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Reflective tool · Self-awareness

Notice behavioural patterns — for conversation, not judgement.

Rate twenty-five statements based on how you actually tend to behave — especially under pressure. The result is a starting point for reflection and a coaching conversation.

From self-awareness to action

This assessment is more useful when it connects to a real leadership situation.

If you are navigating a career decision, role transition, leadership pressure or a team relationship challenge, do not treat the result as a score alone. Its value comes from examining the pattern in the context of what is actually happening.

  • Career decision or role transition
  • Pressure and behavioural patterns in leadership
  • Team relationships, feedback or delegation
See how this can be explored in executive coaching →

Read the evidence behind this tool

10–15minutes25statementsStays localresponses

This tool is designed for self-awareness and coaching conversation — not psychological diagnosis or hiring decisions.

Respond based on how you actually tend to behave, especially under pressure — not how you wish you behaved. A high score is not inherently bad; each driver can be a strength. The issue is when the pattern limits flexibility.

Your responses stay in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent to Mehdi or stored on a server. Mehdi cannot see local results unless you choose to copy or share a summary.

Evidence article

What are the Five Drivers in Transactional Analysis? Theory, scoring and limits

The Five Drivers come from Transactional Analysis and the miniscript literature associated with Taibi Kahler and Hedges Capers. Be Perfect, Hurry Up, Please Others, Be Strong and Try Hard are patterns used for reflection on how behaviour can become pressured or automatic. This website’s 25 items are an educational adaptation for coaching reflection — not a normed personality test, clinical assessment or hiring instrument.

What the theory / evidence supports

  • The Five Drivers construct comes from Transactional Analysis / miniscript work associated with Taibi Kahler and Hedges Capers.
  • Kahler’s 1975 paper is foundational for the driver construct; classic labels are Be Perfect, Hurry Up, Please Others, Be Strong and Try Hard.
  • Results can be used as structured reflection on behavioural tendencies — especially under pressure — inside a coaching conversation.

What it does not support

  • That this site’s 25 statements are an official translation or proprietary/normed instrument.
  • That the tool is a validated personality test, clinical diagnosis, or hiring basis.
  • That a high score is inherently “bad” or a clinical sign.

What are the Five Drivers in Transactional Analysis?

In Transactional Analysis literature, drivers are patterns that help notice how behaviour can become pressured, repetitive or automatic — especially under stress.

This page is for self-awareness and conversation, not personality labelling or clinical causal claims about childhood or trauma.

What is theoretically grounded — and where are the limits?

The theoretical basis points to Kahler and Capers (1974) on the Miniscript and Kahler (1975) on drivers.

This website’s 25 statements are educational rewrites inspired by the Five Drivers model and Mary Cox’s Driver Questionnaire. They are not an official translation of a proprietary instrument, not a normed Persian psychometric test, and not an independent psychometric validation claim.

Citing the TA literature does not imply formal endorsement by those authors, or that the site wording is an official questionnaire edition.

What can each driver show?

Each driver can hold both strength and rigidity. A high score is not negative on its own; the useful coaching question is whether the pattern remains flexible and context-appropriate.

Be Perfect

Care, accuracy and standards; may become rigid perfectionism or difficulty accepting “good enough.”

Hurry Up

Pace, responsiveness and momentum; may become impatience or difficulty pausing.

Please Others

Empathy, cooperation and relational awareness; may make disagreement or boundaries harder.

Be Strong

Resilience, steadiness and self-reliance; may make vulnerability or help-seeking harder.

Try Hard

Persistence, energy and engagement; may overvalue effort or make completion and simplification harder.

How are Five Drivers scores calculated?

Each driver is the sum of five statements rated 1–5, so each driver score ranges from 5 to 25.

Relative intensity uses (score − 5) ÷ 20 to show low, moderate, high and very high bands for conversation — not diagnosis.

Is a high driver score bad?

No. A high score is not inherently bad. Each driver can be both a strength and a constraint.

Start with the two highest scores: where they help, and where they narrow choices. Small gaps usually mean several drivers are active together.

How can Five Drivers be used in coaching?

Treat the profile as a reflection starting point: where the pattern helps, and where flexibility shrinks.

Use alternative permissions as reflective prompts, not prescriptions.

If you want to explore working together, use the start path; the tool is also designed for independent self-awareness.

Limits — what it must not be used for

It is not a psychological diagnosis, clinical screening tool, or hiring instrument.

It should not be presented as a normed personality test or an official proprietary translation.

Avoid treating theoretical TA ideas about scripts or unconscious mechanisms as proven clinical facts on this page.

Frequently asked questions

What are TA Drivers?
TA Drivers are patterns from Transactional Analysis and miniscript literature used to notice how behaviour can become pressured or automatic — especially under stress.
What are the five drivers in Transactional Analysis?
The classic labels are Be Perfect, Hurry Up, Please Others, Be Strong and Try Hard.
Is the Five Drivers test a validated personality test?
No. This website’s version is an educational adaptation for self-awareness and coaching — not a normed personality test, clinical assessment or hiring tool.
How are Five Drivers scores calculated?
Each driver sums five statements rated 1–5 (score range 5–25). Relative intensity uses (score − 5) ÷ 20 for conversation bands.
Is a high driver score bad?
No. A high score is not inherently bad. The useful question is whether the pattern stays flexible and context-appropriate, or starts narrowing choices.
Can this assessment be used for hiring?
No. It is not designed for hiring decisions and should not be used to rank or screen candidates.
How can Five Drivers be used in coaching?
Use the two highest scores as a reflection starting point: where they help and where they limit flexibility. Treat alternative permissions as conversation prompts, not prescriptions.

References