Selfless and Altruistic are both parts of The 12 Driving Forces, but they are often confused for one another. Here’s the clarity you need to understand these two drivers.
What Are The 12 Driving Forces?
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...
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.
Learn more about The 12 Driving Forces here.
What Does Selfless Mean in The 12 Driving Forces Assessment?
Selfless is one end of the Utility continuum. Utility in The 12 Driving Forces assessment address how a person values practicality, usefulness, and gaining a return on all investments of time, talent, and resources.
People with a Selfless Driver are driven by completing tasks for the sake of completion, often without expectation of future or personal return.
Selfless people contribute to a project with a focus on what needs to be completed today and often with minimal expectation of personal return. They tend to focus on the greater good instead of the return on the investment of their resources.
An important thing to remember is that the focus of the term Selfless is 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 important to note this context to best understand this Driving Force.
What Does Altruistic Mean in The 12 Driving Forces Assessment?
Altruistic is one end of the Others continuum. The Others motivator continuum looks at how a person values giving, being of service, and helping others.
Altruistic people are driven to assist others for the satisfaction of being helpful or supportive.
They generously give their time, talent, and resources with no expectation of personal return. They derive joy from serving others regardless of whether there is goal alignment or whether the personal choices and initiative of those they serve are aligned with their own values or beliefs.
People with an Altruistic driver have a keen sense of noticing and responding to what others need. They will also sacrifice their personal 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 will go the extra mile to make sure all parties leave a situation as happy as possible.
What’s the Difference Between Selfless and Altruistic?
It can be confusing to understand the difference between these two drivers, especially because in regular vocabulary, they can be considered synonyms.
The best way to remember the difference between Selfless and Altruistic in The 12 Driving Forces Assessment is to focus on their respective keywords.
Selfless people are dealing with utility, which means task completion. They complete tasks selflessly, focusing on accomplishment for accomplishment’s sake.
Altruistic people are dealing with others, which means helping people. They help others for the sake of being supportive and helpful, with little expectation for a personal return.
What’s Your Next Step With The 12 Driving Forces?
If you want to harness the power of The 12 Driving Forces for your team, TTI SI can help. Contact us here to get started revealing human potential.
