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Starting a movement isn’t possible without striving for it. Movements are a “divine-human cooperative,” as David Garrison (2014:255) put it. The engine that moves our human part forward is our Achievement Drive. All effective movement catalysts are marked by a very strong Achievement Drive. This drive needs to be honed, directed, and fueled, so it doesn’t diminish with time. In this blog we will take a close look under the hood, at your inner engine, so you understand the inner workings of your own motivations better. You will learn how to strengthen your own Achievement Drive and how to steer it well with the other motivations in ministry. If you follow the growth steps I outline at the end, you will be able to align your motivations with God’s heart and be fueled for movement ministry in the long haul.



The engine of effective catalysts

My global research into more than 170 movements has identified Achievement Drive as a trait that characterizes all effective movement catalysts. A description of their Achievement Drive is: Effective movement catalysts are motivated by achieving goals and have a strong drive, both to get things done and to attain results.


Let me highlight three aspects of this definition:


  • Getting things done: Catalysts are motivated to produce outputs. They find joy in the completion of a task more than the process of carrying it out. The anticipation of completion fuels their motivation. They work toward the moment where they can finally say: “Done. On to the next thing.”

  • Attaining results: What ultimately motivates catalysts is creating results. Whereas outputs describe what they produced or accomplished (for example they ran a training or created a resource), results are the effect of these outputs on desired goals. Results mark the changes in the world, while outputs are the ways we make these changes. Effective catalysts work toward the moment where they can finally say: “We changed things, we made a difference.”

  • A strong drive: Catalysts’ motivation to achieve is a massive force. Picture a wind-up car. Once wound up, they accelerate incredibly and race off at a massive speed. Catalysts have a strength of Achievement Drive like that.

You may have heard the adage, “After all is said and done, more is said than done.” Not so with effective catalysts. They get things done.


Effective catalysts are entrepreneurial leaders, of whom it has been written: “The entrepreneur lives in the future, never in the past, rarely in the present (Gerber, 2004). Their strong Achievement Drive propels them toward the future they envision.


Achievement Drive functions as a locomotive that moves a whole train “movement ministry” forward.

What others say about Achievement Drive in catalysts

Other writers have identified this trait with movement catalysts before my research verified it. Daniel Sinclair describes apostolic leaders as: “They are the kind who … make things happen” (Sinclair, 2005:6).


David and Paul Watson, writing of Disciple Making Movements, present “a determination to succeed” as one quality of “what separates great leaders from good leaders” (Watson and Watson, 2014: 202).


Bill Smith, called the “father of movements,” said that among the essential traits of movement catalysts are: “action-focused, results-oriented” (Smith, 2014:38). 


What Paul says about Achievement Drive in catalysts

The movement catalyst Saint Paul reflects on Achievement Drive in ministry in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:  

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (NIV)


He addresses four aspects of ministry that are relevant for Achievement Drive: training, racing, winning, and the reward.


Training: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training” (verse 24). “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave” (verse 27).  To train means to adjust one’s lifestyle, so as to be as fit as possible for the race. This means to be in top shape in all four dimensions of life:

  • Spiritual: be connected with God

  • Mental: be focused

  • Emotional: have positive energy

  • Physical: have high energy 


Racing: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (verse 24). The race is our ministry. To race means to aim for the finish line.


Winning: “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (verse 24). “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air” (verse 27). To win means to reach the finish line, or to hit the intended target, to achieve God’s intended outcomes.


Reward: “Only one gets the prize. Run in such a way as to get the prize” (verse 24). “We do it to get a crown that will last forever” (verse 26). To get the prize, the eternal crown, means to receive the most meaningful reward, the Father’s praise when He says: “Well done, you have been faithful.” And then to live in his pleasure and delight, in this life and eternity. 


Paul, in his own movement ministry, had a drive to reach the finish line and achieve the outcomes to which God had called him. He arranged his lifestyle to strengthen that drive, so as to run his best.


The contributions of Achievement Drive

Achievement Drive is an inner engine of effective catalysts. It serves four purposes:


Moves forward: It functions as a locomotive that moves a whole train (the entire movement ministry) forward. 


Moves to outcomes: It not only causes forward motion, but also moves the ministry to desired outcomes. It takes the train of movement ministry to its destination. It ensures that things get done, results are attained, and change happens.


Overcomes hurdles and opposition: Its massive force gives the power to pull the train up a hill, press through difficult terrain and overcome opposition and resistance. 


Persists till breakthrough: It feeds strong persistence over the long haul, and does not give up until movement breakthrough is achieved. (See my blog on Persistence.) It can pull a train over thousands of miles.


What we need to understand about our psyche

In order to really benefit, let’s take a quick dive into our own psyche and its inner workings. We can benefit from the expertise of psychologists and leadership experts who have analyzed the human soul, by comparing several aspects of achievement.


Achievement need – Henry Murray (1938:164) was the first to describe achievement need in the human soul. Someone with an achievement need experiences an emotional need, and to meet that need responds by setting out to achieve something. Here the motivation springs from an internal deficit, and achievement is chosen as an external means to meet that deficit.


Achievement motivation – David McClelland (1987) developed the most comprehensive model to understand achievement and how it motivates. Achievement motivation is a neutral term describing pursuit of achievements as a positive motivating factor. It may come out of a need, but it also may rather be fueled by a positive vision.


Achievement drive – Ralph Stogdill was the first to identify this as a leader trait (Stogdill 1948). His definition aligns with the one my research identified for effective catalysts: a very strong motivation to get things done and attain results.


Achievement orientation – If one’s achievement motivation is stronger than one’s people-orientation, it becomes an achievement orientation. This means pursuing progress toward achievement is more important than the people with whom one interacts in the pursuit. This will lead to problematic leadership behaviors.


The most accurate term to describe the trait effective catalysts exhibit is Achievement Drive. Their energy to achieve outcomes is a strong inner drive. It is not fueled by an emotional need but by their vision.


To hone your Achievement Drive, you need to direct your heart desires.

The shadows of Achievement Drive

Achievement Drive is a positive force that greatly contributes to a movement. However, it can turn into a problem if it becomes the overarching and strongest motivator in ministry.