Knowledge Centre | Human Performance Technology by DTS

The Most Important & Most Overlooked Element of Personality

Written by Theo Winter | Feb 18, 2014

Your core values, also known as your "motivators," are the single most important element of your personality to understand. They are arguably, the single most important element of job performance, yet they are frequently overlooked in the hiring process.One paper that explains this idea extremely well was released by Hudson back in 2010 called "Positioning for Growth" (using survey data involving 1,690 employees and 605 employers in Australia and New Zealand).

Performance drivers fall into three categories: Know How, Can Do and Want To ...

All 605 employers surveyed were asked their thoughts on the difference between an average and a high performer. Not a single employer cited ‘good references’, ‘years of experience’, ‘education/qualifications’ or ‘where they have worked before’, yet these are the measures that employers are most commonly using to bring new people into their businesses.

Employers repeatedly cited ‘exceeding targets’, ‘high motivation’, ‘getting the job done’, ‘going the extra mile’, ‘enthusiasm’ and 'a desire for personal achievement and continuous improvement’ as the characteristic traits of high performers. These are all measured by the Want To category.

The top three hiring tools/measures used (most frequently) by Australia and New Zealand’s employers are: reference checking used by 88%; resume screening used by 76%; and background interview used by 66%. Only 7% measure the Want To category.

Your core values (or motivational driving forces) shape four really important elements:

  1. Career path,
  2. Job performance,
  3. Relationships,
  4. Overall happiness.

And yet, very few people can articulate their own values or are aware that almost all values can be traced back to a dozen primary "motivators." Our strongest motivators provide us with a continuous source of motivation to seek out their fulfilment. They are also the source of dissatisfaction when they are violated or ignored.

12 Driving Forces™ explores the question: WHY do we move into action? It is the most advanced assessment released by TTISI to date looking at personal motivators or engagers.

Click here to learn more about 12 Driving Forces™ and to see the infographic!