You’ll probably find quite a few recommendations to be proactive once you start searching the web.

But it all depends on the context.

It’s first and foremost the context that determines if going first can lead to a desired result. Being aware of the context then helps to determine one’s approach.

How to go first, however, is most often limited by our beliefs. Beliefs include the ideas we have on leadership, vulnerability, appropriateness, competence, and, more generally, how we have to show up to be taken seriously.

Additionally, many of us have been trained to focus on results sooner than the process.

That’s, for example, why when trying to help someone else, we’ll ask, “Can I help?” or “How can I help?” And rarely say “I’d like to help, but I don’t know how.”