Drive

How motivated are you to get something done? Some folks think of this as how quickly you start a task while others qualify it from the perspective of how committed you stay to a goal or task long term. Both apply well but are telling about a person’s approach in different ways. The common theme is how committed are people to a task, goal, or outcome. These are not all created equally though.

Sometimes a team member is committed to an end-state or long-term outcome and is not as focused on the intermediate tasks that may or not be identified as helping them get there. Sometimes a team member feels the burden of “seeing through” an action to the end themselves and views delegation or collaboration as a challenge to this self-stated requirement of completion. Other times a person views drive as being the squeaky wheel to motivate others to get things done and not let them “fall off the radar.” These are all accurate definitions of drive requiring different approaches.

Having team members define drive typically makes it significantly easier to identify where a difference of definition can cause team friction, even among multiple people self-identifying as a “drive person.” The double-edged sword with drive-first folks is that getting them to define how they see things can feel like another roadblock or delay in actually starting the task. Defining and talking about perceptions is a communication thing… NOT a drive thing. But clarifying what exactly has to be done and what are peripheral tasks is essential.

Another consideration when it comes to drive people is the path to and importance of establishing who the decision maker is. They tend to perceive things that need to get done and just do them. This can be a critical strength to the team but only if these tasks actually align to the desired end goal. If they start doing tasks or taking actions that they deem essential, and the team leader stops them because they disagree, then there is a real and immediate risk of disenfranchisement and progress blockage.

Team Tasking Order: 3/3

Strengths: Outreach & connecting, Motivation, Decision making, Experiential learning

Challenges: Process Clarification, Progress updates, Strict policy or process adherence