On this page10 sections
- Quick picker
- Words for someone who takes the initiative
- Words for someone who finishes what they start
- Words for someone who works fast and well
- Words for someone who gets results
- Informal nouns and expressions
- Words that can backfire
- Saying it on a CV, in a review or a reference
- Practice
- Quick answers
A person who gets things done is usually called a doer, a go-getter or a self-starter. The best adjectives are proactive (acts before being asked), productive (gets a lot done), efficient (wastes no time), effective (gets the right result), reliable (finishes what they promise) and results-driven, the CV favourite.
Which one fits depends on what you have noticed. Some people start things without being told; others finish everything they start; others simply work fast. Below, the words are grouped by those differences, with a sentence for each, then informal expressions, words that can backfire, how to say it on a CV or in a performance review, a short practice set and quick answers. For the opposite kind of person, see words for someone who doesn’t follow through.
Quick picker
| The person… | Best words |
|---|---|
| starts things without being told | proactive, self-starter, self-motivated, enterprising, takes initiative |
| finishes what they start | reliable, dependable, conscientious, follows through, a completer-finisher |
| works quickly and wastes nothing | efficient, productive, prompt, quick off the mark |
| gets the result that matters | effective, results-driven, results-oriented, delivers |
| prefers action to talk | action-oriented, hands-on, pragmatic, a doer |
| makes decisions fast | decisive |
| finds a way when there is no obvious one | resourceful, a problem-solver, a fixer (careful) |
| makes big things happen | a mover and shaker, a powerhouse, a force of nature |
| (informal) is always on top of the work | on the ball, on top of things, a safe pair of hands (UK) |
Words for someone who takes the initiative
These describe the start of the job: the person notices what needs doing and does it, without waiting for instructions.
| Word | What it says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| proactive | acts in advance instead of reacting after a problem appears | “She was proactive about the new rules and had the forms updated before anyone asked.” |
| a self-starter | begins work without being told or supervised | “We need a self-starter; the manager is in another country.” |
| self-motivated | does not need pushing from outside | “As a freelancer, you have to be self-motivated.” |
| enterprising | full of practical ideas and willing to try them | “An enterprising student, he turned his tutoring into a small business.” |
| a go-getter | energetic and ambitious; goes after what they want | “She’s a real go-getter; she had three job offers before graduating.” |
| takes initiative | phrase version of the above, good in reviews | “Tom regularly takes the initiative on client problems.” |
Proactive is formed from pro- (“before”) and active, and is the opposite of reactive. It is common in workplace English and a little jargony elsewhere: you would not normally call a friend proactive about birthday plans unless you were teasing.
Words for someone who finishes what they start
Starting is easy; finishing is rarer. If the person you are describing always delivers what they promise, these words are more precise than “go-getter”.
| Word | What it says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| reliable / dependable | you can count on them to do it | “If you need it by Friday, ask Priya. She’s completely reliable.” |
| conscientious | careful to do the work properly and completely | “A conscientious editor, he checked every reference twice.” |
| thorough | leaves nothing out | “Her report was thorough enough that the auditors had no questions.” |
| follows through | does what they said they would, to the end | “He doesn’t just suggest ideas; he follows through on them.” |
| delivers | produces what was expected (work English) | “Whatever the deadline, she delivers.” |
| a completer-finisher | someone who polishes and completes tasks; one of the nine team roles in Meredith Belbin’s model | “Every team needs a completer-finisher to get the last ten per cent done.” |
One search that comes up often is for a word for someone who “does not leave things unfinished”. Conscientious is the single best adjective; a finisher or completer-finisher are the nouns; and “she always follows through” is the most natural way to say it in conversation.
Words for someone who works fast and well
| Word | What it says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| efficient | gets it done with little wasted time or effort | “He’s efficient: the whole move took one afternoon.” |
| productive | produces a lot of work | “Mornings are when she’s most productive.” |
| prolific | produces a large amount, especially of creative work | “A prolific writer, he published forty novels.” |
| prompt / responsive | acts or replies quickly | “The landlord was prompt about repairs.” |
| quick off the mark | fast to react or start (informal) | “She was quick off the mark and booked the venue first.” |
| expeditious | very formal: fast and efficient | “We appreciate the expeditious handling of our claim.” |
Words for someone who gets results
| Word | What it says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| effective | achieves the intended result | “She’s an effective manager; projects on her team actually finish.” |
| results-driven / results-oriented | judges work by outcomes; very common in job adverts and CVs | “We’re looking for a results-driven sales lead.” |
| action-oriented | prefers doing to discussing | “He’s action-oriented and gets impatient in long meetings.” |
| decisive | makes decisions quickly and firmly | “A decisive leader, she closed the failing branch within a week.” |
| hands-on | does the work personally rather than only directing it | “Our head chef is very hands-on and still works the grill on Fridays.” |
| pragmatic | practical; chooses what works over what is ideal | “It was a pragmatic decision: the cheaper system was ready now.” |
| resourceful | finds clever ways round problems with what is available | “With no budget, she was resourceful and borrowed the equipment.” |
Effective vs efficient: effective means you get the right result; efficient means you get it without waste. A person who answers every email in ten seconds is efficient; if the answers are wrong, they are not effective. The best compliment includes both: “She’s efficient and effective.”
For a leader who gets things done, the most natural words are decisive, action-oriented and hands-on; you will find more in another word for leader.
Informal nouns and expressions
In conversation, people more often use a noun or an idiom than a formal adjective. Most of these are fine at work in speech and in friendly emails, but not in a formal reference.
- a doer: someone who acts rather than talks. “He’s a doer, not a talker.” Often contrasted with “a thinker” or “a talker”.
- a go-getter: energetic and ambitious. Slightly informal, positive.
- a can-do attitude: confident that a problem can be solved. “Can-do” is used before a noun (“a can-do attitude”, “a can-do spirit”); “a can-doer” is not standard.
- on the ball: alert and quick to deal with things. “The new receptionist is really on the ball.”
- on top of things: in control of the work. “Don’t worry, Lena’s on top of it.”
- a safe pair of hands (British): a reliable person you can trust with something important.
- a mover and shaker: a powerful person who makes things happen, usually in business, politics or a community.
- a powerhouse: someone with great energy and output. “She’s a powerhouse; she ran the festival on her own.”
- a force of nature: someone so energetic that nothing stands in their way.
- a workhorse: someone who does a large amount of steady, often unglamorous work.
- gets the job done: the plain phrase. “She’s not flashy, but she gets the job done.”
“Getting Things Done” is also the title of David Allen’s 2001 productivity book, and “GTD” often refers to his method. If someone says a colleague “does GTD”, they usually mean that method, not the general habit.
Words that can backfire
Several words for energetic, effective people carry a sting. Use them only when you mean it.
| Word | The risk | Safer choice |
|---|---|---|
| workaholic | suggests an unhealthy inability to stop working | hard-working, dedicated |
| overachiever | can suggest someone who tries too hard or makes others look bad | high achiever |
| hotshot | successful but arrogant or showy | star performer, high flyer |
| hustler | positive in start-up talk, but also means a swindler | enterprising, driven |
| fixer | can mean someone who arranges things in shady or illegal ways | problem-solver |
| bulldozer / steamroller | gets things done by flattening other people’s views | decisive, determined |
| pushy | too forceful | assertive, persistent |
Two old favourites are also less useful than they look. Executor sounds like “someone who executes plans”, but in everyday English an executor is the person named in a will to carry it out; say a strong executor only in business contexts where “execution” is already the topic. And a winner, an ace or a whiz describe success or skill, not the habit of getting things done.
Saying it on a CV, in a review or a reference
Adjectives alone are weak on a CV, because every applicant is “proactive” and “results-driven”. Recruiters believe verbs with evidence. Put the adjective in the summary if you like, then prove it in the bullets. More ideas are in words to replace “I am” in a resume.
- Weak: “Results-driven, proactive team player.”
- Better: “Cut invoice processing time from five days to two by automating the approval step.”
- Better: “Took over a stalled website project and launched it three weeks early.”
Performance review: “Amir is our most reliable team member. He takes the initiative on client issues and consistently follows through, which is why he now handles our two largest accounts.”
Reference letter: “Joanna is conscientious, efficient and, above all, effective. When our supplier failed a week before launch, she found and contracted a replacement in two days.”
A model paragraph: “Every office has someone like Dev. He is not the loudest person in meetings, and he rarely has the boldest idea. But when the meeting ends, he is the one who opens a document, writes down who is doing what, and sends it round within the hour. He is a doer in the truest sense: proactive about the small jobs, reliable about the big ones, and quietly impatient with anything that only exists as talk.”
Practice
Choose the best word.
- She noticed the stock was low and reordered before anyone asked. She is ______. (proactive / prolific)
- His answers come back in minutes, but half are wrong. He is efficient but not ______. (effective / enterprising)
- She always finishes every task completely and carefully. She is ______. (conscientious / pushy)
- Our new manager makes decisions in minutes, not weeks. She is ______. (decisive / hands-on)
- He wrote thirty songs last year. He is ______. (prolific / prompt)
- Which is the safer compliment: “a high achiever” or “an overachiever”?
- Correct the phrase: “She has a can-doer attitude.”
- Which British phrase means a reliable person you can trust with something important?
Answers: 1 proactive; 2 effective; 3 conscientious; 4 decisive; 5 prolific; 6 a high achiever; 7 “She has a can-do attitude.”; 8 a safe pair of hands.
Quick answers
What is a word for someone who gets things done?
A doer or a go-getter (nouns), or proactive, effective and reliable (adjectives). In job adverts, results-driven.
What is the adjective for a person who wants to get things done first?
Proactive if they act early; prompt or quick off the mark if they are fast to start. Someone who never puts things off can also be described simply as someone who “doesn’t procrastinate”.
What is a word for a leader who gets things done?
Decisive, action-oriented or hands-on. In business writing, “a strong executor” or “known for execution” is also common.
Is “go-getter” professional?
It is a little informal but positive, and fine in speech, emails and LinkedIn recommendations. In a formal reference, enterprising or highly motivated reads better.
What is the opposite of someone who gets things done?
Someone who procrastinates, drops tasks or does not follow through. If the person also refuses to quit when things go wrong, see words for someone who never gives up.
For how idioms such as “on the ball” differ from metaphors and similes, see the figurative language guide.