Leaders face many choices. In the coming days, I’ll focus on several. Before you discount yourself because of your current position, remember everyone leads in some areas of life. Whether it’s at home, work, church, sports teams, or friendships, someone looks to you. You influence others.

One choice you have is between anticipation and reaction. You will not exclusively choose one or the other. No matter how intentional you are, you will sometimes quickly and even haphazardly react. Except in cases of someone’s safety, reactionary leadership is rarely productive. In order to be effective, leadership requires expectations and planning. Not everything goes the way we plan, but without a plan, we drift, and those who follow us—either organically or organizationally—experience insecurity and frustration. Leaders who fail to anticipate—envisioning the possibilities, considering the pitfalls, inviting collaboration, asking questions, and humbly reflecting and listening—essentially fail to lead. At least, they don’t lead well. They don’t establish rapport or build trust. The influence they have is primarily due to the position they hold, but they aren’t team-builders, and the result is low levels of loyalty alongside high levels of disrespect. And they rarely see their shortcomings. They think they plan but they do so on their own and don’t notice or care about buy-in. They’re okay with pulling rank and expecting people to follow. But they don’t realize the response they get from others isn’t a team reaction, and it isn’t long-lasting. Reactionary leaders exhaust others.

Leaders who anticipate aren’t perfect. There are some weaknesses involved, but as long as they are humble enough to consider fault, they’ll surround themselves with people who can strengthen the team. They know they need others, because none of us get very far on our own even if we’ve convinced ourselves otherwise. Proactive leadership is strategic. There’s a process of dreaming, scheming, reality reflection, and implementation. It’s ironic that reactive leaders will often state they don’t have time to slow down to plan, talk, and involve others. They merit it as being too busy, as if busy equals importance. But the truth is the proactive leader might appear to spend a lot of time in processes and planning, but the next steps of taking action leap ahead because of the forethought. The strategizing might seem like an unproductive pause or retreat, but it’s like a pull back toy: once released, it speeds forward with direction and purpose. While that’s happening, the reactive leader—and their team—are fighting fires. The culture of reaction breeds constant issues in processes, progress, and relationships.

Are you proactive or reactive? Does it differ based on your situation or the people around you? How do you cope within each type of leadership, and what do you expect from others? It’s difficult to serve with a reactive leader when you are proactive, and vice versa. You might not be able to fully change the culture, but you can infuse influence even it it seems minimal. There might be more people than you know who need the example and encouragement. You might just need to give it to yourself as well. Be willing to see the possibilities of growth in yourself. Then be diligent and humble…and proactive.

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