The 12 Driving Forces: What You Need to Know

What Is The 12 Driving Forces Assessment?

The 12 Driving Forces is an assessment that measures why a person does what they do. It measures the motivation (and strength) behind behaviors, using 6 different motivators.

Those motivators are...

Knowledge
Utility
Surroundings
Others
Power
Methodologies

These 6 motivators are each divided into two distinct sides, measuring each factor. Based on a continuum, these 12 drivers make up a person’s cluster of Driving Forces.

What Exactly Are Those 12 Driving Forces?

Knowledge

Instinctive/Intellectual

• People with an Instinctive Driver use past experience, intuition and real-time research to solve an immediate need.
• People with an Intellectual Driver acquire knowledge, discover and find opportunities to learn.

Utility

Selfless/Resourceful

• People with a Selfless Driver invest all of their resources and time into completing tasks, regardless of constrictions.
• People with a Resourceful Driver find ways to maximize productivity and focus on getting a return for their time, talent or resources invested.

Surroundings

Objective/Harmonious

• People with an Objective Driver create functionality to produce desired outcomes in their surroundings.
• People with a Harmonious Driver create balance in their surroundings while embracing the experience.

Others

Intentional/Altruistic

• People with an Intentional Driver form purposeful strategic relationships and focus on future benefits.
• People with an Altruistic Driver love to respond to people in need and thrive while working to benefit others.

Power

Collaborative/Commanding

• People with a Collaborative Driver contribute to the success of the team, group, or organization’s mission.
• People with a Commanding Driver believe in controlling their own destiny while advancing their status and position.

Methodologies

Receptive/Structured

• People with a Receptive Driver challenge the status quo and find new ways to complete routine tasks.
• People with a Structured Driver work diligently to advance causes they believe in, while honoring beliefs and traditions.

Who Created The 12 Driving Forces?

The 12 Driving Forces assessment was created by TTI Success Insights, based on the original works of Eduard Spranger, a German philosopher and psychologist.

This assessment was created to reveal the ‘why’ behind the ‘how’. DISC reveals how an individual behaves, and The 12 Driving Forces assessment reveals the motivations behind that behavior.

How Can You Use The 12 Driving Forces Right Now?

If your challenge in the workplace involves people, The 12 Driving Forces can help. Here are a few of the ways you can use this assessment.

Quickstart Personal Development

For those seeking to improve themselves personally, The 12 Driving Forces is an extremely valuable resource to help them determine the ‘why’ behind their actions.

By knowing what motivates you, you will be able to change your approach to your current position, pursue a more fulfilling career, and improve your interpersonal relationships just by increasing your awareness of your motivations.

Improve Work Performance

Assessments provide valuable information to help a person better understand themselves and begin to know what motivates them to get out of bed every morning.

Not only will understanding your Drivers help you steer your professional development, it will help you improve your daily performance in your role. For example, if a project is structured around Objective goals, but you have a high Harmonious Driver, you will have a difficult time getting invested in the task at hand. You can either suggest a different approach to the entire project, or work at it in your style with that knowledge in mind.

Are you energized by your work? Are you engaged? The 12 Driving Forces help you understand why or why not and then can help you re-engage.

Get an Edge With Strategic Planning

Every organization needs its workers to be unified in working toward the company plan.

Leadership needs to recognize the differences in their team members. If they want to encourage the development, productivity, and happiness of their teams.

Understanding a person’s comfort zone helps ensure that they are set up to succeed, based on the things that drive that person.

Make Hiring Make Sense

Being both EEOC and OFCCP compliant, The 12 Driving Forces assessment can be used as part of the selection process.

By fully understanding the motivation behind behavior, your hiring team can get a strong sense of who a candidate is and how they prefer to work. Then, you can see if those patterns and preferences align with the role.

The most popular combination of assessments for hiring purposes combines DISC and The 12 Driving Forces. This package is called Talent Insights and helps explain both the how and the why behind a candidate’s behavior.

Learn more about using assessments in hiring here.

Develop Your Talent Pipeline

Assessments are an integral tool for organizations looking to promote from within. Understanding what drives a person will help to determine whether or not they may be on a proper career trajectory or currently in a position that keeps them engaged.

Being able to differentiate between a person’s energizers and stressors can help ensure a person is properly placed on your team.

What’s Your Next Step?

When it comes to using assessments, you have options. If you’re interested in using TTI SI assessments in your organization, with your team, or for personal development, contact us here.

If you’re a consultant looking for tools like TTI SI assessments in your practice, get the information you need about joining the network as a reseller here.

If you’re already a member of our network but want to learn more about how you can utilize The 12 Driving Forces, contact your Business Development Consultant.

Find out what motivates you, and turn that knowledge into productivity and profit!