From kindergarten through college graduation, we're conditioned to raise our hand. Ask permission. Wait for instructions. Follow the rubric.
Then we enter the workforce, and nothing changes. We're handed an employee handbook, a job description, and an unspoken rule: stay in your lane.
Here's what I've learned after 20 years as a CIO: the professionals who rise fastest are the ones who stop asking for permission to succeed.
The Permission Trap
Think of it like training wheels on a bike. At some point, those wheels hold you back more than they help you. The same goes for waiting on your supervisor or HR department to greenlight every move.
I've watched talented people stay stuck for years because they were waiting for someone to tap them on the shoulder and say, "You're ready." Meanwhile, their less-talented peers were already building skills, making connections, and positioning themselves for promotions.
Research backs this up. A landmark study found that proactive personality was positively associated with both objective career success indicators like salary and promotions, as well as subjective measures like career satisfaction, even after controlling for demographics, human capital, and organizational factors.
Translation? The people who take initiative win. Period.
Why We're Trained to Wait
The education system rewards compliance. Turn in assignments on time. Follow the format. Back everything up with citations before you commit to an idea.
Your employer continues this pattern. They create processes, procedures, and policies designed to minimize risk. And that makes sense for the organization.
But here's what nobody tells you: your career growth is not your employer's priority. It's yours.
Individuals with proactive personality tendencies take action to influence their environment rather than passively waiting for conditions to change. They don't sit around hoping someone notices their potential.
What Taking Action Actually Looks Like
Let me be specific about what I mean by "stop asking for permission."
Start learning AI tools now. Not when your company finally gets around to implementing a policy. Not after a training session appears on your calendar. Today. Your competitors are already building these skills.
Connect with industry leaders in your field. Don't wait for your boss to introduce you at a conference. Send that LinkedIn message. Ask for that coffee chat. Build relationships that exist outside your current org chart.
Build your professional brand online. Write about what you know. Share your expertise. Create content that demonstrates your value.
I can already hear the objection: "But my HR department might not like it if I have a strong online presence."
Here's my response: if your employer feels threatened by your professional growth, that tells you everything you need to know about whether you should stay there.
The Results Become Your Data
In my years leading technology teams, I discovered something counterintuitive. The executives who asked for permission rarely got it. The ones who took action and delivered results? They got promoted.
Meta-analytic research sampling over 101,000 employees found that proactive personality is linked to career success through improved task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors.
In other words, taking initiative makes you better at your job. And being better at your job makes you more successful. The data creates itself.
Stop trying to justify decisions before you make them. Take action. Let the outcomes speak.
Surround Yourself with Permission-Takers
You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If everyone around you is waiting for approval, you'll wait too.
Find the people who have reinvented themselves multiple times. The ones who aren't afraid to try new things, fail publicly, and try again. Those are your people.
I've changed directions in my career more times than I can count. From technical roles to executive leadership. From corporate environments to entrepreneurship. Every pivot required me to stop waiting and start doing.
The Burnout Connection
Here's what nobody talks about: waiting for permission is exhausting. The mental energy spent second-guessing yourself, seeking validation, and worrying about stepping out of line drains you faster than actually doing the work.
When you take ownership of your career trajectory, something shifts. You feel more engaged. More in control. Less like a passenger in your own professional life.
Burnout often stems from a mismatch between what we want and what we're allowed to pursue. Remove the permission barrier, and you remove a significant source of career frustration.
Your Next Move
I, Dr. Oliver Degnan, give you permission to reinvent yourself every single day.
But here's the secret: you never needed my permission. You just needed someone to remind you that the permission was always yours to take.
Stop waiting. Start building. Let the results do the talking.
Ready to take control of your career and leadership journey?
Share this newsletter with a colleague who needs to hear it. Tell them about real-world advice from the trenches of a CIO at https://read.drdegnan.com. Get ready for 2026 with career and life guidance you won't find anywhere else.
Until next week, my friends!
—Oliver
Wanna Geek Out?
Seibert, S. E., Crant, J. M., & Kraimer, M. L. (1999). Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(3), 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.84.3.416
Zhang, Z., Fang, H., Luan, Y., Chen, Q., & Peng, J. (2022). A meta-analysis of proactive personality and career success: The mediating effects of task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 979412. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.979412
