The Pragmatic core driver reflects the low pole of Openness to Experience.

Pragmatic individuals can be described as practical, hands-on, and grounded. They tend to think in a conventional and linear way, preferring what is tried and tested rather than something experimental or abstract. They prefer traditions to change and solve problems in a clear and coherent way.

Pragmatic individuals are good at realistic, hands-on thinking. People value their tendency to focus on getting things done and their ability to enjoy tasks that are routine and repetitive. Their approach to problem-solving and viewing the world will help others stay grounded. All of this is at a cost to being a creative thinker or valuing creativity in others. Rather than spending the time to explore new solutions, they focus on the short-term and often rush to a solution. Related, they may struggle to see the big picture, and rather than push boundaries and lead change, they will stick to what is familiar and predictable.

When leading or working on a team, Pragmatic individuals usually play the role of the “Problem Solver”. Their ability to value facts and evidence above all else, alongside their pragmatic approach to working through challenges, ensures that the team stays realistic. They are generally skeptical about strategies and blue-sky thinking, and when voiced, it helps the team avoid pursuing plans that are unfeasible or untested. While others may find this a little annoying as it can zap morale, it serves an important role in refining and improving ideas. Pragmatic individuals need to ensure that their realism and ability to point out flaws do not get in the way of brainstorming and slow the flow of ideas. They need to appreciate that sometimes the most obvious solution is not always the best and that to achieve the most challenging goals, teams need to experiment and test different ideas.

The Curious core driver reflects the high pole of Openness to Experience.

Curious individuals can be described as free thinkers, creative, and open to ideas. They appreciate the arts and science and are interested in what is possible rather than what currently is.

The strengths of Curious individuals are that they are inventive and creative, and spend their time entertaining unconventional ideas. They enjoy seeing how things work or are connected, generate a lot of ideas and solutions, and love playing with new ways of seeing or doing things. The limitations of this are that Curious individuals may not be very practical or struggle to explain their thoughts in a coherent or concise way. Further, they may get carried with an idea and forget to consider its relevance or whether it is helpful to others. Their appreciation for novelty, arts, and science can lead them to grow easily bored and distracted by the next new idea.

When leading or working in a team, Curious individuals are likely to play the role of the “Idea Machine”. Such individuals bring their teams the ability to explore and create. They can quickly generate new ideas, thrive in changing environments, and enjoy working on new and different things. They leverage these tendencies to help their teammates work in novel ways, stretch their thinking, and expand what they believe is achievable. Their natural curiosity closes gaps in a team’s knowledge and likely offers unusual and imaginative solutions to some of the team’s most pressing problems. The downside to this is that they may fail to realize when the team just needs to execute on a task or strategy. Constantly spotting new ways of doing things can create distraction and frustration. Curious individuals need to remember to ground their ideas in the context of what the team is trying to achieve.