The Importance in Leadership of Drive: Summary

When you start to explore any of the key traits and behaviours of leadership, it doesn’t take long to realise that the traits don’t serve a single function nor have a singular purpose, but many. The importance of drive in leadership is very much the same. There is not a single reason for a leader to be driven nor a single purpose that it serves, but instead many.

Drive is essential to leadership for it’s role on a personal level, it’s meaning to corporate aspirations, and the connotation of it’s presence in the bigger picture. In simple terms, drive is the urge to obtain, be it the obtention of a success, the completion of a goal, or the establishment of relationships. Whilst these urges are intrinsic to success in any area of leadership, a leader who has drive can achieve so much more.

In reality, the importance of drive in leadership is the very performance of the leader. It is essential in overcoming hardship, to find innovative paths for development, and to build a company that can sustain itself equally as well in the marketplace as it can on a personal level with commitment, loyalty, and dedication on an employee level. It is not one aspect or result of drive that leads to success in leadership, but an accumulation of what drive can deliver and the fundamental meaning behind the act of being driven and the example it provides for others to stand up and act in the same way.

Establishing a Culture for Change

One of the most important areas of drive in leadership, and an area in which drive comes into its own as a tool for innovation, is in the establishment of change and the risks and rewards that come with it. Today’s businesses are no strangers to change, and as such, neither can the leaders of the world’s most prominent organisations, and those businesses that seek to grow and prove themselves in an industry that will never stop changing around them.

It is a responsibility of modern leaders to lead change and manage the outcome ofthe changes that cannot be fully controlled. Here, drive allows for the transition of personal ideas into action, it improves innovation at personal, employee, and corporate levels, and it facilitates the setting of aspirational goals designed to spearhead change. Equally, for the implementation of change to be performed at any level, the presence of drive as a facilitator of communication between shareholders, employees, and employers, provides a better enviroment for which the positives of change can be felt more prominently than the negatives.

Overcoming Challenge at Every Turn

In situations where the negatives of change and innovation cannot be negated in entirety, drive plays a crucial role in the overcoming of challenges, both internal and external. With the drive to succeed and overcome obstacles, a leader is much better able to concentrate on problem-solving and prioritize immediate problems within their organisation. Driven leaders are capable of bouncing back when the going gets tough, and when changes affect processes and employee engagement, they are able to bounce back and reformulate instead of giving up at the first, second, or third hurdles on the path to goal achievement.

Building a Strong Workforce: Attract, Influence, and Delegate

A driven leader is able to continue when problems occur, because they focus on the importance of a strong workforce within their organisation. Drive enables a leader to focus not just on the big picture, but also on the small picture, and instigate development at an employee level so they can better bring about success further down the line.

Leaders with drive focus on the attraction and retention of skilled and dedicated employees. They set an example of what can be achieved by proving their ability to stay driven whenfaced with difficulty.Through communication, they can effectively delegate tasks; knowing what it is that they want to achieve and trusting their employees and their ability to organise, to make sure that a goal is not misinterpreted.

Great Leaders: The Embodiment of Motivation, Guidance, and Engagement

Perhaps one of the most important roles of drive in leadership is the ability of the trait to inspire the presence of more of the strongest tools and traits of leadership, such as motivation. A driven leader encourages their workforce by providing motivation in the form of overall success and the establishment of reward systems. Employees always have something to achieve, encouraging them to work harder and commit themselves to the task at hand.

Through innovation and change, drive allows a leader to take time to boost morale, provide guidance, establish a culture where teamwork thrives, and boost trust and engagement within an organisation. Whilst these practices are not of immediate benefit to goal completion, leaders with drive understand the importance of a strong and committed company culture that is trustworthy, skilled, and engaged in a singular task.

Drive in Leadership: An Ingredient for Success

A leader with drive cannot succeed on that trait alone. Like many traits of leadership, drive relies on the presence of other behaviours to bring out the positivity of the trait. Leaders who cannot adapt or who are not confident, will find that drive only takes them in a singular direction. However, those leaders who understand the culture of change and the potential of focus, commitment, and dedication, can use drive as an essential ingredient required for organisational success.

Drive is a personal trait of leadership that can deliver results across the board, both in terms of success as a buisness in an industry and in terms of success in the establishment of a buisness that is united under a single cause. As Swami Vivekanandasaid, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone.”, drive is what provides a leader with the strength to pursue a passion. The importance of drive will always be felt by those leaders who have a goal in mind and feel a deep personal need to achieve it; then nothing will step in their way that cannot be overcome.