What Can the Instinctive Drive system™ Offer the Workplace? A Qualitative Exploration

Abstract

Despite the potential benefits afforded by teamwork within the workplace, it can be difficult for employers and senior personnel to establish and maintain teams that gel. It is a juggling act involving the delicate interplay of organisational goals and interpersonal dynamics. In the pursuit of enhancing team performance within the workplace, organisational and psychological literature has concentrated on the personal attributes of individual team members, as well as relevant societal factors. However, one area that is receiving increasing attention is the influence of the innate abilities of individual team members – those natural qualities that are constant and invariable. The Instinctive Drive (I.D.) system™ offers a method for gauging individual instinctive drives, and recent quantitative research affirms that the tool is statistically reliable and valid. However, for the purpose of thoroughness, it is important to triangulate these quantitative findings with qualitative research. It is thus the purpose of this paper to qualitatively investigate the inherent value of the I.D. system™ among some of its users. More specifically, ten senior personnel and ten general employees were interviewed to explore the perceived influence of the I.D. system™ on individual performance, group performance and leadership. This consultative process was guided by a semi-structured open-ended interview schedule. Consequent research material was analysed for emerging themes, using an interpretive and a reflexive approach. Collectively, the interviewees recognised great value in the I.D. system™. It was a catalyst for greater communication between co-workers and with clients; it served as a window, providing users with an improved understanding of themselves and of others; it also initiated personal development as well as team development. These views were juxtaposed by a few unfavourable sentiments. Some for instance, warned that the use of this taxonomy might negatively stereotype individuals. Conversely, its focus on innate abilities may provide individuals with an opportunity to abdicate personal responsibility. Despite these potential shortcomings, the qualitative material presented in this paper complements previous quantitative research on the I.D. system™, and thus affirms its inherent value. This has important repercussions for business and behavioural sciences, particularly those efforts to improve team performance within the workplace. It highlights the need to focus future research endeavours on tools that not only expound individual difference, but also facilitate effective dialogue.