Understanding Your Driving Forces
Learn to understand "Why" you do what you do.
The 12 Driving Forces is an assessment tool that measures what drives us. It is built around six primary areas of motivation that people experience on any given day.
You can release your potential by using the 12 Driving Forces assessment to understand many of your professional development challenges.
Use 12 Driving Forces To...
- Reveal what drives an individual
- Reveal unique strengths
- Hire and develop the right talent
- Increase employee productivity
and understand the science of self by going deeper than DISC.
Instinctive
People with an Instinctive Driver use experience, intuition, and real-time research to solve an immediate need.
An Instinctive person wants only the knowledge necessary to accomplish the task at hand. They pursue knowledge on a “need to know” basis. They like to use their experience to make decisions in the moment and may want to be known for their gut intuition.
Intellectual
People with an Intellectual Driver acquire knowledge, discover, and find opportunities to learn wherever they are.
The Intellectual person wants all available knowledge on the subject to understand, regardless of the direct application. They like learning for the sake of learning! We can always learn more and go a layer deeper may be something that motivates them.
Altruistic
Altruistic people are driven to assist others for the satisfaction of being helpful or supportive. They believe that all people should have the opportunity to be the best they can be and will give generously of their time, talent, and resources with no expectation of personal return.
People with an Altruistic driver have a keen sense of noticing and responding to others' needs. They will also sacrifice their gain in a situation if the outcome is detrimental to others and are prone to giving in relationships by focusing only on the benefits of their actions to others. They prefer to avoid conflict and inconsiderate actions towards others and go the extra mile to make sure all parties leave a situation as happy as possible.
Intentional
People with an Intentional driver are driven to assist others for a specific purpose, not just for the sake of being helpful or supportive.
You know the saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”? That’s what the Intentional person is all about. They see the world and the people in it as part of a toolset to accomplish their own goals, and as a result, they are selective about who, when, why, and how much they are willing to give to others.
This doesn’t mean that Intentional people don’t care about others! It simply means that they are careful with their energy and resources and want to see a return on their investments.
Harmonious
The Harmonious person has a subjective focus on the experience and the totality of their surroundings – often preferring form over function and seeking to beautify and harmonize the world around them.
Harmonious people feel a high level of satisfaction when they can create harmony and tranquility in all aspects of their life.
Beyond beauty, a Harmonious driver looks at the big picture. This person may like to complete projects to see the full picture seamlessly evolving over time.
Objective
People with an Objective driver are driven by the functionality and objectivity of their surroundings. They are not distracted in environments filled with chaos and can view everything in pieces and focus on one piece at a time.
It’s right in the name; Objective people constantly look for objectivity in their environments and focus on function over form. They prefer to break a whole project or idea down into measurable parts and look at them independently of one another.
Selfless
People with a Selfless Driver are driven by completing tasks for completion, with little expectation of personal return.
Selfless people contribute to a project with minimal expectation of personal return and are focused on accomplishing tasks for accomplishment. They tend to focus on the greater good versus the return on the investment of their resources.
An important thing to remember is that the focus of the term Selfless concerns utility or “tasks” for this science. It is easy to revert to the everyday use of selflessness, which typically refers to interactions with people, not tasks. It is essential to note this context to understand this Driving Force best.
Resourceful
People with a Resourceful driver are driven by practical results, maximizing efficiency and returns for their time, talent, energy, and resources investments.
They are passionate about returns on investment and want to build a framework that maximizes the time and talent invested in a project. To someone with a Resourceful driver, people are valued for their abilities and can be seen as useful assets rather than individuals.
Commanding
Commanding people value status and public recognition, asserting control over their freedom and destiny. They are driven to create winning strategies and are passionate about creating an enduring legacy through their work.
If someone is Commanding, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are aggressive or direct in the workplace. It simply means that they want a hand in creating their path forward and prefer to take on roles that receive recognition.
People with a Commanding driver often end up as the “go-to” person for those around them, regardless of the problem at hand. They like operating with a plan and aren’t afraid to take charge if a situation needs a leader.
Collaborative
Collaborative people are driven by being in a supporting role and contributing with little need for individual recognition. They focus on their contribution versus advancing their position and enjoy working behind the scenes and getting things done.
If you’re looking for a team player, look no further than a Collaborative driver! They thrive when working closely with others and love contributing to a mutual goal, tending to set aside their plan for the good of the company or community they serve.
Collaborative people need to look out for their ability to ‘go with the flow. This is helpful sometimes but can also be detrimental if the current direction or initiative needs to change. Collaborative people can lack the initiative to share ideas that contradict the existing order or path. They can follow a leader or cause even to their detriment in extreme situations.
Receptive
Receptive people are driven by new ideas, methods, and opportunities that fall outside a defined system for living.
People with a Receptive driver are always looking for new ways to accomplish routine tasks and like to set their path to guide and direct their actions. They tend to get creative when interpreting systems and will adopt aspects of them if they see a benefit.
If you tell a Receptive person, “This is the way we’ve always done it!” without solid reasoning to back up that decision, get ready for pushback. Receptive people are all about out-of-the-box thinking, gathering new ideas, and exploring possibilities.
Structured
Structured people are driven by traditional approaches, proven methods, and abiding by a defined system for living. They prefer to show their work and want you to do the same; don’t ask them to do something without explaining the structure and your reasoning!
People with a Structured driver seek consistency and place a high value on working within a defined system. If you don’t have an established system in place to safeguard processes and people, Structured individuals will have a problem.
The good news is that people with a Structured driver will help you find a solution to that problem. They thrive when contributing to building a defined system and approach, so make sure you utilize their ability to do so.
