Everyone has moments when going the extra mile, or thinking outside the box, makes the difference between seizing opportunity and succumbing to a threat. But many organisational structures date from earlier, easier business conditions, when managers knew what people had to do - and didn’t want them to act differently.

Ensuring people take initiative when it’s called for, equipping them to expand it, rewarding them for it and letting others learn from it, requires a mix of managerial skills that are often pitched under separate buzzwords:

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