Drive

We must...., We ought to ...., We should ...., or
I do ...., I shall ...., I'm going to ....

Disharmony with the present
People with drive are often strong, they can dominate and have a solid wall of self-confidence. They use their strong will to drive, change, influence and delegate. They seek solutions and opportunities rather than getting caught in obstacles, and they invest a lot of personal capital in their decisions. They find stagnation unnatural and are almost always on the move, which means that to a great extent they are living in the future and are in harmony with the present. Managing things is important to them, they willingly make decisions and love to take the lead.

From words to actions
People with drive often interrupt discussions and are impatient about moving from words to actions. They can handle insecurity and make decisions without having all the facts. They are used to relying on their drive and ability to make corrections. Sometimes they give the impression of being easily frustrated and determined. They rapidly move from discussing what is to be done to how it is to be done. They regard circumstances as changeable and are reluctant to adjust (political drive is exemplified by former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who radiated disgust at having to bend on entering a limousine). People with drive dislike having bosses and therefore want to become bosses themselves.

Transferring responsibility to others
People with low drive often transfer responsibility to others. The cannot make decisions and can therefore debate things for a long time. They have limited needs for recognition and place low demands on themselves. Such persons want others to take the lead and act on their behalf. They don't mind not being on top of a situation. They more easily see problems and obstacles, they have less will and self-confidence and have difficulties seeing how they can take any action themselves. They are not very willing to take risks. Some are unwilling or reluctant to invest any energy (i.e. they are lazy), some have no energy to invest.

Harmonious persons may have lower drive. Such persons have adjusted to the status quo, they stick what they know to be safe and resist change.

A person with low drive often starts any contribution to a discussion with words like "We must ...", "We ought to ...", "We should ...", and with words like "You" or "Somebody". By using such unspecified, collectively oriented expressions they avoid placing themselves in the spotlight, while at the same time expressing various degrees of powerlessness. They also like to asking questions. To be on the safe side, they seldom start a statement with the word "I" and avoid expressions like "shall", "will" or "are going to". Persons with low drive are often drawn to persons with high drive. Competent persons of both kinds can complement each other.

Bengt Schager