The S.T.E.P Framework to address 'Lack of Initiative'

If work stops every time the manager stops talking, you haven’t built initiative. You’ve built a voice-activated team.

Before deciding someone is lazy because they wait for instructions, check what has trained them to wait.

Are the boundaries unclear? Have previous attempts to act been corrected? Does the manager insist on approving every next step? Or has the employee simply become too comfortable allowing somebody else to think ahead?

The S.T.E.P. framework provides a practical way to discuss it: see the need, think ahead, exercise judgement and proceed with ownership.

Initiative does not mean acting outside your authority. It means recognising the next appropriate step and taking it without requiring a fresh instruction every time.