Chris Coultas - Driven Not Drained

Copyright 2021 by Leadership Worth Following

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ISBN 978-1-77458-007-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-77458-008-0 (ebook)

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Edited by Kendra Ward
Copyedited by Tilman Lewis
Proofread by Steph VanderMeulen
Jacket and interior design by Setareh Ashrafologhalai
Ebook by Bright Wing Media
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Distributed in the US and internationally by Publishers Group West, a division of Ingram

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DrivenNotDrained.com

W e all get a few critical moments in our livesmoments that are so important, so impactful, that we remember every detail surrounding them. I have had my share. Moments that led to big decisions that significantly changed the course of my career. One such moment happened for me on the morning of January 5, 2004.

It began with a phone call.

I had gone through some rough times professionally over the previous few years and had been on sabbatical from leadership and the field of consulting psychology. I was wrestling with big questions that mattered for me personally, like What will I do with the rest of my life? But bigger questions tooWhat makes leadership worth following? I might still be mulling these over if I hadnt set a date by which I would decide my next step, and if I hadnt asked an accountability partner to hold me to it. When the phone rang that morning, I knew the date had come, but I didnt have an answer. At least I thought I didnt.

So, whats next for you?

I dont know, I said.

My partner insisted, You promised to decide by this morning. What is it going to be?

I took a deep breath and said, I guess I will start a consulting firm.

A pause. And what will you call it?

I smiled and said, Leadership Worth Following!

In the years that followed, I and others who rallied around the idea that leadership should be worth following would build a thriving consulting firm dedicated to changing the world by changing the way leadership works. We wanted to challenge the notion of what it meant to be an effective leader and executive. We believed it was important not simply to have the capacity to lead and be sufficiently committed, but also to demonstrate the character to lead. We wanted to help organizations and their leaders identify and develop leadership that is worth following. I was seeing the vision come to life, and I couldnt help but smile again.

During my more than three decades of coaching, getting inside the minds of thousands of leaders, I have come to realize a fundamental truth about leaders: they have mostly good intentions.

Perhaps this truth surprises you, but it shouldnt. After all, its a well-known fact that we are judged not by our intentions but by the impact of our actions. For example, leaders who are driven by quality but struggle with letting go are still labeled micromanagers, even though their intent is positive. For many of the leaders who we assume have bad intentions, that is simply not the case. Their intentions are good, but they act them out in ways that have unintended negative effects.

I have also found that getting really clear on intentionsunderstanding what drives you to do the things you do, to lead the way you leadis essential in unlocking leadership potential. And it works, from the first-time manager to the seasoned CEO . If you know why you do what you do, you can make more thoughtful choices about what is best to do, and how to have the best impact on those you are leading and influencing.

The problem is: How do you arrive at this knowledge? People are a complex blend of conflicting emotions, beliefs, attitudes, goals, habits, and more. Even when youre working with a skilled coach, its challenging to sort out and pinpoint what is most important.

So, we here at Leadership Worth Following endeavored to develop a way to do just thattake the complex jumble of every-thing that drives human behavior and distill it down into something accessible, insightful, and scientifically validated. We wanted a method for shedding light not only on what drives behavior but also on how those drivers affect our happiness, effectiveness, and influence at work.

It was this needto help leaders understand and better leverage what drives themthat spawned the DRiV. Ill spare you the intricate details of how an assessment like this is developed and validated, but suffice it to say that careful research, development, and testing were involved. And in both science and practice, the DRiV has exceeded my wildest expectations. Our Science Advisory Board, composed of luminaries in the field of psychology, leadership, and psychometricspeople who have had a hand in developing some of the top tools in our fieldhas repeatedly underscored the rigor, value, and importance of drivers and the DRiV tool. (And if you want to see more of the science behind the tool, there is an extensive technical manual laying out everything that went into its development and validation, which you can access at DrivenNotDrained.com.)

Fast-forward to just a few years ago. Leadership Worth Following was continuing to grow, and I had a great leadership team working with me, yet it felt like something was missing. My smile was fading. My energy was draining. The old adage physician, heal thyself came to mind.

So, everyone at Leadership Worth Following took the DRiV test, and I was blown away.

The results of my DRiV, and those of my team, offered an explanation for the disconnect I felt. It turns out I had hired and built a leadership team that was highly competent and a great complement to me in many ways. We were all driven by the mission of Leadership Worth Following, achieving our business goals, and pouring ourselves into our clients development. But my team members had a significantly lower drive to connect on a personal level than I did. This meant fewer personal interactions and more focused, efficient meetings. I had overlooked one critical part of what drives me, what makes me smile: I need connection with my team.

There was no ill intent, but we were misaligned. I wasnt getting what I needed from my team, and so I felt like something was missing. Interestingly, I hadnt been able to diagnose the problem until I saw it spelled out in front of me. Through looking at and reflecting on the DRiV results, I could better express what I needed and find a new way of working togetherone that was good for them, and for me.

That is the power of the DRiV.

Life is too short not to go after what makes you smile, but thats easier said than done. Life is complex, and what drives us can be just as complex.

We wrote this book to help you answer the questions, What drives you? What drains you? And most importantly, What do you do now?

As you read this book, explore your drivers. I hope you find ways to thoughtfully pursue situations and circumstances that give you energy and a sense of fulfillment. I hope you wont simply let your career and life happen to you. I hope you will be able to stay in a space that makes you happy and smileand that makes others happy and smile too.

And if you have one of those moments where you feel trapped, stuck, and drained, I hope that the insights you get from exploring your driversinitially in this book and later through the full DRiV toolgive you the hope and courage to chase your smile!