Break free from patterns that limit growth. Discover how aligning behaviors and motivators fuels sustainable leadership.
The Leadership Trap: One-Dimensional Assessments
Most agency owners I meet are already investing in leadership assessments. Tools like DISC, Colby, or Myers-Briggs are common—and useful—but they only tell 10% of the story. They explain how you and your team act under pressure, or what you prefer in communication and decision-making.
But here’s the catch: these behavioral assessments only explain the surface. They describe the what and the how, not the why.
And the why—the deep drivers of motivation—is where 90% of sustainable leadership lives. Without understanding it, you’re steering a team with only part of the map.
Behaviors: The How and the What
Think of behaviors as your leadership gearshift. They describe how energy shows up in daily actions:
- Dominance — Thrives on challenges and quick decisions.
- Influencer — Brings energy and needs variety.
- Steadiness — Seeks stability and clear expectations.
- Compliant — Values precision and defined processes.
These styles explain how someone will approach tasks, conflict, and change.
If your Operations Manager is high Steadiness, for example, they’ll resist sudden changes and need consistency. Communication that feels rushed or forceful will only heighten their resistance; what works better is a calm tone, time to process, and questions like, “How do you see this working in practice?”
If your Commercial Rep is high Influencer, they’ll energize the room but may over-explain. Rather than cutting them off, set boundaries with warmth: provide space for their ideas while gently redirecting back to the point.
A high Dominant will want brevity and bullet points—come prepared, stick to business, and don’t over-explain. A high Compliant will want details and accuracy; they’ll respect you if you bring data and well-organized evidence, but they’ll disengage if you’re casual or vague.
Take a moment to consider: Where in your team are you misinterpreting behavior as motivation?
Motivators: The 90% That Really Drives Action
Motivators explain why we do what we do—or why we don’t. They’re the hidden compass that shapes whether your leadership is sustainable or stuck in firefighting mode.
- Theoretical — Seeks truth and knowledge.
- Utilitarian — Focused on efficiency and measurable results.
- Aesthetic — Motivated by harmony, balance, and environment.
- Social — Driven to help and support others.
- Individualistic — Seeks achievement, influence, recognition.
- Traditional — Anchored by principles and systems of belief.
When leaders only manage behavior, they miss the deeper picture.
A Steady team member with a Utilitarian motivator is not just resisting change—they’re worried about wasted time and resources. The communication key here isn’t to push harder but to show them how the change improves efficiency.
A Dominant leader with a Social motivator isn’t just decisive—they want decisions that serve the team. The way to connect with them is to recognize both their authority and their intent to elevate others.
An Influencer with a strong Theoretical motivator isn’t just being enthusiastic—they’re hungry to share knowledge and be recognized for their insights, so asking, “What have you learned that could help the team?” channels their energy productively.
A Compliant with a Traditional motivator isn’t just cautious—they’re anchored by principles. When you frame requests around standards, procedures, or values they respect, you transform reluctance into commitment.
Take a moment to consider: Which motivator do you see most strongly in yourself—and does your role actually allow you to express it?
Case in Point: Agency Roadblocks
In a recent advisory agency review, here’s what surfaced:
- Agency Owner — Needed to step fully into the CEO role, but old habits kept them clinging to daily operations.
- Operations Manager — Overwhelmed and reactive, not because of a lack of skill—but because motivators weren’t aligned with responsibilities.
- Administrative Assistant — Struggled with constant task-switching; a strong need for structure conflicted with a role requiring frequent interruptions.
- Wealth Management Specialist — Brought strong technical expertise, but grew frustrated when client service issues consumed time that should have been focused on strategic wealth planning.
- Life Insurance Specialist — Difficult to manage due to an excessively high Individualistic motivator. They drove sales aggressively—often at the expense of leaving behind incomplete or potentially noncompliant paperwork.
- Financial Services Administrator — Became disengaged when detailed compliance work went unrecognized, leading to errors and missed follow-ups.
- Group Insurance Specialist — Resistant to working on complex cases; a strong Social motivator drew them toward easier cases, while fear of rejection kept them from tackling more challenging opportunities.
- Commercial Insurance Specialist — Struggled with “old-school” resistance to change, creating friction with the agency’s growth plans.
- Auto & Home Specialist — Overwhelmed by workload and lacked confidence in identifying and referring life and wealth opportunities.
These aren’t behavioral problems alone. They’re motivator misalignments. Leaders were treating symptoms (behavior) without addressing the root cause (motivation).
Take a moment to consider: Where in your team are roadblocks repeating, despite training or coaching? Could the issue be motivational misalignment?
From Managing to Inspiring
Here’s the deeper truth:
- Behaviors explain what’s visible—the 10%.
- Motivators explain what’s powerful—the 90%.
As I shared in my MDRT talk, “Success isn’t about how and what to do. If it were, everyone would already be successful. Success is about why—and why not.”
When agency owners integrate motivator assessments into leadership, they unlock alignment between role, energy, and purpose. That’s when leadership shifts from micromanaging activity to inspiring sustainable performance.
The Inner Compass Framework
To anchor this, I use what I call The Inner Compass:
- Name the Behavior — Identify the visible style (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance).
- Discover the Motivator — Clarify what truly fuels that person.
- Align Role and Motivation — Ensure responsibilities reward core drivers.
- Spot the Roadblocks — Recognize where unmet motivators create frustration or burnout.
- Coach for Integration — Lead with both the 10% (how) and the 90% (why).
This isn’t theory—it’s a framework you can apply to your next leadership meeting.
Why This Matters Now
Financial advisory firms are scaling faster than ever. If you’re leading a team of 5–10+, you can’t afford one-dimensional leadership. Roadblocks that repeat—conflict, turnover, underperformance—are often symptoms of motivator misalignment, not lack of training.
Your competitive edge isn’t just better processes or better hires. It’s aligning your people’s why with your firm’s what. That’s the inner compass of sustainable growth.
The Invitation
If this resonates, here’s how you can go deeper:
Download The Inner Compass Leadership Diagnostic — a guide to map behaviors and motivators across your team. Just fill out the form below to recieve the download in your inbox.
And if you’re leading a 5–10+ person financial advisory or insurance team and want to move from reactive to proactive leadership, I invite you to book a complimentary strategic conversation. Together, we’ll explore how your team’s motivators align with your business vision.