If your boss tells you he wants you to “be more proactive”, s/he doesn’t want you to go out and buy acne treatment. You are being asked to be more aware of your work environment and anticipate problems.

Merriam-Webster defines proactive as: [2pro- + reactive] : acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes.

While the concept seems simple enough, being able to foresee those future problems, needs and changes are not.

Most employees are reactive. A problem arises and they seek out and implement solutions. A proactive employee is one who has a plan in case something goes wrong or who is prepared for a future event that is going to happen.

For example: You are in charge of a organizing a company workshop. Previous times employees have shown up without any means to take notes so you make sure that each employee is given a pad and pen upon entering the seminar.

Another example would be you have a large printing job to be done. You ensure, in advance, that there is enough ink and paper and warn other employees so that they can make alternate plans should they have printing jobs to be done.

Depending on the size of the project you may need to have a lot of back-up plans. You must constantly be asking yourself “What will I do if…” Obviously you cannot foresee every potential problem but the more prepared you are, the more likely that you can compensate should a situation occur.

In your day to day tasks, you should know it well enough to be able to predict potential problems. However, usually knowing your own job is not enough. You need to make the effort to be aware of how your job interacts with others and the flow of operations within your company.

Proactive employees are more efficient, they are less stressed and cause less stress. They are more appreciated than the employee who simply reacts to problems. However, there is a drawback. If you are good at foreseeing and preventing problems most people are not even aware of your efforts. The plus is that people will often remark, with admiration, that your tasks seem to always run smoothly and without major incident.

It is up to you to decide what kind of employee you want to be. Do you want to be the one reacting to situations? The one running around like a chicken with its head cut off solving problems after they happen? Or do you want to be the one that says to your boss, “I planned in case this happened, here’s what we can do instead”?