“There’s no luck in business. There’s only drive, determination, and more drive”–Sophie Kinsella
Drive and Determination….the D-squared combination that all successful purpose-driven leaders must possess. Drive is the innate urge to accomplish a goal or to fulfill a need. As leaders, we rely on the drive in ourselves, our team members, and our organization to achieve success. The drive of the leader has the most influence because the leader as an individual affects both the team and organizational culture. Determination is a positive emotional feeling that involves persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles. Determination occurs prior to goal attainment and serves to motivate behavior that will help achieve one’s goal
A leader that lacks the drive and determination to do something influences others to do the same. The lack of drive and determination permeates the atmosphere within an organization. This do-nothing attitude starts at the top with an unmotivated leader and ends with an under achieving lackluster team. We all have been team members and heard someone voice , ” I don’t see the boss down here doing it or caring. So why should I?”. This is the mentality of a team led by an unmotivated leader. I myself have been on a team where the leader lost their motivation and drive. It caused me to become disengaged and not inspired to go the extra mile. One starts to just do the bare minimum to satisfy the basic requirements. But remember, successful people are never BASIC.
Just as being basic is infectious, high drive with an emphasis on teamwork is very contagious. If you couple the drive with a positive attitude and add in a strong motivation to reach goals (aka Determination), the team will become energized and push forward together towards success. If a leader is working hard and staying positive , the team will do the same.
So, how does a leader increase his/her personal drive and determination?? Here are a few suggestions:
- Identify what’s impeding your drive and determination. Perhaps, a leader is overwhelmed and overworked and feeling burnout. Maybe, priorities have shifted. It is important that the leader identifies the issues in order to the make the necessary changes to rejuvenate his/her drive and determination.
- Focus on your purpose. Leaders can get bombarded and weighed down by the day-to-day issues and forget the “why” or the purpose. In order to remain positive and driven, a leader has to focus on the “why'” or purpose. This represents the beacon of hope that keeps the leader grounded and inspired. If you don’t know your purpose, devise it and live by it.
- Ask for advice from a trusted mentor . Whenever feeling lackluster and unmotivated as a leader, seek the advice and guidance from a mentor who has faced similar challenges. Inquire how to get out of your hole before your team and organization are affected.
Successful purpose-driven leaders have to be proactive in maintaining their drive and determination. They have to be very aware of and understand the impact they have on their organization. Successful leaders must keep their purpose first in all they do and exemplify D-squared (drive and determination) to all of their team members. The result is an invigorated driven leader and an energetic team……the equation for SUCCESS!
DON’T BE BASIC!!!
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