Waiting for permission

I've been having some conversations lately with some very bright people that got me thinking about permission:

• the mid-level staff member who doesn't want to overstep their bounds by suggesting an equity initiative in their unit​
• the instructor who feels compelled to stick with the designated curriculum despite complaints from their students
• the young scholar who wishes there were more guidelines on how to be a successful researcher

Its got me thinking about all the ways in which we wait for permission from external forces to do a thing or want clearer directions on what we should be doing. We wait for permission to create.

What would it look like if more people just jumped in and started doing the things? What kind of magic and progress would there be if fewer brilliant minds were trained to wait for permission?