Proactive
Initiative when the scene needs ownership
Initiative is willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges before someone asks. GIS scores proactive moves that fit alignment tags, not lone wolf heroics that skip the pod.
Initiative that scores loops in the right people before acting.
What it is
Initiative is stepping up on work that needs doing without waiting for a prompt. In GIS, it appears when the rep advances a qualified thread, fixes a spill, or surfaces risk with visible alignment to peers and managers.
Why it matters in enablement
Deals need proactive thread advancement. Pods need proactive fixes that respect peer impact. Managers need one vocabulary for deal-side ownership and team-side ownership.
How we measure
Rubrics on ownership beats reward proactive next steps with appropriate stakeholder and peer alignment. Mismatch when the scene required listening or loop-in before action.
Observable signals
Well matched
- Acts on spill without waiting for permission
- Surfaces risk before it becomes fire
Mismatch risk
- Waiting for permission on spill response
- Passive retro participation
Episode map
| Team IQ episodes | The Spill (Ep2) · The Retro (Ep3) |
|---|---|
| Deal IQ scenes | Proactive follow-up |
Manager coaching
Coach Initiative on scene type, not personality. Well matched looks like: Acts on spill without waiting for permission Mismatch risk looks like: Waiting for permission on spill response Assign it as a focus skill, rematch the same scene type in Team IQ or Deal IQ, and compare debrief fit before the next live call or pod forum.
Deal craft scene
Deal IQ beats score rep-led thread advancement on qualified opportunities without manager prompt. Initiative shows when the rep moves a thread forward with evidence, not activity for its own sake.
Team craft scene
Team IQ spill and managing-up beats score proactive fixes with visible loop-in. Ep2 spill response is a common initiative lab inside the pod.
Practice in simulation
Assign Initiative with Team IQ managing-up 1:1 slices and Deal IQ qualified thread advancement scenes. Cross-sim dossiers compare deal-side initiative versus team-side alignment fit.
Wrong-tool moments
When situational fit drops, rubrics flag mismatch risk. These are common beats where this skill is the wrong tool for the scene.
- Acting on a buyer thread without peer handoff notice
- Manager bypass when loop-in early was tagged
- New work accepted without a capacity check with the pod
- Initiative that reopens resolved retro tension
- Speed celebrated when an alignment beat was required first
FAQ
- Can initiative be wrong-tool in team scenes?
- Yes when beats required alignment or listening before action.
- How does initiative relate to objective setting?
- Initiative scores taking on challenges. Objective setting scores defining goals and strategies. They are related but scored separately.
- Does initiative score in snapshots?
- Yes on tagged beats in snapshot episodes, not on completion alone.