If you’ve taken the time to get to know someone and used your listening skills to find out what’s truly important to them, you’ll probably understand what motivates them as well as they do themselves. This goes beyond the basic assessment of personality types covered in sections 2.1 and 2.2. It requires a deep understanding of what makes the person tick - what fundamentally influences their decisions and actions.
 
The diagram below shows many of the different motivational drivers a person might have. The four in the middle are common to almost everyone, but individuals differ in terms of which of the motivations in the outer circle they find most compelling. It’s worth spending a minute or so to see if you can identify the areas that resonate most powerfully with you. If you want to form a strong, long lasting professional relationship with someone, you’ll need to find out which of these dimensions they cherish highly.

Only by talking to people, being curious about what’s important to them and listening well will you be able to discover their true motivations. If you can establish what people genuinely care about, you’ll be in a much better position to work with them and help them achieve their goals. If you believe you can help them, make sure they know that you can, and then do your best to make it happen. The strongest relationships are two-way, so if someone offers to help you achieve what you want, and you accept their generosity, you’ll both feel good and the relationship will become stronger.