Definition (1):
Proactive personality describes people who recognize opportunities, take initiative and action, and persevere until a meaningful change takes place. Not surprisingly, research has shown that proactive have many desirable behaviors that organizations want.
For instance, they are more likely than others to be seen as leaders and more likely to act as change agents in organizations; they’re more likely to challenge the status quo; they have entrepreneurial abilities, and they’re more likely to achieve career success.
Definition (2):
According to Bateman & Crant (1993), “Proactive personality is defined as a disposition relating to individual differences in people's proclivity to take personal initiative in acting to influence their environments in a broad range of activities and situations.”
Proactive personality is also related to entrepreneurial alertness. Proactivity means active endeavors taken by the person to effect modifications or changes in her or his environment. Individuals with this personality are likely to take the initiative for influencing and even for significantly changing the environment. It can be said in another way that having this personality can assist a person to release circumstantial pressures, recognize opportunities for benefit, take proactive initiatives, and thereby affect the environment for creating meaningful changes.