To succeed you need to be determined, and you need to show that determination to your colleagues. Hiding your drive behind a mast of sociability or tact simply doesn’t cut it.
On at least nine out of every ten workshops I run, the most senior people present have the highest scores for determination on their Influence Profile.
Although nobody wants to admit that they lack determination, the scores clearly show they would sooner be the nice guy, or favour harmonious relationships.
The degree of raw determination seems to count for little when it comes to success, if you neglect to let people know that you are determined to succeed. As you may imagine I have a few theories about why this is the case, and I’ll save them for another day.
The important thing I want to drive home here is: if you want to get on, let others know you are determined, and get comfortable doing so. No, that’s doesn’t mean that you should become irritating and crass, but somehow you have to let others feel the power of your determination.
When you did the profile, what was your score? The higher you scored, the more comfortable you are displaying your determination. Lower scores? You may well be determined, but you will likely avoid putting it out there for all to see.
So, what can you do to demonstrate higher levels of determination without annoying the hell out of everyone?
Here are seven suggestions:
- Clarify Your Focus. Determined people know where they are trying to get to, in detail. Unless you have the detail sorted out in your own mind, you will struggle to communicate it to others. On a single page, map out exactly what you are striving for. One of the best ways of doing this is to create influencing goals (see The Evolution of Influencing Goals). Using an influence perspective will get you paying attention to what you need to do as well as where you are going.
- Cut Down the Noise. Determined people usually have a single goal they are focusing on, or at least their major goal. Shooting for hundreds of different things at the same displays lack of decision. Stop dithering and settle on one specific thing for the next 12 months that come hell or high water, you will achieve. If you want to be radical on this one, take a look at Stop Wasting Your Time with Idiots.
- Share Your Focus. Once you’re clear, make sure everyone else around you knows, especially the important people in your life and career. They need to know that you’ve got your destination well specified. No problem if you have yet to work out exactly what to do to get there (for a while anyway). “I’m going to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal – whatever!”
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- Connect All Activity. Openly refer to your goal on a regular (persistent?) basis. An easy way to do this is to remind others how their work is supporting or contributing to your big goal. Help them to understand why your activity is connected to the big goal you are shooting for. This is good communication, demonstrates consistency, and that you’ve thought it out clearly (another mark of highly determined people).
- Whip Up the Emotion. “Come hell or high water. If it’s the last thing I do. Never mind if, it’s when it happens. Nothing is going to stop me.” These phrases and many more can be used to convey your determination. Instead of a flat monotone, inject the emotion when you use these, often. Let others feel the passion and enthusiasm you feel, and keep it well focused on the big goal.
- Be Tenacious and Consistent. You don’t have to trumpet from the rooftops (all the time) but you do need to stick at it. Day in, day out. Month in, month out. Year in, year out, until you have arrived. Demonstrating your staying power makes it abundantly clear where you are going. Moderation is key to doing this while avoiding mental health issues, so pay close attention to what I have to say in Giving Your Tenacity a Sanity Check.
- Become Obsessive. If you are thinking about your goal all the time, it will show. If you are always looking for ways to make progress, others will get involved. If you are obsessing about what you want to achieve, you’ll spend most of your time driving towards it. But, make sure you don’t take this far by heeding the advice in A Healthy Dose of Obsession.
A few important points:
- Tread a fine balance on the obsession lest it become unhealthy and wreck other areas of your work/life.
- You don’t have to shout loudly and bang the table with any of the suggestions above, but you do need to vocalise often.
- Implementing these suggestions means making clear decisions, and then sticking to them. But these decisions have to be sound and not unduly rushed.
Personally, I have a suspicion that those who score low on determination are not as determined as they like to think they are. If so, this means that the priority is raising the internal motivation. When you do that, the external demonstration will take care of itself.
High scores on determination do not guarantee success, but they do go a long way towards it!
Colin Gautrey
Provocative Coach/Mentor | Specialism: Impact and Influence
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