The Instinctive Drive to Improvise™

If you're driven by the Instinctive Drive to Improvise™, you…

…will need	…have the talent to
To function with a sense of urgency, passion and excitement. Absolutely committed outcomes, especially deadlines. New, seemingly impossible challenges. Inspiration, (e.g. via interaction with positive people, big benefits, recognition, etc.). To make a stunning impression. A fun and dynamic atmosphere. To solve problems by brainstorming and make decisions on the run. The "bottom line" up front. Freedom to experiment.	Take risks (and experiment) if necessary to usually find a way. Respond positively because your instinctive reaction is always "yes". Be quick on your feet and "off the cuff", often appearing to create opportunities out of nothing. See problems as challenges, even if seemingly impossible. Inspire and persuade others to go beyond their comfort zones. Get enthusiastic and excited about things very quickly. Strive for simplicity in everything. Make a memorable first impression.
…are vulnerable to	…have stress triggered by
Committing unnecessarily to tasks and people, frequently putting unnecessary pressure on others. Appearing to lack conviction when you are easily persuaded or change so dramatically. Not always delivering on your promises (which you deal with by trying to "sell" a change in expectation) - compromising your credibility. Appearing superficial with your overly simplistic solutions, causing others not to take you seriously. Appearing inconsiderate when you want everything done yesterday. Sustaining the impact of your first impression. Appearing flighty and prone to error when rushing from one thing to the next.	Negativity - in conversations or environments. A slow pace - being held back. No real challenge or positive pressure to drive you to action.

If you're driven by the Instinctive Drive to Improvise you may recognise this…

You go where the energy is!

That can mean a thousand scenarios to a thousand people. In work you are interested in the fun things, the new plans and projects. But not everything is fun and new and buzzing with energy to fuel your tank. So your way of injecting that energy into tasks is to leave them until the last minute. You look at the pile of work in front of you and smile. It's been sitting there for weeks steadily getting bigger and bigger. Your logical mind started whispering to you to start it weeks ago. Now it's positively yelling at you but you really don't mind. You could have started but somehow the energy just wasn't there for you. The build up of work and pressure empowers you and moves you into action. Once the deadline is critical the lights go on and you plunge into the madness.

You're friends and fellow workers look at you as if you are slightly demented at times. They shake their head in disbelief when you tell them what you need to do and by when. They say things like, "why do you keep doing this to yourself, why don't you just start earlier?" People think you're a bit "out there" and are often genuinely worried for your health fearing that you will fold under the pressure and stress of what they perceive to be impossible deadlines.

Little do they realise but that is why you are so good, it is when you are at your absolutely inspirational best. Life is a challenge to you and one that you have no intentions of losing. You invariably hit the deadline with minutes to spare and the rush you experience is intoxicating. There are very few situations you can't get yourself out of… you have elevated "winging it" to an art form. You say, "Yes" to everything and work out how to do it later - invariably pulling off minor and sometimes major miracles in the process. You have an innate trust in yourself, which is your greatest strength and can be your greatest weakness! You are without doubt an improviser.