If you look around your workplace it’s often very easy to assess who you consider proactive and who’s not. Perhaps you sometimes see those you deem to be proactive as a little obsessive, maybe even a little paranoid? Maybe you’re just aware of their ability to get results?

The truth is we’re all proactive, to a degree. We take out the garbage when collections are due, normally schedule annual health check-ups before problems arise, etc. So, in the workplace the important questions become:

• How much proactivity is enough?
• How do we demonstrate and leverage proactivity to our advantage?

Proactivity is about anticipating needs/problems/opportunities/issues and then initiating appropriate, beneficial change. There’re lots of good characteristics suggested here for making great life choices both in and out of the workplace. Certainly, those proactive characteristics are the very ones companies need to be present in most managers, regardless of their level of seniority.

An important observation to make is that proactive people generally tend to build (or, leverage existing) infrastructure. They might even sometimes claim to trust their guts,have a nose for problems or it’s said they are just operating from extensive experience. Nevertheless, they commonly like solid infrastructure that protects them from liabilities and positions them for improvements. And, it’s their proactive urge and the building of infrastructure that brings them those beneficial results.

Truly proactive people like to put systems in place; indeed, proactivity can sometimes permeate their lives. And, good managers who are proactive often:

• Measure and Monitor performance
• Value Problem Solving
• Know how to Make Decisions
• Interact and Communicate well with others
• Delegate responsibly
• Motivate others
• Plan
• Are personally Organized and encourage this behavior
• Control workflow and their environment
• Create, Overhaul and Upgrade Systems
• Are good Team Players
• Lead effectively
• Mentor and develop others
• etc.

It could be argued that just having some of these skills is what makes you proactive. Or, perhaps being naturally proactive drives you to develop such skills, simply out of need? Either way, it’s a chicken-and-egg argument and ultimately does not matter, here. In the end, these are all great skills to possess and behaviors to demonstrate.

Again, if you are anticipating needs/problems/opportunities/issues, you will need several of these behaviors to realize any beneficial change. So, unless you already possess and exhibit some of these essential behaviors, it will be hard to be seen as that proactive leader.

Having the ability to head-off problems and anticipate needs is a winning recipe for any career. A successful career demands you change, adapt, grow and increase your value.

If your coworkers looked at you today, what would they see? Are you a proactive person; are you able to look ahead and execute valuable change?

The primary way to enhance your standing and image in the workplace is by differentiating oneself. As you target, select and develop more skills you increase your value to any company and stand out from the crowd. Importantly, all of the skills listed above can be learned.

So, if you want to be seen as that proactive person who can initiate positive change and manage liabilities, then look to your skill-set. After all, proactively improving personal skills is on the roadmap of every successful career, anyway!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh