Initiative: Why Stars Act Before They Are Told

    Initiative is the trait that separates people who just do their job from people who make a difference. Here is how stars at India Inc. act before they are told — from Upul Chandana on the cricket field to a maintenance operator who stayed eight unpaid hours.

    Initiative: Why Stars Act Before They Are Told

    Initiative: Why Stars Act Before They Are Told

    The most reliable way to spot a star at India Inc. is not to look at their job title or their KRAs. It is to watch what they do when nobody has asked them to do anything. Initiative — taking the lead before you are told — is the quiet trait that separates people who merely finish their tasks from people who move an organisation forward.

    In short

    Where this sits on your Winning Kite

    Initiative is an EQ trait — it lives on the left side of The Winning Kite (KITE Leadership Framework). In the kite, EQ, RQ and PQ together lift you toward Success at the top; you rise on balance, not on any single strength. Initiative is where emotional intelligence stops being an inner quality and becomes visible action. It is powered by two traits that come just before it — self-motivation and ownership — and it is often the first thing a manager actually notices about a rising employee. You can be self-aware and calm and well-liked, but if you wait to be told before you move, your kite never really climbs.

    The moment on the cricket field: Upul Chandana, 1996

    Let me start where the book starts. It was 1996. Eden Gardens, Kolkata. A World Cup semi-final. Sri Lanka were on top and the match was slipping away from India. The crowd — around a hundred thousand strong — began to lose hope, and frustration turned into anger. Then bottles started flying onto the field. Garbage, stones, anything the spectators could throw. It was turning dangerous.

    At mid-wicket stood a young Sri Lankan cricketer named Upul Chandana. Not a superstar. Not even particularly famous. But in that moment he did something extraordinary. He saw what was happening, he understood the risk, and without waiting for anyone to tell him what to do, he acted.

    Upul ran to his captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, and said, in effect: "Captain, send me to the boundary line. Let Aravinda de Silva field here in the inner circle instead. If one of our experienced players gets injured by these bottles, we could be disqualified. I'll take the risk." Think about that. The match was almost won. But Upul was not thinking about personal glory — he was thinking about the team, the larger goal, and protecting what mattered most, even at his own cost. He did not wait for the captain to ask. He did not wait for a crisis meeting. He saw a problem, assessed the risk, and took the lead.

    That is initiative. That is leadership before the title. And that, in one image, is what stars do.

    What initiative actually is

    Initiative means taking action without being told. It is about seeing what needs to be done and doing it — even when no one has asked you, even when there is no immediate reward, even when there is risk involved. At the workplace, initiative-takers do not wait for problems to escalate before they respond. They do not need a second invitation. They do not need permission to do the right thing.

    They see opportunities where others see obstacles. They start projects before those projects are assigned. They solve problems before those problems are noticed. They lead before they are given a title. This is the single quality that separates someone who just does their job from someone who makes a difference. Daniel Goleman, who popularised emotional intelligence, files initiative under self-management for exactly this reason — but in the Winning Kite I keep it as its own named trait, because in Indian workplaces it is so often the thing that gets someone their first real break.

    When initiative is tested at work — four stars, four ordinary days

    Initiative rarely shows up in a spotlight. It shows up in everyday moments — when nobody's watching, when there's no reward waiting, when you could easily say "not my job" and walk away. Here are four people from the book who chose differently.

    The shipping clerk who saved lakhs

    A shipping clerk's job is to track incoming and outgoing shipments — nothing more. But one day this clerk noticed the company was overspending on courier services. Without being asked, the clerk researched alternative providers, calculated the potential savings, and prepared a proposal for management. The company saved lakhs of rupees a year. Nobody set up a special project. No bonus was promised. The initiative was taken simply because the clerk cared about the company's success beyond the boundaries of the job description.

    Mrs. Shivani Chavan, HRBP at Sterlite

    I got to know Shivani Chavan while working on a corporate training project at Sterlite. She had earlier worked at Cosmo Films and Endurance Technologies, and since joining Sterlite she stood out from her peers. When she noticed gaps in employee training and development, nobody asked her to fix it — it was not in her KRAs. But she did not wait. She came forward with proposals for Management Development Programs (MDP) and Skill Development Programs (SDP), and worked tirelessly to design and implement them. Today employee productivity and engagement at Sterlite have improved measurably — because one HRBP took initiative instead of waiting for a mandate.

    Mr. Alok and the electricity bills

    Mr. Alok, an Operations Manager at a design company overseeing multiple offices, was reviewing monthly expenses when he noticed electricity bills were unusually high across all locations. Nobody had flagged it. Nobody had complained. But Alok did not ignore it. He called a meeting with staff and educated them about energy conservation, put up motivational quotes near the switchboards, installed automated timers to cut power when equipment was idle, and replaced old machines with energy-efficient ones. He then monitored usage and kept a check on the bills. Within months the bills dropped dramatically and the company saved a substantial amount — all because he took ownership of a problem that was technically nobody's job.

    Chandrashekhar Puranik: eight unpaid hours

    This is the one that stays with me. During my research for the book I was recording a podcast with my friend Subhash Shinde from the HR fraternity, and I asked him a simple question: "Who are the stars in your organisation?" He told me about Chandrashekhar Puranik, an electric maintenance operator at NRB Bearings, whose job was maintaining a critical forging machine that produced engine parts for two- and three-wheelers.

    One day the machine broke down — right when a large order had to be processed urgently. If the order was not fulfilled, the company faced heavy penalties and a damaged reputation with the vendor. Chandrashekhar's shift ended at 3:30 PM, and four other operators were also finishing up. The manager pleaded with them to stay and fix the machine. One by one they refused: "My shift is over. I'm tired. I have plans." But Chandrashekhar stayed. "I will not leave until the machine is fixed," he said. For roughly eight hours — unpaid, unasked — he worked, using every tool and technique he knew, until late that night the machine roared back to life and the order was saved.

    He did not do it for a bonus or for recognition. He did it because he felt ownership — because he understood his responsibility did not end when the clock struck 3:30 PM; it ended when the job was done. That is the heart of this trait: initiative and ownership are twins. And across every conversation I had with HR professionals, the same pattern appeared — stars take initiative, they take ownership, and they do not wait for someone to tell them what needs doing.

    Two employees, same office

    To make this concrete, picture two people at the same desk.

    Employee A — lacks initiativeEmployee B — takes initiative
    Completes assigned tasks — nothing more, nothing lessCompletes tasks and looks for ways to improve the process
    Waits for instructions before actingSpots problems and proposes solutions proactively
    Says "that's not my responsibility"Steps up when help is needed, even outside their role
    Leaves at 5 PM regardless of pending issuesStays late when critical work demands it — unasked
    Focuses only on personal KRAsThinks about team and company success
    Avoids risks and new challengesTakes calculated risks to drive growth

    Employee B does not wait for permission and does not need a crisis to act. The real difference between a normal professional and a star is the readiness to work more — stars do not complain about extra work, they see it as an opportunity to contribute, to grow, to make a difference.

    Why do capable people still hold back?

    If initiative is so valuable, why don't more people take it? In the book I name seven reasons, and every one of them is emotional — which is exactly why initiative is an EQ trait.

    1. Fear of failure. "What if my idea doesn't work?" They would rather do nothing than do something wrong. But every breakthrough started with someone willing to fail. 2. Lack of confidence. "Who am I to suggest this?" Yet some of the best ideas come from the people closest to the problem. Initiative does not require a title — it requires courage. 3. Comfort with the status quo. "Why rock the boat?" But comfortable never leads to growth, promotions or respect. 4. Fear of criticism. They would rather be invisible than vulnerable — but stars accept that not every idea will be applauded. 5. The "it's not my job" mentality. When everyone thinks this way, nothing gets done and problems fester. 6. Fear of extra commitment. "What if they ask for more than I can deliver?" Stars don't fear commitments — they manage them. 7. Fear of opposition. They would rather keep things as they are than face resistance.

    The Admiral who was proved right by war: Jackie Fisher

    On that last fear — opposition — there is a story I love from outside India. Jackie Fisher was Admiral of the Royal Navy in the early 1900s. As Germany prepared for war, Fisher took the initiative to modernise the British fleet, proposing large battleships and submarines — revolutionary, expensive ideas for their time. Parliament opposed him. Navy officials resisted. Politicians said, "We're at peace, why spend money on this?" The pressure was so fierce that he was pushed into retirement in 1910. But when the First World War broke out in 1914, Britain's survival depended on exactly the modernisation Fisher had forced through in peacetime. His unpopular initiative saved the country, and he is remembered today as one of the greatest naval administrators in history. The lesson is simple: stars don't fear opposition — they expect it, and they persist through it. As the saying goes, 80% of success is just showing up. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to start.

    How to diagnose an initiator

    Want to know if you — or someone on your team — is a genuine initiator? Look for five signs: they are active and enthusiastic (energised by challenges, not drained by them); self-confident and fearless (not reckless, but willing to take calculated risks); hardworking and self-motivated (driven by purpose, not external rewards); willing to initiate without expecting rewards (they act because they care about the organisation, not for recognition); and they carry a deep belief in making a difference — they don't think "I'm just one person, what can I do?", they think "If not me, then who?"

    How to build initiative — one small step at a time

    Here is the good news, and it is the same message I carry into every workshop: initiative is not something you are born with. It is something you build. Start small — offer to help a colleague, suggest one improvement to a process you touch daily, volunteer for something outside your usual work; small acts build the confidence for bigger ones. Shift your mindset from "job" to "mission" — when you care about the mission, initiative becomes natural. Cultivate ownership by asking, "If this were my company, what would I do?" Embrace calculated risk, and remember that inaction is also a risk. Learn from failure instead of stopping at it — stars who fail once take more initiative, smarter and stronger. Surround yourself with initiative-takers, because you become like the people around you. Stop waiting for permission — nobody is going to ask you to be great. And make the first call: when there is a hard conversation to be had, initiators step up, put ego aside, and lead. Losers just watch the drama unfold; stars take action.

    The takeaway

    Upul Chandana was not the best cricketer on that Sri Lankan team, not the most famous, and did not score the most runs. But his initiative — his willingness to protect his team, to take a risk, to act without being told — helped his side win the World Cup. In the workplace it is exactly the same. You don't have to be the CEO, the most experienced, or the smartest person in the room. But if you take initiative — spotting problems and solving them, seizing opportunities, caring about the mission and acting on it — you will stand out, earn respect, build trust, and open doors. So here is my question for you: what is one thing you can do today, without being asked and without expecting a reward, that would make your team or organisation better? Don't wait for permission. Just act. If you want to place this trait in the bigger picture, see how it connects to the rest of your Winning Kite, and explore the corporate training topics we build around it.

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    Avinash Chate

    TEDx Speaker · Founder, The Future Corporate · Author of Stars at India Inc.

    Avinash has trained the Indian Army, BRO, RBI, BARC, JSW Steel and 1000+ corporate leaders across India. His work focuses on leadership, emotional intelligence and behavioural training rooted in Indian values and modern business needs.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What does initiative mean at the workplace?

    Initiative means taking action without being told — seeing what needs to be done and doing it, even when nobody has asked you, there is no immediate reward, and there is risk involved. It is the trait that separates someone who just does their job from someone who genuinely makes a difference, like Upul Chandana volunteering to shield his team or Chandrashekhar Puranik staying eight unpaid hours to fix a machine.

    Why do so many professionals avoid taking initiative?

    Most people hold back because of seven emotional blocks: fear of failure, lack of confidence, comfort with the status quo, fear of criticism, an "it's not my job" mentality, fear of extra commitment, and fear of opposition. Stars feel the same fears — they just refuse to obey them, treating calculated risk as the ordinary price of contributing.

    Can initiative be developed, or are you born with it?

    It is built, not inherited. You develop it by starting small, shifting your mindset from "job" to "mission", cultivating ownership ("if this were my company, what would I do?"), embracing calculated risk, learning from failure, surrounding yourself with initiative-takers, and refusing to wait for permission.

    Where does initiative sit in the Winning Kite framework?

    Initiative is one of the 25 EQ traits on the left side of the Winning Kite (KITE Leadership Framework). It grows out of self-motivation and ownership, and it is the trait that most visibly converts emotional intelligence into results and leadership — helping your whole kite rise toward Success.

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