Note from Art: My use of the “Driven Individual” term here encompasses the big-thinkers and game changers that I’ve had the privilege of supporting over my career. I get that there are other types of Driven Individuals…those that will seize a task and not let go until it has been wrestled to the ground. The latter group represents a subject for another day.
A great deal of popular leadership writing (mine included) focuses on the common issues and challenges with “typical employees.” Now before you grab a pitchfork and light the torches and start marching on this blog for my use of the term “typical,” don’t misconstrue my meaning.
Yes, I know that no one is “typical” and that we all have strengths and weaknesses and that it is grossly unfair to provide such a crass label to the masses of good quality employees laboring away and earning “strongly exceeds” on our grade-inflated performance evaluations. (I can hear the pitchforks clanking again on that last shot!)
Nonetheless, it was the best label I could come up with on short notice and only a few sips into my first cup of coffee, to differentiate from the subject of today’s post: The Driven Individual (DI). This is the “atypical, super-motivated, cannot do enough, has limitless energy and enthusiasm and offers capabilities that have no visible boundaries,” type of employee.
While one might consider the DI to be a leader’s dream, the reality is that these wonderful individuals offer a unique set of challenges that require special care and feeding. My perspectives are based on personal experience working with some brilliant but challenging DI’s and reflect both the good outcomes and some spectacular misfires on my part.
Understanding and Leading the Driven Individual:
Recognize that these individuals don’t think about problems like the rest of us. What we view as a set of tasks or a discrete goal, the DI views as an opportunity to change the world. DI’s in my experience are often “systems” thinkers, looking at the big picture and offering ideas that may be transformational.
A simple example might be an engineer or product manager that sees an opening for a new product. The product idea might be innovative, but the DI is constitutionally and genetically wired to attempt to rethink how the offering can redistribute the wealth of an entire industry. The iPod was a cool innovation beyond the Walkman. The iPod plus iTunes reset the profit pattern of an entire market and changed the world. You bet that there were a bunch of DI’s and one obvious one (Steve Jobs) behind that.
Another example is the individual that looks at the way certain tasks are executed in an organization and sees an opportunity to streamline, eliminate waste and improve coordination. This Deming-like thinker gets the fact that “the system” is the tool for success of failure and is always looking at problems and processes from that perspective.
And one other core observation of my own in working around DI’s is their reaction to failure. I’ve yet to meet one of these characters that didn’t respond by licking wounds for a day or so and then coming back stronger…either for the project that failed or on a new idea. They don’t need false motivation from you, they need recovery time and space.
Leadership Guidance
-Let DI’s run, but make certain that you stay engaged enough to keep them from pursuing too many revolutionary activities at one time. Some of these characters love to catalyze revolutions but lose interest for the long fight. Left unchecked, their passion and exuberance and brilliance can lead to too many great projects chasing too few resources.
-Don’t ask the types of DIs that I’m describing in this post serve as project managers. I’ve made this mistake and I’ve yet to succeed with this configuration. The minutiae of execution detail acts like a leash on creativity and energy. On the other hand, this same DI that might not be a great project leader is most definitely the heart and soul of the project, so they must remain involved as architect, champion and visionary.
-Don’t ever micromanage a DI. Frankly, don’t ever micromanage anyone, especially a DI.
–Watch out! DIs I’ve known have tended to have little regard for social niceties and are prone to stepping on toes or entire bodies. The goal is the thing for these DIs and if they have to throw a few body blocks along the way, that is fine. If you have this form of DI on your team, you’ve got a non-trivial leadership challenge in front of you.
The cultural pressure from the rest of the team may ultimately demand that you act to remove this “social misfit,” while your tendency will be to rationalize the behavior as the price to pay for their brilliance. Coaching, constant feedback and more coaching can help minimize the body count, but won’t completely eliminate the issue. Get this right and your DI will do great things for you and others will recognize how they benefit as well. Manage this wrong by either allowing reckless, free reign or worse yet, attempt to neutralize the DI and you will fail.
-Don’t let DIs sit idle or you will bore them into looking elsewhere, including your competitors, for their next challenge. Remember, these individuals are thinking three chess moves ahead of the rest of us, and as they mentally wind down on one issue, there needs to be a new one ready to take its place.
–Be careful: some DIs enjoy visibility and others run from it. Don’t misfire by either ignoring this for those that like the accolades or over-using it for those that would rather have a root canal without drugs than have to stand up at a company meeting.
The Bottom Line for Now:
I’ve barely scratched the surface of this topic, but need to stop somewhere. I love the challenge of working around and providing the environment for Driven Individuals to succeed. Get this right and fortunes are made. Get it wrong, and you’ll wreak havoc on the workplace. The stakes are big, and the Driven Individual will challenge you to earn your keep.
I can relate these DI traits to a few of my team members (in the past & present)…totally agree with your leadership guidance points.
Thanks for reading and sharing, Arun. It is most definitely fun, but still very challenging to work with Driven Individuals. -Art
Great ideas. I’d highly recommend Dan Pink’s new book “Drive” for more in this. He’d labelled your Driven individual “Type I” (for intrinsically motivated) but the conclusions are similar.
David, thanks for reading and commenting. The book is on my “to read” list. Look forward to checking it out. -Art
I can tell that you have had a lot of experience with DI. Trying to figure the psychology of this type of individual can be tricky business. I prefer individuals who are self directed and motivated as long we agree on the a common goal. Most of the DI that I have had trouble with have had hidden agenda’s that are self serving and potentiality harmful to the organization. This is why it is so important to take a close look at a persons character as well as the work ethics before you let them lose on any major project. Trust has to be earned, and some DI don’t have the patience to wait for you to give them the green light. This is why it is important for a good manager (leader) to communicate the vision and expectations of his organization. Most people are patient if they know where they are going. RC
One of the other challenges working with the DI type individuals is…It is almost impossible to get practical estimates from them. They almost always err on the lower side due to their confidence & optimism. I would always be cautious while taking their inputs on estimates.
Bob, thanks for reading and sharing your cautionary tale. “Driven” can definitely manifest itself in the form of self-serving activities. Thanks for the reminder.
Arun, I’m chuckling while reading your post. I’ve been on the receiving end of that issue! Thanks as well for the reminder.
-Art
Art,
as always, a thought provoking post. As someone whose been accused of being a DI, I can add a few other issues into the mix.
DI tend to leave to go after other/bigger challenges. Often, they’ll do so unexpectedly, either because of promotion or because they get some outside opportunity you knew nothing about. This presents a real problem for management as DI’s will often cajole things into working by force of their personality, which is great while they’re there, but when the leave, well, you’ve now got a problem. As one of my wisest managers said: “I’ve always got to plan for the day that you leave.”
DIs tend to see things their own way and go in their own direction. They’re not usually so energetic going in other people’s directions. I’ll even go so far as to say that they’ll often get themselves and others worked up about things that are not core to what the business/department/unit is supposed to be doing.
DIs often don’t think they’re recognized for the effort they put in. They are probably recognized more than other employees, but from their perspective, they’ve just moved mountains and all the manager did was give them a pat on the head.
Finally, DIs tend to be insatiable. Unfortunately, they also tend to follow their own cycles. Their cycles may not sync with other people’s cycles. This may be great or it may be problematic, especially as DIs get older and possibly more cynical as they see projects fail for reasons that have nothing to do with the projects.
Good stuff!
Andy
Great post.
As a “DI” I found that the most difficult thing for me was coming up through the ranks being put in smaller project managemnt roles. I think your post did an excellent job of addressing this. I would get off task trying to fix the organization instead of focusing on the given problem.
It is all about putting the right people in the right positions.
Thank goodness for DI’s though! We are most definitely in agreement, Bob. Thanks for reading and responding. -Art
Great post! As a DI I cannot agree more. I am fortunate to have a DI boss as well. He is able to see the big picture and gives me an opportunity to develop my own goals. Of course, he sets some guidelines, but he is very reasonable. He has intervened with my direct managers to allow me to have the space I need. Even though, some of his actions are not understood by many people, I admire my DI boss. He is one of my strongest role models.