Story 14: Initiative
The story: The team agreed to take more initiative. He took it seriously and launched the new website on his own. No approvals, no loop-in. He thought he was being proactive. She thought he had gone rogue. Next time, loop us in before going all out. He had done exactly what was asked, by his own reading of it.
What it means for organisations: Initiative is the one instruction that punishes you for following it too well. A team asks for more of it and nobody says how much, because saying how much feels like taking it back. So the limit stays unwritten until someone crosses it, and the first person to find the edge is whoever took the ask most seriously.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 14
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: The team chat
A group chat with Ally and several colleagues. Ally's message gets a heart reaction, and replies pour in.
Ally: Let's all take more initiative from now on.
Axel: On it! 💪
Colleague 1: Absolutely!
Colleague 2: Count me in!
Colleague 3: Sounds good!
Colleague 4: …
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: The office
An office with a bookshelf, plants, a hanging lamp, and a large monitor on the desk. The screen shows a live web page with the words "New website launch!" Axel stands beside it, proudly presenting. Ally sits at her desk, smiling but caught off guard.
Ally: You launched that alone?
Axel: Thought I was being proactive.
Ally: Next time, loop us in before going all out.
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