"I've lost my mojo", "The whole team is totally burned out","I feel completely unmotivated" "I don't even know why we're doing this any more", "I guess it pays the bills." No doubt, many of us have heard or indeed felt some version of this in the last few months. In order for us to work effectively and sustainably and to help others to work effectively and sustainably, it is vital to maintain and sustain a sense of motivation and drive. Without it, engagement, wellbeing, morale, performance and people are all severely diminished and ultimately lost. 

As longer-standing readers of "To Be Clear..." know, Chrissie Easom and I have developed a growing body of work on the topic of Drive. The Easom/ Williams definition of drive is "sustained strategic energy"* and, in our professional experience, working with teams, individuals and organisationally, what is often overlooked when addressing diminishing levels of drive is that second word - "strategic". 

For drive to be sustained and maintained, the energy that powers it needs to be strategic and purposeful - that is, directed towards and motivated by something meaningful. It's why the Outcome layer of ONION invites you to consider what makes pursuing the Outcome worthwhile for you and all your stakeholders.

A useful but little-asked question when drive is low is, "How has our purpose/ desire changed?" As I work with clients, asking that question often unlocks important insights which lead to significant progress. The fact is that what a team, individual or organisation wanted or needed one, two, five years ago - is not necessarily what they want and need now either because their situation has changed or because they have changed - sometimes both. 

Those who don't address the change in purpose/ motivation and try to keep going are like an engine running on the wrong fuel - it might be able to keep going for a little while, but at real cost and with real damage both in the short and long term.

One individual client, about to hit the top level of his global organisation, admitted for the first time as we worked together that he was no longer sure that he wanted the role he had been pursuing his entire career. Acknowledging this allowed him not only to confront and tackle an increasing sense of resentment and burnout but to work out what success looked like for him at that organisation. He was then able to align his work accordingly. As a result, not only did his levels of drive, happiness and job satisfaction increase but he was able to develop new products and ways of working with clients which benefited everyone.  

One high performing scale-up I worked with uncovered that a big reason for decreasing effectiveness within the leadership team was a disconnect between what had motivated them before COVID and what motivated them now. Recognising what had changed allowed them to realign their purpose and priorities and move forward with new initiatives to grow their revenues and transform their customer experience.

So, if you, your team or your organisation are currently struggling with diminishing levels of drive, it might be worth asking. "What did I/ we want six months/ a year/ two years ago?" "How have our circumstances/structures/ environment/ people/ viewpoints changed over that time?" and "What do I/ we want now?" 

There's no shame in change and acknowledging changed motivations frees you to work with rather than against the grain - and that always leads to better results. Where desires or motivations at work have changed, acknowledge and address that and then realign things so that what you're working on and for is being driven by what you actually want to achieve now rather than what you wanted in the past.

As always, let me know how that goes. 

Next up a tool to help you get greater clarity as you work with others