Coaches' Corner~Drivers

When we say ‘driver,’ we are not talking about a limousine.  As stated in our last post, we are sharing on the importance of knowing your social style or personality type.  We recommend the DISC method used by Tony Robbins or any of a number of other technologies.  This blog is speaking about the type known as drivers.  Drivers are the ones that get things done and can be compared to a lion.  As you know, business is fraught with many obstacles and to overcome them can be quite daunting.  When I first became a part of a network marketing company, I had no idea the degree of work that would be necessary and how hard it would be to see it as fun.  Because we are all living from our own vantage point, I might see a driver different from the way they see themselves and I will caution you as you decide their relevance in your life.  If you, yourself, are a driver, you won’t even care what myself or person like me have to say about you and in some ways, success is easier for you because you are not concerned about how others feel anyway.  For you, it is just as simple as, “Get over it!”  Lest you miss this point, for the rest of us, we say, “Get over yourself!”  Really, you ae not that great.

I had an upline who was a driver and he seemed not to care about me.  He did not mind that I saw it that way because if I wasn’t producing, he wanted no part of me anyway.  Drivers often use the phrase, “Bottom line” and that generally means without the frills.  But for most drivers, frills can be confused with courtesy.  The ultimate driver is the character Mr. Wolf in the movie, PULP FICTION.  If you remember, the Vincent character was lamenting the fact that Mr. Wolf was barking orders at him and said so.  For the purpose of this blog, let’s say that Vincent was a driver too but he wanted to be in charge.  When he told Mr. Wolf how he felt, Mr. Wolf stopped in his tracks and said, “Come again?”  Vincent then articulated that he respected Mr. Wolf but he took offense to being barked at rather than being asked by using, “please.”  Mr. Wolf, the driver personality, said that if he was curt, it was due to the fact that time was of essence and their job was to get finished and out of the home by the time the owner’s wife came home from work.  In fact he said that if Vincent did not want his help, he would gladly go on about his business.  But if self-preservation was an instinct that Vincent possessed then he had better “Pretty please with sugar on top, clean the ‘fu@#%8g’ car!

In lots of cases, drivers are good at finding excuses to be rude and the other personality types recognize this right away.  

Even though drivers, bowl people over with the strength of their personalities, they can be quite insightful when necessary.  In fact, as a coach, you need a degree of ‘driver in your personality.  When you have a client that is a driver and is not getting the results he or she wants, you cannot simply tell them how rude they are and expect them to move right into the place where there is no “right/wrong or good/bad” because they will be the undesirable parts every time.  Unlike the other personality types, drivers only respect drivers and if you want to be an extraordinary coach, you must find a way to get through them.  This is your most golden opportunity to ask the question, “What’s working?” because even a person who is being rude must address that question.  Do not confuse your own defensiveness with a faux by the driver because ultimately the driver wants to succeed as well.  And he or she is not angry at you no more than a snake who bites you.  Plainly and simply, that is just what drivers do.  Taking it personally will surely get in the way of your becoming an extraordinary coach.