Core Strengths Training Overview

To stay competit ive and fulf i l l their missions in an increasingly chal lenging business arena, organizations need their people to take init iat ive, innovate, and make smart decisions. Yet many leaders lament that their people struggle with these imperatives.

One reason is that, owing to perceptual f i l ters, people have diff iculty correctly assessing what is happening in a given workplace situation; what should they do when a key customer defects, a project misses a crit ical deadline, or a negotiation shuts down. Without an accurate assessment, people cannot identify how they should interact with others to get the results their team and organization need. Is this the t ime to be forceful with a particular stakeholder—or supportive? Would it be better to move forward cautiously with this person—or take swift action? Moreover, too many people mistakenly assume that they have only a handful of interpersonal strengths—their famil iar, “go-to” ski l ls—available to deploy in any situation.

These self- imposed constraints l imit people’s abi l i ty to respond productively to situations and interact effectively with others. They, their teams, and their organizations pay the price in lost potential, mediocre performance, and poor decision-making.

If people are not interacting productively in the workplace, the organization cannot real ize its vision, achieve its objectives, or fulf i l l i ts purpose. This is true at al l levels in the organization—from executives and managers to front-l ine workers, from salespeople to customer service reps, from buyers to suppliers.

Why Core Strengths?

Core Strengths™ Training:Creating a Culture of Accountability

Core Strengths training helps to remove self- l imit ing constraints and empower people to interact more productively. The program accomplishes this by teaching people to make more effective choices based on more accurate assessments of high-stakes situations – understanding what is motivating themselves and others to behave the way they do. Equally important, Core Strengths teaches people how to draw from a ful l palette of interpersonal strengths and quickly determine which behaviors are needed, when, and with whom.

The Core Strengths approach is bui lt on a sol id foundation that blends research, psychological theory, and practical application (Fromm, 1947; Porter, 1976; Rogers, 1961). It provides a common language that helps people discuss the needs of situations with others and take accountabil i ty for making more productive choices in their interactions. As such, Core Strengths serves as the “oi l” that ensures that the people in an organization work together f luidly, without “squeaks”—and without burning out and grinding to an expensive halt.

The words strengths and accountabil i ty crop up often in discussions about workplace performance. But what do they mean, exactly? When we use the word strengths, we mean interpersonal or relational abi l i t ies, as opposed to technical ski l ls or subject-matter expertise.

And when it comes to interpersonal strengths, we’ve seen that there are many views of strengths—and no shortage of advice. Some say you should focus on your strengths, and stop worrying about your weaknesses. Some give you a test that reveals a few of your top strengths. Others tel l you that the way to workplace effectiveness is to encourage the heart or to focus on intr insic motivation or drive.

While we agree with the intent behind al l this advice, we bel ieve that it is incomplete. A focus on a few strengths can be l imit ing; it can stop people from stretching to achieve their ful l potential. It’s also unreal ist ic. The world doesn’t al ign itself to del iver only those situations where a person can succeed by using one or two of their top strengths. People are going to face al l manner of chal lenges, and al l kinds of people, in their everyday work l ives. To boost the number of t imes they can respond to a situation productively, they need to draw on a wider array of strengths.

Advice regarding focusing on the heart, or on intr insic motivations and drives, leaves many people wondering exactly how to do that. Tapping into the power of intr insic motivation is diff icult, because the motives lying at people’s cores are not readily visible. We ful ly agree with this advice, but before Core Strengths and the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI), there has not been a way to fol low this advice easi ly. The SDI was developed precisely for this purpose—to enable people to quickly understand their own core as well as accurately identify another person’s core. The Core Strengths approach shows people exactly how to connect strengths to their core motivations by empowering them to actively choose their strengths—thus fostering accountabil i ty for the outcomes of their actions (Koestenbaum & Block, 2001). It provides a simple, easy-to-remember method of identifying not just what they do, but why they do it—and how they could do it better.

There are also many views of accountabil i ty, and, again, an abundance of advice about how to create more of it in the workplace. Unfortunately, most of this advice involves a one-size-f its-al l set of techniques that does not account for individual differences. At the root of most of these techniques is the assumption that one person can hold another person accountable: “If I do or say the r ight things, in the r ight order, I’ l l get other people doing what they are ‘supposed’ to do.”

True accountabil i ty cannot be demanded or imposed. It happens only when people are free to choose which interpersonal strengths to deploy, when, and with whom.

What Are Strengths and Accountability?

The Core Strengths approach shows people that they have a broader array of strengths avai lable to them. It teaches them how to choose strengths that fulf i l l the motivations at their core while also producing better results for them, their team, and their organization. Choice fosters accountabil i ty, because people feel responsible for what they freely choose (Deci, 1995). By contrast, when people feel coerced, they may comply—but they wil l do so only as long as they are experiencing external pressure. Thus their compliance is not sustainable.

Creating a Culture of Accountability

The Core Strengths model presents a set of 28 strengths that are accessible to anyone at any t ime (see Figure 1). The key to selecting the r ight strengths at the r ight t imes is understanding the motivations for using the strengths and the results the strengths are intended to produce.

Results are produced by what we do. What we do is preceded by our choices about what to do. And these choices are rooted in who we are at our core. When people learn the core ski l ls of assessing a situation ( including their own and others’ motivations) and making choices that are congruent with their core personality, they are more able to “dial up” the strengths the situation cal ls for—and thus del iver their best performance. In short, they become more mindful of al l the choices avai lable to them, more intentional in their use of strengths, and more accountable for the outcomes their choices produce.

ACCOUNT A

BI L I T Y

ACCOUNT A

BI LI TY

RESULTS

whoyou are

coreself

coreskills

howyou choose

corestrengths

whatyou do

Figure 1: The Core Strengths model

The Core Strengths Model and Methodology at the Individual Level

© 2014 PSP, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted without permission in writing from PSP. www.CoreStrengths.com

Core Strengths is powered by the SDI and the Strengths Portrait, two val id and rel iable assessments (Scudder, 2013) that enable self-awareness—the prerequisite to effective choices. The SDI describes individual differences in personality from the perspective of motivations that l ie at our core. Simply stated, they are concerns for People, Performance, and Process. Everyone priorit izes these three primary motivations differently. The SDI defines seven personality types—called Motivational Value Systems (MVSs)—based on how these three motivations work together in different people (see Figure 2).

People with different Motivational Value Systems use the same strengths for different reasons. This foundational insight constitutes the real power behind the Core Strengths approach. For instance, here are four different example reasons to use the strength “Inclusive” – each one connecting to a different Motivational Value System:

Q Blue MVS (People-focus): “I want to include others so that each person feels valued.”

Q Red MVS (Performance-focus): “I want to include others so that everyone wil l be committed to the task.”

Q Green MVS (Process-focus): “I want to include others to make sure no vital information is overlooked.”

Q Hub MVS (about equal focus on People, Performance, and Process): “I want to include others because we wil l be more effective together.”

When people see how specif ic strengths can be connected to the motives within their core, they f ind it easier to choose strengths that previously felt “foreign” to them because they were seldom used. That means people can more readily draw from a wider array of strengths—while sti l l feel ing true to themselves. They and their team or organization wins.

Effective individuals understand how concerns for People, Performance, and Process integrate so they can intentional ly “dial up” the strengths needed to del iver desired business results in high-stakes situations. Likewise, effective teams and organizations integrate those same three crit ical priorit ies when managers create a culture where people embrace accountabil i ty for selecting the r ight strengths, at the r ight t ime, to del iver the r ight outcomes. Core Strengths provides the manager-level training needed to shape such a culture in a team or organization.

When everyone in the group knows their own and each other’s Motivational Value Systems and how their interpretations of situations change during confl ict, they discover better ways to communicate, col laborate, and work through confl ict. When managers create the condit ions that encourage such accountabil i ty:

Q People take responsibi l i ty for deploying the r ight strengths, at the r ight t ime.

Q A “personal why”—the intent behind the choice of strengths—directly supports the team’s and organization’s performance.

Q The process del ivers exceptional business results.

Figure 2: The Motivational Value Systems

1 2 3

Blue-Green Red-Green

Red-Blue

RedBlue

Hub

Green

®

Example MVS

28 52 20

Core Strengths at the Team/Organizational Level


The SDI also shows how confl ict affects the way people see situations and how they make choices about the interpersonal strengths they wil l deploy. These differences are shown visual ly in SDI results (see Figure 3).

Consider how differences in Motivational Value Systems may play out in a two-person relationship. In the sample SDI results shown in Figure 3, Chloe’s MVS shows a stronger concern for Performance than for People or Process, while Susan’s shows a relatively equal blend of al l three – with the concern for People a bit stronger than for Performance or Process.

The two women may work well together, or they may be in confl ict. But more l ikely, there is some of each condit ion in their work relationship. In good times, Susan may appreciate Chloe’s desire to get things done, and Chloe may appreciate Susan’s desire to include people and consider mult iple perspectives. It may cause confl ict i f Chloe perceives Susan’s option-seeking as a lack of focus, or even a lack of loyalty. Similarly, Susan may experience confl ict i f she views Chloe’s competit iveness as f ighting, or as an unwil l ingness to consider others’ ideas.

If these perceptions cause confl ict, Susan wil l l ikely want to slow things down and analyze the situation, while Chloe wil l probably want to speed things up and take action quickly. Awareness of each other’s motivations when things are going well and during confl ict can help them understand and appreciate each other – and interact more effectively.

Figure 3: Sample Conflict Sequence results: Two-person relationship

Figure 4: Sample Conflict Sequence results: Group relationship


Differences in MVSs also play out in group relationships (see Figure 4). For instance, in the sample confl ict sequence results shown in the exhibit, there are many relationships ( including the one between Susan and Chloe). Just as with individuals and dyads, a team or entire organization may work well together, or may be in confl ict. But more l ikely, there is some of each condit ion in the group.

When things are going well, the group shown in Figure 4 has at least one person in each MVS. This does not necessari ly mean the group is integrating People, Performance, and Process effectively. The group’s diversity in motivation may serve as a source of productivity, but it may also be the basis for confl ict. When there is confl ict, some members start Analyzing (arrowheads in Green), while others begin Accommodating (arrowheads in Blue), or Asserting (arrowheads in Red). These movements inf luence which interpersonal strengths each person decides to deploy. Their choices may help to resolve confl ict – or they could make things worse. When members can draw on their understanding of their own and each other’s MVSs and how their motivations change during confl ict, they can select strengths more intentional ly and interact with maximum effectiveness.

In the sections that fol low, we consider the Core Strengths training and development experience from the perspective of learners and faci l i tators.

Learners

The learner experience is a half-day (4-hour) course preceded by preparation and fol lowed by ongoing reinforcement and learning opportunit ies.

Q Preparation: Learners are invited to the program and provided with l inks to complete the SDI and Strengths Portrait onl ine assessments. Assessment results are given to learners during the course.

Q Course modules: The course is presented in 5 modules:

1. Unlocking Your Strengths: Learners receive their Strengths Portrait results and are introduced to the Core Strengths model. They begin developing an action plan (below) by identifying a high-stakes situation at work and two stakeholders of the situation. They do further work on this plan in each of the remaining four modules. Learners are introduced, by video, to three characters—a programmer, a manager, and an architect—who wil l be featured in subsequent videos.

Core Strengths Training in Action

Stakeholder #2Name:

MOTIVATIONAL VALUE SYSTEM

R Known R Assumed

CONFLICT SEQUENCE

R Known R Assumed

- -

MyselfName:


My MVS is:

CONFLICT SEQUENCE

My CS is:

- -

Stakeholder #1Name:


R Known R Assumed

CONFLICT SEQUENCE

R Known R Assumed

- -

ADAPTABLEI adjust readily to new or modified conditions.

AMBITIOUSI am determined to succeed and to get ahead.

ANALYTICALI dissect and digest whatever is going on.

CARINGI concern myself with the well-being of others.

LOYALI remain faithful to the commitments I make to others.

METHODICALI am orderly in action, thought, and expression.

MODESTI play down what I am capable of doing.

OPEN TO CHANGEI consider different perspectives, ideas, and opinions.

OPTION - ORIENTEDI look for and suggest different ways of doing things.

PERSEVERINGI maintain the same course of action in spite of obstacles.

PERSUASIVEI urge, influence, and convince others.

PRINCIPLEDI follow certain rules of right conduct.

CAUTIOUSI am careful to make sure of what is going on.

COMPETITIVEI strive to winagainst others.

DEVOTEDI am dedicated to some people, activities, or purposes.

FAIRI act justly, equitably, and impartially.

FLEXIBLEI act in whatever manner is appropriate at the moment.

FORCEFULI act with conviction, power, and drive.

HELPFULI give assistance to others who are in need.

INCLUSIVEI bring people together in order to reach consensus.

QUICK TO ACTI get things started without delay.

RESERVEDI practice self-restraint in expressing thoughts and feelings.

RISK-TAKINGI take chances on losses in pursuit of high gains.

SELF- CONFIDENTI believe in my own powers and strengths.

SOCIABLEI engage easily in group conversations and activities.

SUPPORTIVEI give encouragement and help to others.

TOLERANTI respect differences, even when I don’t agree.

TRUSTINGI place my faith in others.

THE 28 CORE STRENGTHS To choose the right strength at the right time, consider all 28 strengths available to you.

ACTION PLAN

Describe the situation:Q Deemed important to me and the organization

Q��Something I’m currently engaged in (or wil l be in the coming months)

Q�Measurable outcomes

Q� Involves working closely with other stakeholders

What results do I need to achieve?

Top Strengths

What is the impact of my MVS filter?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Is he/she currently in conflict?R Yes R No R Unsure

If yes, why?

_________________________________________________________

What is most important to him/her in this situation?

____________________________________________________________________________

Top Strengths

What is the impact of my MVS filter?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Is he/she currently in conflict?R Yes R No R Unsure

If yes, why?

_________________________________________________________

What is most important to him/her in this situation?

____________________________________________________________________________

Next Steps: Next Steps:

What are the best strengths to use with him/her in this situation? What are the best strengths to use with him/her in this situation?

My Top Strengths

What could I be missing due to my MVS filter?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Am I currently in conflict?R Yes R No

If yes, why?

_________________________________________________________

What is likely to trigger conflict in me?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

What is most important to me in this situation? MY PATH BACK TO MVS

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

My High-Stakes Situation


®

A complete redesign of the company’s website needs to be completed by the end of of next month. We are behind schedule because I don’t have agreed-upon content from Marketing and Sales, and there are still questions about some of the design elements. Everyone is really busy, and each time I have called meetings to discuss, a critical stakeholder GRHVQ�W�VKRZ�XS�RU�ZH�VLPSO\�FDQ�W�ßQG�FRQVHQVXV��$OO�RI�WKLV�year’s product launches depend on this site redesign, so it is extremely important for our business.

By May 1st, I must deliver a new website that looks great and meets the needs of the organization for the next year. To do this, I need to get input and buy-in from the VP of Marketing and the VP of Sales. The website must also appeal to our customers and generate 100 new leads per month that our Sales team can pursue.

InclusiveCaringOption-Oriented

EXAMPLEX

Others might expect me to be more proactive and make decisions on my own; to move quicker. I hesitate without getting complete buy-in from others.

No progress!No consensus. Am I the only one who cares?

When people aren’t contributing — not being good team players. ALSO, closed-minded people.

Having a great website that serves everyone’s needs. I want everyone to be proud of what we put out.

36 33 31RED BLUE GREEN

HUB 45 35 20GREEN BLUE RED

G B R

Eileen AmbitiousCompetitive6HOI�&RQßGHQW

AnalyticalCautiousReserved

Quick to Act6HOI�&RQßGHQW�Forceful

MethodicalAnalyticalSupportive

Mark (VP of Sales) Ann (VP of Marketing)

Red Green

R ? ? G R B

X X

X X

X X

He’s really pushing me to get this done. More assertive than usual.

Needs sales leads for his team — 100 new leads per month beginning in May.

It has to be right (perfect) with every detail and possibility addressed.

Mark wants action, so he might view our past meetings as unproductive (since we really didn’t nail down decisions). I need to clearly communicate what decisions need to be made, summarize all decisions in follow-up memos, and provide weekly progress updates.

Ann needs to know that we’ve thought everything through and our decisions are sound. I will provide her with the research data, give her some time with it, and then check in with her to see if she wants to discuss any of the details. Make detailed agendas!

He’s brash and a poor listener. In reality, he might just want to see us take action and move ahead.

She’s hard to read. seems hard to please. Wants it to be right, so perhaps hesitant to move without time to digest.


2. Understanding Your Core: Learners receive the MVS portion of their SDI results and engage in experiential activit ies to reinforce the MVS concepts. Videos in this segment use the architect’s story to summarize key concepts. Learners receive an SDI Quick Guide and use it to develop their action plan.

3. Interpreting through Filters: Learners explore the idea that, owing to f i l ters in their MVS, the same strength can have many different meanings. This section includes a video depicting how fi l ters manifest themselves in an example from the programmer’s l i fe. Leaners apply their new knowledge of f i l ters to their high-stakes situation by completing the next steps of their action plan.

4. Navigating Conflict: Learners are introduced to the idea that changing motives during confl ict is part of their core personality. They receive the Confl ict Sequence portion of their SDI results and engage in experiential activit ies that help them deepen their understanding of the concepts. A video featuring the manager t ies al l of these ideas together with a clear example of the way confl ict begins, progresses, and is resolved. Learners conclude by considering the existence or potential for confl ict in their high-stakes situation and documenting their commitments in their action plans.

5. Putting Core Strengths to Work: The Core Strengths model is used to summarize the workshop and to clearly and compell ingly show the l ink between choice and accountabil i ty. Learners are then encouraged to make mindful selections of strengths to manage their high-stakes situation and their relationships with their stakeholders. The f inal video shows how each of the three characters has put his or her core strengths to work. Post-course reinforcement and learning opportunit ies are described ( included in the course without addit ional charge).

Q Reinforcement and Continued Learning: Each learner is provided access to LearnerSource, where they can print a cert i f icate of completion, access documents for continuing education credits, watch addit ional videos, reprint their SDI and Strengths Portrait results, and download SDI images to add to their e-mail signatures or social media profi les. Through LearnerSource, they can also choose to give an SDI and Strengths Portrait to another person. Most learners opt to share this l ink with a person outside their work environment, such as a spouse, a family member, or a fr iend. Al l of this access is opened to learners after they complete their course evaluation.

Q Resources Provided to Learners:

O Strengths Portrait (onl ine assessment and results)

O Strength Deployment Inventory (onl ine assessment and results)

O Core Strengths Workbook

O SDI Quick Guide

O Working with SDI (book)

O Access to LearnerSource (onl ine resources)

O Guest access to one SDI and Strengths Portrait (with an onl ine learning module for the guest)


Facilitators

Each organization has a unique culture and training needs. Thus, training may work best when internal faci l i tators del iver it. The Core Strengths training program is designed to be del ivered by internal cert i f ied trainers.

To become certi f ied, aspir ing faci l i tators attend a half-day public Core Strengths Workshop. These workshops del iver the ful l Core Strengths program and are offered in many cit ies across the United States.

Q They then attend a two-day Faci l i tator Certi f ication Course, where they:

O Learn how to del iver the Core Strengths training program in their organization

O Practice faci l i tat ion and program delivery ski l ls

O Gain access to the Core Strengths training community and trainer resources

Attendees leave the course prepared to immediately del iver Core Strengths training and to join a community of more than 4,000 certi f ied Core Strengths faci l i tators.

Q Resources Provided to Faci l i tators

O Complete set of Learner Resources (described above)

O Facil i tator Manual

O Access to Faci l i tatorSource (to administer onl ine assessments, and to receive updates and addit ional resources)

O USB remote and key: this custom interface al lows seamless access to the presentation platform. It includes the abi l i ty to display group results, present the sl ide content, play the videos, and operate on-screen t imers for activit ies and breaks.

Getting Started Each faci l i tator is authorized to present the Core Strengths content under an organizational l icense. Each is expected to provide this learning experience to at least 50 people within the f irst year of cert i f ication, and this is part of the organizational l icense.

References

Deci, E. (1995). Why We Do What We Do: Understanding the psychology of self-motivation. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Fromm, E. (1947). Man for Himself: An inquiry into the psychology of ethics. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Koestenbaum, P., & Block, P. (2001). Freedom and Accountability at Work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfieffer.

Porter, E. H. (1976). On the Development of Relationship Awareness Theory: A personal note. Group & Organization Management, 1(3), 302-309.

Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Scudder, T. J. (2013). Personality Types in Relationship Awareness Theory: The validation of Freud’s libidinal types and explication of Porter’s motivational typology. (Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation), Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara.

Copyright © 2014, PSP, Inc. All rights reserved by Personal Strengths Publishing, Inc. Core™, Core Strengths™, Core Strengths Accountability™, SDI®, Strength Deployment Inventory®, Strengths Portrait™, Relationship Awareness®, and the SDI triangle (patent pending) are trademarks and part of the trade dress of Personal Strengths Publishing, Inc.

2647 Gateway Road Suite 105360 Carlsbad, CA 92009 USA www.CoreStrengths.com

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Core Strengths Training Overview