A Recent Rise in Achievement Drive Among Today's Executives Could Backfire When It Comes to Organizational Performance; Was Enron a Victim of ''Achievement Run Amok?''.

PHILADELPHIA -- A new study by Hay Group shows a dramatic rise in the achievement drive of business executives, which if unchecked can prove harmful not only to their own careers, but also to the organizations they lead.

The study, conducted by a team from Hay Group's McClelland Center for Research and Innovation and first reported in this month's Harvard Business Review, shows that the achievement motive - the innate drive to continually improve performance or meet or exceed a standard of excellence - has risen sharply among executives over the past decade. This dramatic rise, the authors note, has coincided with a period of innovation and rapid business growth - but a period also marked by scandal and loss of confidence in big business.

The study's authors, noting that overachievement often results in ineffective, sometime unethical leadership, point to Enron's Jeff Skilling as a classic (albeit extreme) case of the organizational overachiever who was driven to continually improve results - no matter how they were accomplished. But they are quick to note that this desire to continually do better, to be the best, is also a growing problem in other organizations today.

"Achievement has long been an important ingredient in the recipe for individual, organizational, even national success," says Scott Spreier, one of the study's authors. "And in today's uber-competitive environment, it is fast becoming the performance enhancer of choice as more organizations hire, promote, and reward achievement-driven leaders."

But, Spreier notes, as with most stimulants, it's easy to overdose on achievement. "Be careful what you ask for," he cautions. "It can backfire big-time. We've seen highly ethical, well-meaning executives transformed into vicious louts who behave very badly. They focus on the end to the exclusion of the means and become coercive and demanding, destroying morale and motivation. The really hard cases cut corners, lie, even cheat, all in the name of outstanding results."

Beware the Dark Side

So what can executives and organizations do to avoid this dark side of achievement?

According to the authors, the key is becoming aware of how easily our achievement drive can become aroused, and then learning how to better manage it.

"The most effective executives acknowledge their strong need for achievement and its importance in driving organizational performance," says co-author Mary Fontaine, who directs the McClelland Center. But they also recognize that their own drive can often diminish their impact as leaders. So they adopt styles of leadership that more effectively drive performance through others.

"The best leaders aren't out there blindly setting a blistering pace themselves and demanding the same from others," Fontaine says. "Instead they take a step back, create the vision, set the direction and standards, and then coach and engage others. In the process, they create energizing work climates in which people feel they have the flexibility, autonomy, and clarity they need to continually perform at the top of their game."

Given the competitive mindset in business today, however, such an approach is sometimes hard, even for savvy, self-aware managers. Although they know they should be channeling their achievement drive through others - collaborating and coaching - they lose control in the heat of battle and become coercive and controlling.

Ultimately, the key is balance, says Ruth Malloy, who also co-authored the study. "Good leaders know when to draw from their achievement drive and when to control it so that it doesn't get in the way of their effectiveness."

The article referenced in this release is "Leadership Run Amok: The Destructive Potential of Overachievers" by Scott W. Spreier, Mary H. Fontaine, and Ruth L. Malloy from the June 2006 Harvard Business Review.

About Hay Group

Hay Group (www.haygroup.com) is a global consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective, and motivate them to perform at their best. With 85 offices in 47 countries, we work with over 7,000 clients across the world. Our clients are from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry, and represent diverse business challenges. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations realize their potential.