Achievement orientation
Achievement orientation is when an individual's inclination and attitide toward the development and validation of one's ability to achieve is high. A person who exhibits achievement orientation is passionate about achieving their goals and their overall success. Having strong self-motivation is a prerequisite for having an achievement orientation. It often also involves having a strong set of leadership skills rather than following others.[1]
Factors that are conducive an achievement orientation are: a desire to meet or exceed a standard of excellence; key performance indicators; self-control; welcoming the feedback of others; a strong desire to continually improve one's performance; interpersonal skills; teamwork skills; risk management skills, and understanding the context of a given situation relative to factors such as an organization's mission and goals, prioritization, and other important factors.[2][3][4]
Conscientiousness and achievement orientation
See also: Conscientiousness
According to Science Direct:
| “ | For conscientious persons achievement orientation and goal-directedness color both their thoughts and their emotions around information seeking. Their search experience may appear rational and accompanied by fairly neutral emotions, but they may harbor a strong need to feel competent and successful. Conscientious persons are foremost focused on the goal of their search, and so their feelings are often related to reaching – or not reaching – it. If there are obstacles along the way or it takes a long time to find relevant information, they may feel frustrated. When they have solved their information need or feel they are making progress they feel happy and relieved. Conscientious persons have explained that they enjoy information interaction the most when they proceed towards completion of their search, and ‘finally find what [they] look for’, or ‘come across the perfect source’ (Heinström, forthcoming). The distinct focus of their emotions is hence on the outcome, on finding or not finding relevant information as opposed to experiencing gratification in the ongoing process of searching for it. One rational conscientious student describes her feelings in this way: ‘As long as I make progress, I feel I am making efficient use of my time. I get excited if I find exactly what I need or a perfect search term’ (Todd et al., 2005).[5] | ” |
Journal articles on achievement orientation
- Pro-Social Goals in Achievement Situations: Amity Goal Orientation Enhances the Positive Effects of Mastery Goal Orientation, Perspectives of Social Psychology Bulletin. 2018 Aug;44(8):1258-1269. doi: 10.1177/0146167218765745. Epub 2018 Apr 11.