Action - Competency
Definition: Action reflects the ability to proactively address challenges, take initiative, and act decisively to drive results while fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. It involves being resourceful, ambitious, and tenacious in overcoming obstacles, as well as responsive and preemptive in mitigating potential issues. Effective action includes delegating tasks appropriately, maintaining responsibility, and ensuring timely, results-oriented efforts to achieve goals with efficiency and innovation.
Self-Comments:
Do you have to complete a self-assessment or performance appraisal? If so, the
self-comments here may help.
Do you have to complete a self-assessment or performance appraisal? If so, the
self-comments here may help.
What is an "Action Oriented" individual?
Core Components of an Action Orientation
Why is "action" important in the workplace?
What are key aspects of Action?
How can I improve my Action?
360-Feedback questions that measure Action
Core Components of an Action Orientation
Why is "action" important in the workplace?
What are key aspects of Action?
How can I improve my Action?
360-Feedback questions that measure Action
Flexibility
Adaptability
Creativity
Accountability
Action
Bias for Action
Integrity
Self Management
Passion To Learn
Continual Learning
Continual Improvement
Creativity
Professional Development
Feedback
Punctuality
Attitude
Cultural Awareness
Emotional Intelligence
360-Feedback Assessments Measuring Action:
Survey 1 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 2 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 3 (5-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 4 (5-point scale; radio buttons)
Survey 5 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 6 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 7 (5-point scale; competency comments; N/A)
Survey 8 (3-point scale; Agree/Disagree words; N/A)
Survey 9 (3-point scale; Strength/Development; N/A)
Survey 10 (Comment boxes only)
Survey 11 (Single rating per competency)
Survey 12 (Slide-bar scale)
Survey 13 (4-point scale; numbers; floating anchors)
Survey 14 (4-point scale; N/A)
Survey 1 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 2 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 3 (5-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 4 (5-point scale; radio buttons)
Survey 5 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 6 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 7 (5-point scale; competency comments; N/A)
Survey 8 (3-point scale; Agree/Disagree words; N/A)
Survey 9 (3-point scale; Strength/Development; N/A)
Survey 10 (Comment boxes only)
Survey 11 (Single rating per competency)
Survey 12 (Slide-bar scale)
Survey 13 (4-point scale; numbers; floating anchors)
Survey 14 (4-point scale; N/A)
Performance Management Assessments
that include Action:
Assessment 1 (5-point scale; IDP Comments)
Assessment 2 (3-point scale with Comments)
Assessment 3 (Manager Assessment; 360-Feedback)
Assessment 4 (3-point scale; Rating Limits)
Assessment 5 (3-point scale; Rating Limits)
Assessment 6 (5-point scale with Comments)
Assessment 7 (Comment Boxes Only; IDP)
Assessment 8 (Comment Boxes Only)
Assessment 9 (3-point scale with Letter Grade)
Assessment 10 (360-Feedback; Bonus/Merit Pay)
Assessment 11 (Core Values & Job Competencies)
Assessment 12 (4-point scale; 6 Comment Boxes)
that include Action:
Assessment 1 (5-point scale; IDP Comments)
Assessment 2 (3-point scale with Comments)
Assessment 3 (Manager Assessment; 360-Feedback)
Assessment 4 (3-point scale; Rating Limits)
Assessment 5 (3-point scale; Rating Limits)
Assessment 6 (5-point scale with Comments)
Assessment 7 (Comment Boxes Only; IDP)
Assessment 8 (Comment Boxes Only)
Assessment 9 (3-point scale with Letter Grade)
Assessment 10 (360-Feedback; Bonus/Merit Pay)
Assessment 11 (Core Values & Job Competencies)
Assessment 12 (4-point scale; 6 Comment Boxes)
What is an "Action Oriented" individual?
An action-oriented individual is someone who quickly and decisively executes assignments and tasks without delay by being proactive, ambitious, tenacious, resourceful, and focused on achieving results. They thrive on momentum and prefer taking immediate action rather than lingering in passivity. By preempting potential issues, they demonstrate a keen sense of foresight and preparedness. Their initiative often leads them to exceed expectations, going above and beyond in every endeavor. These individuals embody a dynamic and relentless drive toward accomplishing their goals.
Core Components of an Action Orientation
- Proactive: Is actively taking steps to address potential issues and opportunities before they escalate or arise by identifying areas for improvement, developing solutions ahead of time, and using strategies to prevent small problems from becoming critical incidents.
- Preemptive: Anticipating specific critical incidents and taking targeted actions to mitigate their impact or prevent them entirely. Focusing on immediate preparation and preventative maintenance, such as anticipating needs, preparing equipment, or taking action to avoid obstacles and delays.
- Ambitious: Drive, energy, and a desire to achieve beyond expectations through a proactive mindset aimed at excelling and creating opportunities to contribute at a high level. An individual's intrinsic motivation and aspiration to excel and produce exceptional outcomes.
- Initiative: The willingness to take the first step or act independently to address needs or challenges. Decisive and able to respond to situations proactively without waiting for external direction. Quick action, problem-solving, and being the first to take charge ensuring issues are resolved efficiently and effectively.
- Tenacious: Resilience and persistence in the face of challenges through the ability to stay committed to goals despite obstacles, setbacks, or slow progress. It reflects a determined and relentless drive to achieve objectives no matter the barriers encountered.
- Decisive: Making confident and effective decisions by taking swift and clear action, especially under pressure, avoiding "analysis paralysis," and confidently standing by choices. The individual's ability to assess situations, take corrective measures when needed.
- Goes Above and Beyond: Exceeding expectations and contributing beyond assigned responsibilities to proactively take on additional challenges, support others, and seek opportunities for advancement and self-improvement.
- Delegating: Empowering and mobilizing others to achieve goals by assigning tasks based on team members' strengths, determining the right person for specific responsibilities, and ensuring alignment with overall objectives.
- Being Resourceful: The strategic use of skills, resources, and systems to achieve goals through navigating organizational structures, leveraging opportunities, and working across boundaries to convert plans into actions and exceed expectations.
- Being Responsive: Take quick action and adapt in the face of immediate needs or situations by focusing on addressing critical issues promptly, developing alternatives swiftly, and making necessary adjustments to meet evolving circumstances.
- Results Oriented: Achieving goals and delivering tangible outcomes, regardless of challenges or delays through determination, accountability, and a commitment to completing projects successfully, often demonstrating perseverance and adaptability.
- Fast Paced: Speed and urgency in task execution by working quickly and efficiently, avoiding procrastination, and immediately addressing assignments or challenges. The ability to act swiftly in dynamic environments, maintain momentum, and inspire a sense of urgency in others.
Why is "action" important in the workplace?
"Action" in the workplace is crucial because it drives progress and ensures tasks are completed in a timely manner.
- Proactive: To be prepared at the start of projects and use strategies to stay ahead of potential problems. Being proactive helps prevent small issues from becoming major problems.
- Preemptive: Being preemptive at work enables the active identification and resolution of potential issues, ensuring seamless operations and minimizing disruptions.
- Ambitious: An ambitious person is someone who consistently displays high energy and enthusiasm, stays focused and productive, creates and seizes opportunities, effectively handles multiple complex issues, and goes beyond their assigned responsibilities to initiate actions and get things done.
- Initiative: Taking the initiative is the hallmark of a proactive and results-driven professional who actively seeks opportunities to improve the team's success and efficiency by addressing needs, solving problems, and stepping up without waiting for direction.
- Tenacious: Tenacity at work helps overcome obstacles, challenges, and setbacks. It enables you to complete goals, achieve success, avoid distractions, and to be resilient.
What are key aspects of Action?
How can I improve my Action?
A manager can enhance their skills in the competency of "Action" by adopting specific strategies and behaviors that drive proactive and results-oriented efforts:
- Develop a proactive mindset: Regularly anticipate challenges and address them before they escalate, ensuring smooth operations and effective mitigation.
- Strengthen decision-making skills: Focus on making timely and confident decisions, avoiding "analysis paralysis" while maintaining clarity of purpose.
- Encourage initiative and ambition: Cultivate a willingness to act on opportunities and explore innovative solutions, demonstrating drive and determination in achieving organizational goals.
- Enhance resourcefulness: Improve planning and execution by aligning tasks with available resources and converting ideas into actionable results.
- Master effective delegation: Assign tasks to team members based on their strengths and capabilities, ensuring responsibilities are distributed for optimal efficiency.
- Be responsive and fast-paced: Act swiftly to address issues or capitalize on opportunities, maintaining momentum and urgency in critical situations.
- Promote accountability: Uphold responsibility in approving requests and maintaining timelines, modeling a commitment to high standards for the team.
- Cultivate resilience and tenacity: Adapt strategies to overcome obstacles while maintaining focus and determination during setbacks.
What questions could be included on a 360-degree survey that measure "action"?
When creating a questionnaire to measure action, be sure to include items that being proactive/preemptive, ambitious, taking the initiative, tenacity, decisiveness, going above and beyond, and resourcefulness. The questionnaire items on this page will measure these aspects of "action" in the workplace. These questions are grouped into different facets of action. When creating a 360-degree or other performance assessment, try to select one or two items from each group.
360-Feedback questions that measure Action
Proactive
Proactive focuses on actively taking steps to address potential issues and opportunities before they escalate or arise. This dimension emphasizes identifying areas for improvement, developing solutions ahead of time, and using strategies to prevent small problems from becoming critical incidents. It reflects a mindset of staying ahead of challenges by preparing for and addressing foreseeable needs within a broader scope.
- Is proactive in developing solutions to problems.
- Takes corrective action when necessary.
- Is proactive in addressing the needs of the department.
- Is proactive rather than reactive in work.
- Takes proactive steps to address potential issues before they became a problem.
- Prevents small issues from becoming critical incidents.
- Uses strategies to stay ahead of potential challenges at work.
- Identifies opportunities for improvement before there is a problem.
- Fixes small issues before they become critical incidents.
- Takes steps to prepare for the start of the project.
Preemptive
Preemptive highlights anticipating specific critical incidents and taking targeted actions to mitigate their impact or prevent them entirely. It is more narrowly focused on immediate preparation and preventative maintenance, such as anticipating needs, preparing equipment, or taking action to avoid obstacles and delays. This dimension reflects a readiness to deal with potential threats to ensure continuity and efficiency.
- Prepares equipment at the start of the shift.
- Anticipates needs and takes pre-emptive action to address the issue.
- Takes preemptive actions avoid obstacles or delays.
- Regularly conducts preventative maintenance on the equipment.
- Anticipates critical incidents in the department and takes steps to mitigate their effect.
Ambitious
Ambitious emphasizes drive, energy, and a desire to achieve beyond expectations. It reflects a proactive mindset aimed at excelling and creating opportunities to contribute at a high level. This dimension includes a focus on sustained enthusiasm, handling complex tasks, and seeking to exceed responsibilities while maintaining personal ambition. It is strongly tied to the individual's intrinsic motivation and aspiration to excel and produce exceptional outcomes.
- Displays high energy and enthusiasm on consistent basis.
- Stays focused and productive when there's work to be done.
- Seeks out opportunities to contribute beyond assigned responsibilities.
- Is driven to complete a high amount of work.
- Takes action when opportunities arise.
- Effectively handles multiple complex issues simultaneously.
- Is ambitious when working on the project.
- Creates opportunities and then takes advantage of them.
- Initiates actions to get things done.
- Exhibits personal ambition and drive but not at expense of others.
- Exhibits personal ambition and drive.
Initiative
Initiative highlights the willingness to take the first step or act independently to address needs or challenges. It is rooted in decisiveness and the ability to respond to situations proactively without waiting for external direction. This dimension emphasizes quick action, problem-solving, and being the first to take charge or adapt to changes in the environment, ensuring issues are resolved efficiently and effectively.
- Will take action to address a problem rather than to wait to confer with others about the situation.
- Fixes problems when they occur.
- Takes the initiative to address problems sooner rather than later.
- Takes advantage of changes to the current situation.
- Identifies needs and takes steps to address them.
- Takes charge without being asked.
- Decides to act rather than remain passive.
- Takes the initiative and does not wait for the situation to change.
- Is the first to volunteer for assignments.
- Initiates projects or tasks that have a positive impact on the team.
Tenacious
Tenacious emphasizes resilience and persistence in the face of challenges. It highlights the ability to stay committed to goals despite obstacles, setbacks, or slow progress. This dimension centers on overcoming adversity, adapting approaches, and maintaining focus to ensure success even when circumstances are difficult. It reflects a determined and relentless drive to achieve objectives no matter the barriers encountered.
- Demonstrates resilience in the face of adversity.
- Focuses on tasks without being distracted.
- Overcomes obstacles that may impede progress on a task.
- Completes challenging projects successfully despite setbacks.
- Successfully makes progress despite repeated failures or setbacks at work.
- Stays committed to goals even when progress is slow.
- Adapts approach to overcome significant obstacles.
- Persists in work despite obstacles encountered.
- Completes tasks despite obstacles encountered.
- Pursues goals with action to achieve success.
Decisive
Decisive emphasizes making confident and effective decisions. It centers on taking swift and clear action, especially under pressure, avoiding "analysis paralysis," and confidently standing by choices. This dimension focuses on the individual's ability to assess situations, take corrective measures when needed, and act decisively to resolve issues or advance objectives.
- Effectively makes decisions
- Makes effective decisions, even when under pressure.
- Is not afraid to take corrective action when necessary.
- Takes action when necessary.
- Is decisive when making decisions.
- Is not afraid to take action when necessary.
- Avoids "Analysis Paralysis" through action.
- Makes decisions confidently and stands by them.
Goes Above and Beyond
Goes Above and Beyond focuses on exceeding expectations and contributing beyond assigned responsibilities. It is about proactively taking on additional challenges, supporting others, and seeking opportunities for advancement and self-improvement. This dimension reflects a culture of excellence, where individuals not only fulfill their roles but actively look for ways to elevate the team's success and continuously improve themselves.
- Motivates & supports others to gain skills
- Encourages and supports a culture of excellence and continuous improvement within the department.
- Seeks new opportunities for advancement.
- Looks for extra ways to help the department achieve performance goals.
- Takes on additional responsibilities outside of the job description to help the team succeed.
- Gladly accepts new challenges and works on them with urgency.
- Motivates others to achieve or exceed goals
- Seeks and utilizes opportunities for continuous learning and self-development.
- Motivates others to achieve or exceed professional goals
Delegates
Delegates emphasizes empowering and mobilizing others to achieve goals. It involves assigning tasks based on team members' strengths, determining the right person for specific responsibilities, and ensuring alignment with overall objectives. This dimension highlights distributing work effectively, establishing direction, and working collaboratively to ensure tasks are completed efficiently.
- Drives and mobilizes others progress toward goals.
- Determines the best person for a specific task within the team.
- Establishes the tasks and direction for the team.
- Delegates tasks and assignments to subordinates as soon as a request has been made.
- Delegates decision-making authority to team members.
- Ensures that the team's tasks align with its overall objectives.
- Assigns tasks to team members based on their strengths.
- Assigns tasks to individuals who are most able to perform them.
- Successfully identifies the right person for a job when distributing tasks.
- Works with others to ensure tasks are completed.
Resourceful
Resourceful highlights the strategic use of skills, resources, and systems to achieve goals. It involves navigating organizational structures, leveraging opportunities, and working across boundaries to convert plans into actions and exceed expectations. This dimension reflects a long-term, thoughtful approach where individuals optimize existing tools and strategies to accomplish objectives efficiently and effectively.
- Works across organizational lines and boundaries to attain goals.
- Navigates organizational structures and boundaries to achieve goals.
- Creates performance measures to ensure action by the department.
- Leverages skills and resources to exceed performance expectations.
- Leverages skills and resources to exceed expectations on projects.
- Takes advantage of opportunities to move the organization forward.
- Converts plans into actions.
- Works effectively within the organizational lines and boundaries to attain goals.
Responsive
Responsive emphasizes quick action and adaptability in the face of immediate needs or situations. It focuses on addressing critical issues promptly, developing alternatives swiftly, and making necessary adjustments to meet evolving circumstances. This dimension demonstrates a readiness to act decisively in urgent situations, ensuring problems are addressed without delay.
- Immediately develops alternatives and solutions when presented with a problem or issue.
- Rapidly adapts to changes in the situation.
- Addresses performance issues quickly.
- Takes action in critical situations.
- Takes action to respond to dissatisfied customer.
- Addresses safety issues immediately.
- Acts immediately instead of waiting for someone else to solve the issue.
- Changes course to meet the needs of a new situation.
Results Oriented
Results Oriented focuses on achieving goals and delivering tangible outcomes, regardless of challenges or delays. This dimension emphasizes determination, accountability, and a commitment to completing projects successfully, often demonstrating perseverance and adaptability. Individuals who are results oriented prioritize moving forward on important projects and ensuring high-quality outcomes while taking full responsibility for meeting performance standards.
- Gets the job done.
- Does whatever it takes (within reason) to get the job done.
- Gets people to take action.
- Able to get things done and make things happen.
- Moves forward on important projects.
- Takes responsibility for meeting performance standards.
- Creates innovative products and services.
- Completes tasks on time in spite of delays in the process.
- Undertakes actions to achieve specific goals.
- Does what it takes to get the job done.
Fast Paced
Fast Paced emphasizes speed and urgency in task execution. This dimension centers on working quickly and efficiently, avoiding procrastination, and immediately addressing assignments or challenges. It highlights the ability to act swiftly in dynamic environments, maintain momentum, and inspire a sense of urgency in others to ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner.
- Works quickly when faced with difficult problems.
- Starts immediately working on assignments.
- Maintains a sense of urgency in daily work routines.
- Ensures timely completion of tasks.
- Works quickly to get the job done.
- Avoids procrastination.
- Does not procrastinate when there is a job to be done.
- Works at a quick pace.
- Acts quickly to create innovative products and services.
- Consistently stays motivated to perform at a high level and inspires the department to do the same.
Responsibility
- Sets high standards for themselves and others.
- Approves purchase requests in a timely manner.
- Takes responsibility for actions.
- Conducts critical-incident review immediately after the event.