Excellent leaders possess drive - part two

Read part one here.

In this article, we consider how the skills of drive and resign might play out in a leadership setting? Here are some ideas:   

Big picture vision 

Leaders with drive can imagine and communicate a better future, not just in the short term but on the horizon. They rarely settle for small ideas, pressing instead for a greater outcome and impact that provides challenge and stretch to themselves and their people.  This can be exciting and inspiring. It’s also essential for organisations that need to change and grow. Leaders with drive will press towards achievement, they are neither lazy nor boring.

On the flip side, this can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations of their people. Leaders with a high drive are energetic in the pursuit of their aims. They typically think quickly, moving priorities frequently. Expecting everyone else to be similarly fast-paced can result in team tiredness and, in worse cases, burnout.  

Tenacious

Leaders with drive will press themselves and their teams towards their desired outcomes with determination. When obstacles arise, they continue to push forward, working harder and putting more effort in, not less. This is an essential quality in leadership; giving up at the first hurdle is demoralising for everyone and destroys creativity.

Tenacity is excellent and necessary only up to a point. There is such a thing as too much tenacity. An intense unwillingness to give up will cause a leader to stop listening to people’s valid concerns and, in the worst cases, cause someone to persist with an idea despite clear evidence that it’s not working. Such stubbornness will cause resources to be misallocated, compromising the very achievement that the leader is seeking.

Examples include: 

• A corporate board pushing to complete an acquisition despite some strong warnings in the due-diligence phase; 

• A CEO continuing to support a senior colleague that they had brought into the business despite their ineffectiveness; and 

• An organisation that went live with a new IT platform after many months of investment despite the problems identified in the pre-launch tests.

Change-catalysts

The world is packed with problems and therefore opportunities to be better. Whether in our communities, government, churches or businesses, the status quo is for the vast majority, unsatisfactory. Change, such as inventing new products and improving current products and services, is desperately needed. Leaders with drive can’t help but change things. It’s in their nature. They will catalyse new ideas, inspire their people to make improvements and win the resources necessary to make change happen.

This is energising for any team or organisation that needs to make fast changes but it can become problematic if an organisation needs to stabilise for a period. A slower growth and more steady phase can be unsettling for a driven leader. If they are not excited and stretched in their role, they may start to create unnecessary initiatives simply to keep them interested - changing things for change’s sake. They may start to get involved in more of the details, jumping in and taking over other people’s responsibilities. The best leaders with high drive know when to pause and let others catch up and, for some, when to leave and pass the baton to a leader with a steadier approach.

Improving other people’s lives

Great leaders are passionate about making other people’s lives better, not just their own. This is what underpins their energy, creativity and ideas. It’s not just that there are potential customers who might pay for a new product, it’s that the product will make their lives genuinely better.

Where drive is applied in a self-centred way, the scene is set for a punishing environment. This type of leader is more command-control in style, demanding that their orders are met. They will describe their energy as ‘passion’ but their frustration transforms into aggression when experienced by others. Curt emails, rude behaviour and angry body language will be the norm. In reality, such an environment can achieve transactional outcomes in the short term but it is at the expense of health and is not sustainable at all. Self-centred driven leaders don’t care; they move on to their next thing regardless of the damage that’s left in their wake.

For drive and passion to be productive and healthy, it must be applied for the good of others.

In all of these cases, the behaviours, whether productive or unhelpful, are founded on beliefs and are reinforced through repeat experiences. The key is whether these beliefs are true, helpful and kind.

In our work with individuals and teams we measure habits through a psychometric diagnostic, providing a firm foundation for insightful, focused attention. Our expertise in interpreting the data enables us to guide our clients so that they elevate their strengths and address the habits that are holding them back.

If this sounds intriguing, use the contact form or call us to find out more.