At our house we enjoy listening to an audio dramatization of Anne of Green Gables. There are several quotable lines that have worked their way into the culture of our family. Here’s one:

“Initiative–seeing what needs to be done, and doing it.”

That goes a long way.

Now, sometimes you have to refrain from helping if your help is unauthorized, or it will be interpreted as you overstepping your bounds. Not all problems are yours to fix.

But most of the time, if you’re an observant person, you can anticipate what’s about to happen and help in an appropriate way. And good leaders will usually notice you–because initiative is a classic sign of a leadership bias. We want you on our team.

See what’s about to happen. Hit the brakes. Lend a hand. Open a door. Rescue my toddler who can’t swim and just walked into the pool while we were distracted.

I’ll try to do the same for you.