Understanding Why You Do Things

When it comes to understanding a person’s behaviors, especially the motivation behind those behaviors, the 12 Driving Forces measures the impetus for why a person does the things they do.   The 12 Driving Forces are based on six Keywords, one for each of 6 continuums. The six Keywords are Knowledge, Utility, Surroundings, Others, Power, and Methodologies. In this post, we will focus on determining your Primary Driving Forces.

Keyword 1 – Knowledge  

If your Knowledge motivation is high, the Intellectual Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by opportunities to learn, acquire knowledge and the discovery of truth. You will be highly interested in learning everything there is to know about a subject.

If your Knowledge motivation is low, the Instinctive Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by utilizing past experiences, intuition and seeking specific knowledge only when necessary.

Keyword 2 – Utility

If your Utility motivation is high, the Resourceful Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by practical results, maximizing both efficiency and ROI for investments of your time, talent, energy and resources.

If your Utility motivation is low, the Selfless Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by completing tasks for the sake of completion, with little expectation of personal return.

Keyword 3 – Surroundings

If your Surroundings motivation is high, the Harmonious Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by the experience, and balance in your surroundings and life.  You will likely feel that there is more to life than work.

If your Surroundings motivation is low, the Objective Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by the functionality and objectivity of your surroundings.

Keyword 4 – Others

If your Others motivation is high, the Altruistic Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven to assist others for the satisfaction of being helpful and supportive.

If your Others motivation is low, the Intentional Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven to assist others for a specific purpose, not just for the sake of being supportive or helpful

Keyword 5 – Power

If your Power motivation is high, the Commanding Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by status, recognition and control. I.e. You will like to be in charge.

If your Power motivation is low, the Collaborative Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by being in a supporting role and contributing with little need for individual recognition or control.

Keyword 6 – Methodologies

If your Methodologies motivation is high, the Structured Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven by traditional approaches, proven methods and a defined system for living.

If your Methodologies motivation is low, the Receptive Driving Force is active for you. You will be driven new ideas, methods and opportunities that fall outside a defined system

Bringing it all together

When you review all 12 Driving Forces, try to determine the most important 4 for you. The top 4 are called the Primary Driving Forces. They are the ones which motivate you most of the time however you can be de-motivated if they are missing.

As an example, my Primary Driving Forces include Commanding.  If I am in a position where I have no control or decision-making power, I become quite de-motivated and upset.

The next 4 in order of importance for you are called the Situational Driving Forces. As it implies, there are times when one of these matters. For example, I am Instinctive…however, there are times when I want to be more intellectual in my learning so that I can gain some additional knowledge and expertise.

The last 4 are called the Indifferent Driving Forces. As it implies, these simply don’t matter to you.

In my future posts, I share my insights on Dealing with Stress and much more so please stay tuned.  In the meantime, if you want to view assessments for Driving Forces, please visit my website at www.neely-training.com and view the online Supervisor workshop information. You will find a link for the TrimetrixEQ assessment which is used.

In addition, if you wish to stay in touch, I occasionally send our email newsletters with some of the best items from my blog series and updates on my upcoming workshops. If you would like to sign up, please click here.

Thanks for taking the time to review this blog!