The lack of wanting

Yesterday I had a conversation about how some people just seem to have a ‘lack of ‘wanting’ when it comes to careers.

Wanting - meaning the striving and drive for something.

For example they’ll say they want a promotion … but fail to use their initiative, or take on more responsibilities.

I’ve always worked on the principle that proof comes before promotion, not promotion before proof.

You must consistently meet or exceed the standard at the next level to earn it.

(Obviously not entirely true given the performance of some managers 😈)

But, perhaps what looks like a lack of wanting is really a lack of clear, achievable, standards to aim for.

Standards sit between ambitious goals and what you actually do each day.

This led to a discussion about where ‘lack of wanting’ originates and exploring four parts of the system of achievement in the context of standards

Ambition: what level counts as "good enough"?
Motivation: what's worth getting fired up about?
Discipline: the floor you never drop below
Habits: the behaviours that become non‑negotiable

Standards help turns vague ambitions into clear rules about what counts as doing it well enough and what's the bare minimum you'll accept.

But they’re not the full story, values, incentives and purpose can play a part. But in many cases higher standards, linked to an ambition, is where ‘wanting’ starts.

Until people see what good actually looks like - what taking initiative means in practice, what extra responsibility involves day-to-day - why would they want to reach for it ?