The word “initiator” in the broadest sense is defined as a person or an object from whom a deliberate impulse for change emanates.

“Initiators” in the functional sense are people who give other people a deliberate impulse to change their view, their attitude, their thinking or their actions. The term “initiator” in the functional sense thus describes a natural person in his or her role as originator of change of the view, the attitude, the thinking or behaviour of other persons.

An “initiator” in the professional sense is a natural person whose professional activity is aimed at triggering a decisive change in other persons’ views, attitudes, thoughts or actions.
The role of an “initiator” differs from other roles that people play in triggering and implementing change, in that his actions focus on the initial impulse to cause a certain change to happen. The “initiator‘s” actions are aimed at initiating a process of change that is driven by the addressees themselves and independently of the initiator.