As a leader do you sense that despite a strong 'Inner Drive' you are missing something in the workplace?

Your drive - your strong desire to achieve your goals and results fuels your energy, it gives you momentum.

As a driven person, you are probably seen as a passionate leader in the workplace who is resilient in the face of challenges and is even bullish for results. You even come across as hard-working and committed.

Yet you may find that the results you truly seek are evading you and people are not scaling up to your expectations. This puts you in reactive mode in the workplace and your stress levels are running high.

Why is this so?

The Challenges

You may be in danger of your drive being imbalanced and overused, thus working against you instead of for you. 

Five reasons why leaders with a strong drive can face challenges in the workplace

• They forget to take people with them toward their purpose and goals
• They are in the danger of being seen as domineering/aggressive or insensitive
• They can be seen as pushy about their agenda   
• They direct their team vs collaborate with them missing creativity and innovation
• They can be impatient for results, putting pressure on people
• They are rushing towards their goals without stopping to appreciate the journey and themselves
• They start burning out quickly

Leaders who balance their passion and inner drive with effective people skills and a shared purpose create the best results in the workplace. 

Inner Drivers

Who you are on the inside drives you on the outside. 

Internal forces play an equally important role as outside forces such as rewards to propel us forward in life.

Internal forces comprise our values, beliefs and emotions.

We can be driven by our values such as recognition, power, ambition, accomplishment etc. Our core values and key experiences form our beliefs that direct us forward.

Similarly, our emotions too are important drivers. We can be driven by anticipation, anger, insecurity, happiness at being admired etc.

Some questions you can ask yourself to enhance your understanding of yourself are:

• How are my values and beliefs shaping how I show up in the workplace? 
• What emotions do I consistently experience as a leader? Is this my primary driving emotion?
• How are these feelings impacting me? 

Mitigate Risks

Combine your understanding of yourself as a leader with how people see you in the workplace to mitigate your risks.

 Start with seeking feedback from your teams on your people skills and how you impact others to open any blind spots. 

Here are some additional steps you can take to mitigate the risk of being an overdriven leader.

• Involve your people in your journey towards your goals
• Create more space for your team’s opinions, insights and inputs
• Listen to others
• Build trust and give others a chance to lead
• Build patience, let people do their work
• Be more empathetic – towards yourself and others
• Slow down, build time to disengage, disconnect and reflect

In Conclusion 

 ‘Drive’ is an essential ingredient for leadership success; It is like a car that takes you to your endpoint.

If you drive rashly, ignoring important signals your drive will be a bumpy one. Moreover, If you are alone there will be no one to help you navigate through the rough points and there is a strong chance you may not reach your destination.   

But if you choose to drive calmly, with ease and stop intermittently to enjoy your journey, you will experience higher levels of fulfilment and joy as you move towards your goals.

If you take people with you as your co-passengers, you will be able to navigate through challenges more easily. Your journey is richer and more rewarding. 

“Life is not a matter of intensity, but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony”

-Thomas Merton

Enhance Your Self Awareness through the following assessments:

Core Drivers,  Hogan Personality Assessments