The People Make the Place, and They Make Things Happen: Proactive Behavior and Relationships at Work

Abstract

George Bernard Shaw famously observed that there are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who wonder what happened. Proactive behavior is about making things happen. It involves taking initiative to bring about a different future, for oneself, for one’s team, or for the organization as a whole (Parker et al., 2010). From extensive research we know that people do indeed vary in their propensity7 to “‘’make things happen’*’ (Bateman & Grant, 1993; Fuller & Marier, 2009). Those with a proactive personality are particularly likely to fake charge and initiate change (Bateman & Grant, 1993). But while those people may sometimes override the influence of their environment, they are by no means independent of their context. Like most work behaviors, proactive behavior depends on the interplay of individual dispositions and factors in the work environment. Making things happen does not occur in a social vacuum: Those who “watch what happens” will, for example, make it more or less risky to speak up with suggestions. Their reactions will determine whether efforts to initiate change will be successful, and whether these efforts will have positive or negative consequences for the individual, for example in relation to his or her image, performance evaluation or career success.