risk of sharing someone else’s sensitive message. It may come back to bite… hard.

Loss of Trust

Promises are dangerous. Think twice before you make even well-intentioned ones. I worked on an employee engagement project several years ago. One of the major themes shared by the workforce was disillusionment over all the promises senior management had given but never followed through on. One employee commented, “It would be better if they never promised to fix this issue than to promise and let us down… again.” Contrast that with a response from an executive recently who asked for more feedback before sharing a broad message “just to make sure we don’t set an expectation we can’t meet.” Treat trust like a football: protect it with both hands.

Being proactive is the first crucial step toward leadership. But as you’ve seen by now, taking initiative too quickly can be a sign of immaturity. The key is usually staying in sync with other leaders and initiatives. An old African proverb states, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Don’t let your need to achieve outpace the timing of the organization.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

If you’ve wondered this, I’ve got good news for you. It’s a lot easier than it sounds. And you can get started today. Here’s a game plan for you.

Start Collaborating Now

It’s hard to influence when you don’t have any visibility for one reason: people give more credibility to folks they recognize. But getting noticed can be tricky. No one likes a campaigner with an agenda. Instead, simply go out of your way to get to know the folks you work with – at various levels. Introduce yourself. Ask questions about their function (or use the three questions I always ask). Join lunch groups – or create your own. And volunteer for cross-functional work projects.

Understand the Big Picture

Having tunnel vision is the quickest way to limit your influence. Understand your role and your function’s objectives, but also make a point to understand the broader organizational priorities. Are you in a growth or profitability mode? What does this years’ strategic plan look like? What is most important to the other groups besides yours? It’s hard to influence in the right direction if you don’t understand what that direction is.

Be Proactive

Once you understand where the organization is headed, look for ways to take steps in that direction. Don’t see your job as a set of check boxes just within your role. See it as the responsibility to help the organization move forward. This means preparing for new projects that may come up, anticipating information other groups may need from you (and then providing it!) and looking for areas that could be improved.

Provide Options (and Recommendations!)

You’ve probably heard repeatedly that leaders “don’t find problems, they find solutions.” There’s an even better option than this. When I facilitated a college class on leadership, I repeatedly encouraged my students to “think like a consultant.” What I meant was: instead of sharing an opinion, come up with several viable options of ways to solve the problem at hand. Then take the opportunity to recommend the option you think is best and provide your reasoning. It is much easier for “management” to review your analysis and recommendations than to do all the work from scratch. If you do the work, don’t be surprised when your influence is accepted.

Offer to Do the Heavy Lifting

Once your ideas are accepted, be willing to do the work. When management says, “make it happen” – be ready to go, both for your ideas and others. I recently listened to a company president tell his success story. He said from the outset he accepted the jobs no one else wanted to do – and when he did them successfully, he was quickly given more. Eventually, his title was the highest in the organization.

You don’t need to wait for permission to influence your organization for the better. When you invest yourself in the success of the organization, the people in it and the people it serves, your influence can be an incredible gift, regardless of your level of authority.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.