Achievement Drive: The Quality of A Top Performing Organisation

In our previous article, we talked about how having a high achievement drive has paved the way for famous people like Jack Ma Yun, the co-founder and executive chair of the Alibaba Group Holding Limited, to achieve his goals and become one of the leaders of his industry. We also shared with you some tips on how you and your team can develop this same competency.

If you are someone who desires to have your organisation achieve its goals and flourish in the industry that it is in, developing the achievement drive of your leaders and team members is a must. This article will show why having a team of high achievement drive in your organisation can help your organisation achieve its goals and become a leader of the industry that you are in.

Achievement drive is defined as having high personal and professional standards, and striving to improve or meet new, higher standards of excellence. It’s all about continuously learning and the level of desire, effort and commitment a person gives to individual goals. It is what sets apart top-performing organisations from the average ones.

An organisation who has high achievement drive have Leaders and team members who:

1. Are results-oriented, with a high drive to meet their objectives and standards.

They take their goals seriously and commit to them no matter what the challenges are. They do not take shortcuts. They strive for excellence and never settle for less or with just OK results.

2. Set “stretch goals” that are challenging yet reachable.

Leaders and team members who have high achievement drive, always make time to set goals. They have a special time blocked in their calendar just for this. They take goal setting seriously. They know what goals to make and why they are making them. They never settle for less. Instead, they set goals that can challenge them as a team but are realistic and achievable.

3. Take moderate, calculated risks.

Leaders and team members who have high achievement drive are not just risk takers, they are calculated risk takers.

Master entrepreneur and Babson College Professor, Leonard C. Green says that “The difference between risk takers and calculated risk takers is the difference between failure and success. Risk takers bet it all on one roll of the dice.  If they fail, they fail spectacularly and in such a way that they DON’T live to fight another day. They literally go out in a blaze of attempted glory.”

Calculated risk takers on the other hand, pursue information to reduce uncertainty and find ways to do things better.

4. Strive to improve their own performance.

People who have high achievement drive strive to excel in whatever area they are in. Since they do not settle for just an OK performance, they find ways to to do better whether it’s by enhancing their skills, learning something new, researching, seeking for help and even setting aside extra time to figure out what skills do they need to improve on.
Do the people in your organisation manifest these qualities?
Your organisation may need some help and training in this area if they:

• Tend to avoid firm, fixed standards of performance, whether actively and overtly or passively and covertly
• Work without regard to expectations and do not push themselves
•  Often do the minimum to get by
•  Don’t take goals seriously, and if pressed to make them, set easy goals they can effortlessly attain or impossible goals they fail to meet (so they can say “I told you so”)
•  Accept the status quo, don’t “rock the boat” Do what’s required of them and no more.

• May get the work done when goals are set for them, but don’t demonstrate an interest in working independently to an internal standard of excellence

How about you, do you want your organisation develop this competency?

If so, then here’s another set of developmental tips that may help you and your team develop Achievement Drive:

•  Set goals and standards of excellence.
•  Get in touch with the emotional pull of what you want to achieve and why – what do you gain by going the extra mile? What do you lose by not taking action or going for more?
•  Establish moderate rewards for achieving your goals.
•  Make your goals “SMART” – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed; work with a GANTT chart or other means of measuring progress.

• Keep a daily log of your achievements.

• Take at least one step each day toward your goals.

Having high achievement drive amongst the employees of your organisation can indeed pave the way for your organisation to achieve its goals.

At People Builders we have a team of expert trainers and coaches who can help you and your team develop achievement drive. 

Contact us today for a quick chat to see how we can partner with you to train and coach you and your team.