I expect people close to me to take initiative. Part of me thinks: if you cannot take initiative, why are you here?
That is both fair and unfair.
I do not want to write task lists as a CEO. I want someone to see what is broken and propose the work. But I cannot silently expect them to understand which outcome matters, how performance will be measured, or when we will review it.
The fix is a goals list.
Tell the person the result. Tell them the measures. Tell them the next evaluation date. Then let them come back with the tasks and argue about the plan with you.
Initiative is not mind reading. Clarity creates the space in which initiative can actually be judged.