Hunters, Farmers, and Teamers: Making Sense of Your Results

If you haven’t taken the Hunter, Farmer, Teamer assessment yet, you can do so [HERE]. Buy the book HERE.

Once you’ve received your results, use this blog as a guide to dive deeper into your instinctual stack. You'll learn more about your dominant instinct, how your pairings influence your strengths and challenges, and how your blind spot may impact your personal and professional growth. Gaining clarity in these areas will help you better understand how you naturally show up and how to grow more intentionally.

Which was your dominant?

Hunters:

Hunters thrive on the excitement of the chase and the promise of potential. They believe that the path forward lies in exploring the new and undiscovered, trusting the pursuit more than the immediate resources around them. Hunters are skilled at spotting opportunities where others see obstacles, using their bold energy and determination to break through barriers. They are natural innovators, inspiring others with their vision and drive to push boundaries. For Hunters, every challenge is a chance to create, disrupt, and achieve something extraordinary.

The developmental or evolutionary term for this instinct is often called the "sexual instinct."

The Hunter’s core attributes: 

1. Change: Hunters thrive on new challenges and opportunities. They are driven by the excitement of pursuing the unknown, often seeking significant change and embracing risk as a part of growth and success.
2. Immersion: Hunters learn and engage best through direct experience. They prefer diving into situations rather than extensive preparation, favoring hands-on involvement to fuel their energy and learning.
3. Performance: Hunters are motivated by results and external validation. They seek to make an impact, often measuring success by how well they can influence, inspire, or win others over​.

Farmers:

Farmers thrive on cultivating stability and optimizing available resources. They believe that meeting needs comes from careful planning, consistent effort, and building systems that support long-term success. Farmers excel at creating structures and routines that ensure nothing is wasted and everything has its purpose. Their patience and dedication make them natural stewards who bring a sense of order and reliability to their environments. For Farmers, growth is a gradual process, achieved through persistence, care, and an eye toward the future. 

The developmental or evolutionary term for this instinct is often called the "self-preservation instinct."

Farmer’s core attributes: 

1. Wellness: Farmers prioritize health and sustainability, focusing on physical, emotional, and mental well-being. They value balance and long-term productivity, often noticing early signs of burnout or stress in themselves and others.
2. Creating an Optimal Workplace Environment: Farmers excel in organizing spaces and systems to promote efficiency and productivity. They create structured routines, ensuring the environment is conducive to focus and success.
3. Resource Management: Farmers are highly skilled at managing resources like time, money, and energy. They emphasize sustainability and efficiency, ensuring that resources are conserved and utilized effectively for long-term stability​.

Teamers:

Teamers thrive on taking in a broad view of the wider network of relationships to foster shared collaboration and collective success. They believe that meeting needs comes from bringing people together and aligning efforts toward shared goals. Teamers excel at navigating group dynamics and facilitating cooperation, ensuring everyone’s strengths are put to good use. Their focus on interdependence and adaptability helps create harmony and drive progress. For Teamers, success is built on collaboration, shared purpose, and the strength of the collective. 

The developmental or evolutionary term for this instinct is often called the "social instinct."

Teamer’s core attributes: 

1. Collaboration: Teamers prioritize working together, believing success comes from collective efforts. They focus on building unity, ensuring everyone contributes and feels valued within the group.
2. Connection: Teamers are highly attuned to relationships and group dynamics. They excel at fostering inclusivity, encouraging diverse perspectives, and ensuring mutual support across networks.
3. Adaptability: Teamers maintain a broad awareness of people, ideas, and trends, allowing them to shift focus as needed to serve the group's evolving needs while keeping the collective mission at the forefront​.

Instinctual Stack:

Everyone has all three instincts—Hunter, Farmer, and Teamer—but we rely on them in different ways. Your instinctual stack shows how these instincts are prioritized in your life and work. The instinct at the top of your stack is your dominant instinct, the one you naturally lean on and develop most. The secondary instinct primarily supports your dominant one but can become overused when you’re stressed. The tertiary instinct can be a blind spot, often underdeveloped and less comfortable to operate within. Understanding your stack helps you recognize your natural strengths, where you might face challenges, and how to grow in ways that balance your instincts.

Pairings:

Each person’s instinctual stack shapes how they allocate focus and energy, reflecting the values that guide their decisions and interactions. Below are descriptions of the instinctual pairings:

• Farmer/Hunter
  This pairing leans toward predictability, familiarity, and the tried-and-true, but with the flexibility to mix things up within a protective framework. These individuals trust that maintaining stability while exploring occasional opportunities will provide the outcomes they value most.
• Farmer/Teamer
  This pairing prioritizes consistency over change. They value environments where systems and relationships work harmoniously, trusting that creating a stable, collaborative environment will yield long-term, sustainable success.
• Hunter/Farmer
  This pairing emphasizes pursuing new opportunities while maintaining a stable foundation. They trust their ability to explore and take calculated risks but feel most secure when they can fall back on familiar routines or systems.
• Hunter/Teamer
  This pairing thrives on change and trusts in its ability to lead people through dynamic transitions. They value connection and rely on their charisma and collaboration skills to rally others toward shared goals or innovative ideas.
• Teamer/Farmer
  This pairing prioritizes creating systems and environments where teams can thrive. They trust in their ability to combine practical planning with interpersonal alignment to achieve shared goals.
• Teamer/Hunter
  This pairing values connection and energy, focusing on inspiring and rallying others toward a bold vision. They trust their ability to engage and align people to drive change and innovation effectively.

Tertiary Instinct or “Blindspot:”

We call our lowest instinct a blind spot because it impacts us more by its absence than anything else. When we don’t develop a baseline competency in this instinct, it can undermine the effectiveness of our dominant instinct and other strengths. An underdeveloped blind spot can also lead to stress when we are forced to operate within it for extended periods. Each blind spot carries unique risks and consequences:

• Hunter blind: Difficulty recognizing opportunities, asserting oneself, and acquiring resources. Without development, this can lead to missed chances or an inability to capitalize on existing strengths.
• Teamer blind: Difficulty assessing personnel and managing group dynamics. Without development, this can result in challenges aligning teams, navigating relationships, or fostering collaboration.
• Farmer blind: Difficulty evaluating available resources and creating the necessary structure for success. Without development, this can hinder long-term planning, stability, or the ability to maintain sustainable systems.

Thanks for taking the assessment and going deeper!

Understanding your instinctual stack brings clarity to how you approach personal growth, engage with others, and contribute to the success of your teams. It helps you recognize your strengths, identify areas for growth, and better navigate relationships. When applied in team environments, this awareness fosters stronger collaboration, clearer communication, and a deeper appreciation for diverse contributions. By embracing these insights, you can create more effective, connected, and resilient teams where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

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