Friday, July 07, 2006

New age leaders need to balance the equation between social power & achievement drive


The desire to achieve is a major source of strength in business, both for individual managers and for the organizations they lead. It generates passion and energy, which fuel growth and help companies sustain performance over the long term. And the achievement drive is on the rise.


We’ve spent 35 years assessing executive motivation, and we’ve seen a steady increase during the past decade in the number of managers for whom achievement is the primary motive. Businesses have benefited from this trend: Productivity has risen, and innovation, as measured by the number of patents issued per year, has soared.

In the short term, through sheer drive and determination, overachieving leaders may be very successful, but there’s a dark side to the achievement motive. By relentlessly focusing on tasks and goals – revenue or sales targets, say – an executive or company can, over time, damage performance.


For complete IIPM article click here

Source:-IIPM Editorial, 2006