What if your organization was filled with people who initiated–and I’m going to use a very scientific word here–stuff? What if, nestled in cubicles and offices and break rooms and bathrooms (folks say they think well in there), there were people investing significant mental and emotional energy in figuring out how to initiate things that matter to your organization and those with whom your organization interacts?

As folks who regularly peruse this site will tell you, to me, it’s important to understand that leaders have a huge responsibility to cultivate environments within which that sort of thing (the aforementioned initiating) can happen.

But this post isn’t necessarily about those titled leaders, though it certainly can be.

This is about you.

Not someone else. Not your teammate. Not your manager. Not an executive.

You.

Whether you’re an exec, a manager, or a front line employee, your organization needs you to try things, create things, and push things forward. Your team needs you to be the one who decides to be vulnerable and open first.

You be the one who steps up and makes something happen.

Don’t wait. That’s what everyone does. They wait for permission (real or imagined), the perfect situation, or for more people to join them first. I’m not saying none of that matters; there’s a certain amount of organizational savvy that you have to have. But at the same time, we can’t use those things as excuses. There’s never going to be a perfect time to do something. There’s never going to be a moment where all the stars align flawlessly and a yellow-brick road appears with rose petals sprinkled all over it for you to leisurely walk down toward the magical world of wherever you’re going.

So go. Do. Initiate.