Intrinsic Motivation and Driving Forces – The Theoretical

What is Intrinsic Motivation and Driving Forces?

What we used to call “Motivators” (and before that, “Values”) are now called Driving Forces. These are a measure of a person’s intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. The most recent definition – which expands on the original six Motivators to acknowledge twelve Driving Forces – is more accurate than ever before.

When we understand a person’s Driving Forces, we understand WHY they do things. Whereas DISC measures a person’s behavioral style – helping us understand HOW they do things (communicate, interact, make decisions, organize their work, etc.) – Driving Forces goes deeper.

Driving Forces gives us the reasoning behind a person’s working style, career goals, and personal interests. It helps us understand why some people view others as illogical, and vice versa. It gives us a clear window into a person’s priorities, passions, and strengths.

In turn, this allows us to predict job fit and performance with very high accuracy. It also gives us the exact information needed to motivate someone for their reasons (not ours, which don’t matter to them). It catalyzes a higher level of collaboration and communication across teams. It gives us the ability to help other people the way they want to be helped.

Driving Forces has always been one of my favorite sciences for all of these reasons. It touches at the core of who we are as individuals, and sheds light on our unique dreams – many of which go back to childhood.

You will find people are always working to fulfill their top Driving Forces. If their work does not bring them this fulfillment, expect them to look for it outside of work – perhaps in a hobby, or extracurricular activity.

Additionally, people who are not fulfilling their core Driving Forces at work are at high risk for moving on, since their job is reduced to nothing more than a mere financial transaction – punching a clock and collecting a paycheck.

High Intellectual (High Theoretical)

We may sometimes call the High Intellectual person a High Theoretical. This is because the High Intellectual person is one who scores high on the Theoretical scale.

Key Traits

The High Intellectual person is driven by knowledge, information, and continuous learning. They enjoy researching new topics, discovering new information, and getting to the bottom of things. They have a deep desire to understand how things work, and to understand and explain the world around them.

The High Intellectual person will tend to continue researching a subject until all information is obtained. This can help them in preparing for major projects and undertakings, as they are likely to uncover key details and facts pertinent to their objectives in advance.

At Redline

When the High Intellectual person exhibits their Theoretical nature at high levels, they may allow their craving for knowledge to become so important that they neglect basic responsibilities: tasks, deadlines, relationships for starters… and even showering, eating, and cleaning their homes and work spaces.

High Intellectual individuals are prone to becoming so immersed in a subject that they ignore the world around them. Their self-awareness may suffer as the gears refuse to stop turning in their minds, contemplating the possibilities and delving into all kinds of information to discover what they are looking for. However, this can be tempered by high emotional intelligence.

Stress Factors

The High Intellectual individual will feel stress when working in an environment without opportunities for education, training, and learning. Driven by a need to become an expert in their field of specialty – and perhaps other fields as well – performing routine tasks over and over will drive the High Intellectual person completely nuts. These people are not your button pushers; rather they are your strategic thinkers.

Communication Insights

Information, research, discovery. These are the key things that will move this person into action, and good communication will focus on how a given work objective or task leads to the discovery of new information. Ask them to help you solve mysteries and problems, or assign them a research project – and expect to be wow’ed. Also, be sure you stay objective with the High Intellectual person. Subjective viewpoints without sufficient evidence may be dismissed as arbitrary.

Management Insights

When managing someone who is a High Intellectual, keep in mind the importance of knowledge and information. Send them to frequent training events, seminars, and workshops. Keep things fresh and new at work, ensuring there are opportunities to learn and grow on a regular basis. Sponsor them to take a class at your local community college during or after work, in an area related to their position.

To drive a High Intellectual employee into action, hold conversations that explain how their performance will lead to increased learning opportunities. Schedule regular conversations between the High Intellectual employee and their manager, in which new ideas and possibilities are discussed for improved performance. Give them new ideas to play with and ask them what they think about various work processes. Draw out their opinions and get them thinking critically about things.

High Instinctive (Low Theoretical)

We may sometimes call the High Instinctive person a Low Theoretical. This is because the High Instinctive person is one who scores low on the Theoretical scale.

Key Traits

The High Instinctive person is driven by their intuition based on past experiences. Unlike the High Intellectual person, they don’t crave a constant inflow of new information and knowledge. They are more precise about the information they need to know to get the job done, and tend to not get distracted as easily as the High Intellectual.

Whereas the High Intellectual person is fundamentally driven by knowledge and truth – the High Instinctive person is less curious and more quick to put their ideas into action. They will Google something quickly if they need to know, or ask a trusted colleague or friend. Ultimately, the High Instinctive person trusts their gut and tends to go with it.

At Redline

While the High Instinctive person tends to move into action more quickly than the High Intellectual, this can become a burden if they fail to gather important information first. They may launch into projects too quickly, feeling confident at the outset only to realize their efforts were all for not – like they say, sometimes the devil is in the details. Whereas the High Intellectual person is likely to be well-prepared, the High-Instinctive person may jump to conclusions and fail to see important indicators in objective data presented to them.

Stress Factors

The High Instinctive person will be stressed when forced to perform long-winded research on a topic, or when forced to justify decisions based on gut feelings in the workplace. They also do not enjoy theoretical discussions that the High Intellectual craves; this can be quite the mismatch if a High Intellectual and High Instinctive are on the same team. Interestingly, the High Instinctive will also experience stress if they don’t have quick and immediate access to the tidbits of information they do need/want at any given time.

Communication Insights

Great communication with a High Instinctive person will focus on applying lessons learned to future decisions. In other words, ask them what their experience has been – and what it has taught them. Then ask them how that past experience plays into making decisions right now, today. For best results, be sure to only discuss a minimum of theoretical aspects, focusing only on specific pieces of information relevant to the discussion.

Management Insights

The High Instinctive person is not a knowledge-nut like their High Intellectual counterpart, but they do still crave some information (and experiences to learn from). Seminars and training events are welcome by the High Instinctive, but only if it is perceived as directly relevant to their job role. If they sense that the information is off-point, expect them to tune out and complain about wasting their time at another pointless meeting.

Help them find quick-response information mediums (i.e., Google, YouTube, Udemy, Short Kindle eBooks). Ask them to analyze and clarify workplace situations, and then apply their intuition to the matter to solve the issue. Allow them to go with their gut feelings, even in situations where data may suggest it’s better to go another direction. Not only may their intuition ultimately be right, but even if it’s not, they will quickly learn from the experience and arrive at the same understanding anyways. It’s best to let them arrive at these understandings their way rather than forcing them away from their intuition, because the lessons will stick and motivation will be retained during the process.

Conclusion

The High Theoretical / High Intellectual person is great at researching new ideas, topics, and information. Many entrepreneurs, salespeople, and inventors have a High Intellectual driver. This drives them to be experts in many areas, even beyond their products, and integrate their deep understanding of many things to accomplish current objectives.

For example, imagine the salesperson who is not only an expert in their product, but who also stays abreast of industry trends, competitors’ products, and sales methodologies. They are likely to be reading sales books in their free time and become experts in all aspects of what they do; which is key to consultative selling.

On the other hand, the High Instinctive person is quicker to act and less likely to be distracted. They are more willing to push buttons and settle into a routine (that said, not every High Intellectual is incapable of consistency). They can also make good salespeople, especially where volume (making lots of calls, contacts, etc.) is a critical factor. And sometimes, despite all signs pointing another direction, the High Instinctive person can uncover truths that are unexpected and foreshadow the future in an uncanny manner.

Both the High Intellectual and High Instinctive individuals are great additions to any team. Depending on the specific role, though, you must understand which style will perform better and incorporate that information into your hiring decision. Furthermore, managers and employees alike will benefit from understanding each others’ drivers and speaking to them – rather than speaking to their own.