Analysis of the driving force of 16 MBTI personality types

Understand how MBTI personality types affect everyone’s driving force and work efficiency. Through PsycTest’s MBTI personality assessment, we explore 16 personality types motivation factors to help improve individuals and teams’ motivation. Take the free MBTI test now.


Do you know what motivates you?

What would you answer if someone asked you, ‘What drives you forward?’

This question seems simple, but it is actually very complicated. Food, shelter, money, and recognition are the most basic driving forces, but apart from these basic needs, everyone’s source of motivation may be completely different. Some are driven by external rewards, while others rely more on inner satisfaction. Understanding this drive difference is especially important for leaders and can help them better motivate team members, thereby increasing productivity and team cohesion.

Before we dive into the drivers, let’s first review the differences between external and internal driving forces.

External drive and internal drive

Do you still remember when you were a child doing homework or eating vegetables to earn pocket money or avoid punishment? These behaviors are external driving forces. And think about projects or tasks you have done alone, they bring you an inner satisfaction rather than an external reward. This situation is an internal driving force.

It should be noted that external driving forces and internal driving forces can coexist. Most of our lives as adults rely on external drivers to get financial support (such as making money from work), but the ideal working state is that we can gain some inner satisfaction from work, or at least enjoy the freedom to grow.

The relationship between driving force and personality

Before we explore how drivers are related to personality types, it is important to first understand the basic framework of personality assessment for MBTI® (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®). MBTI evaluation is based on four main areas of preference that influence how we acquire energy, make decisions, organize lives, and obtain information. These four areas of preference are:

  1. Source of energy: Extraversion and Introversion
  2. Life organization style: Judging and Perceiving
  3. Decision-making methods: Thinking and Feeling
  4. Information collection method: Sensing and Intuition

When tasks can match a person’s preferences, they usually show higher motivation. This also explains why understanding everyone’s MBTI personality type is so important for the management of work and relationships.

However, if managers ignore these individual differences, it may lead to a decrease in employee alienation and motivation, even if the company provides traditional rewards such as money and recognition.

Nowadays, many companies are beginning to realize the importance of drivers to their jobs. For example, Google has set up a ’lunch break’ for employees to rest, or some companies will create ‘brainstorming rooms’ to help employees collide with creativity in a relaxed and stress-free environment. These are the measures taken by companies to enhance their employees’ motivation.

While these innovative space designs are cool, they don’t solve all the problems. Therefore, MBTI evaluation has become a powerful tool to help us understand individual differences and stimulate motivation.

Overview of the driving forces of each MBTI personality type

Next, we will have a deeper look at the driving forces of 16 MBTI personality types. Before that, a quick look at each type of motivational characteristics:

  • ESTJ: You will be motivated when you are able to move quickly. You like an efficient and worry-free way of working, paying attention to results, and not paying much attention to possible future changes.
  • ENTJ: You are most motivated when managing processes, organizations or teams. You are good at making long-term plans and focus on achieving your goals.
  • ISTP: You will find motivation in tasks that require hands-on operations, especially when tasks test your senses and memory.
  • INTP: You are most motivated when analyzing complex ideas and ideas. You like to skip trivial details and focus on thinking rationally.
  • ENFJ: You are most motivated when you are able to develop and implement innovative long-term plans. You like to support others’ growth and development.
  • ESFJ: What you are most motivated is to achieve practical goals through cooperation. You like to help others complete tasks and focus on practical results.
  • INFP: You are most motivated when expressing your inner values in a creative way. You prefer an independent and free way of working.
  • ISFP: You like to work in an environment that matches your values and focus on loyalty rather than competition.
  • ESFP: Your most inspiring success and happiness. You like to influence others directly and practically.
  • ESTP: You will feel motivated when solving instant problems. You focus on the present and don’t think much about the future.
  • ISTJ: You work the most in a quiet and organized environment, and like to handle tasks independently to avoid disturbances.
  • ISFJ: You prefer practical and programmatic tasks, and you like to share processes and methods that can improve other people’s lives.
  • ENFP: You are most inspired when you follow inspiration and ideals. You like to work freely and ignore too many details.
  • ENTP: You will feel motivated when you break external constraints. You like to see how your creativity translates into logical conclusions.
  • INTJ: You feel motivated when you invest your time in researching complex systems. You like to transform your inner vision into detailed planning.
  • INFJ: You are most motivated when improving other people’s lives. You like to turn your inner thoughts into meaningful plans and projects.

Get an in-depth understanding of your MBTI personality type

MBTI personality testing is a powerful tool to reveal and understand the differences in our driving forces, and it helps us better become a comprehensive team member, student, teacher, friend, and partner. If you are not sure about your MBTI personality type, you can use the free MBTI personality test provided by PsycTest.

If you want to further understand your personality traits, you can refer to the MBTI Advanced Personality File , which provides you with more detailed personality analysis to help you understand deeper personality traits.

By gaining insight into MBTI testing, you can not only improve your self-awareness, but also better cooperate with others and optimize your work efficiency. Whether it is personal growth or teamwork, MBTI testing can provide you with valuable guidance.

Link to this article: https://m.psyctest.cn/article/965JmDGq/

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