It has been a few years since the last edition of Working with SDI, and a lot has changed since then. As I sat down to draft this third edition, I didn’t just want to update the text; I wanted to evolve it. I wanted to strengthen the connections between the rigorous academic foundations of Relationship Awareness Theory and the real-world application of the Strength Deployment Inventory in organizations. So, after a lot of black coffee, a mountain of academic literature, and some invaluable collaboration, the third edition is finally here.

I have recently got a new interim chair leader and I’m struggling with his leadership style. The interim chair who hired me was a strong leader who listened and led with consideration for his team. My new interim chair is a top-down, hardline authoritarian and I’m having a difficult time in this new season. I have decided to start searching for new opportunities, but I want to be sure I have productive conversations with my new interim chair until I find something, and I want to ensure I “interview” my new potential leaders well so I don’t move from one toxic situation to another. Any suggestions?

I just completed the Strength Deployment Inventory and have been reviewing my results. I’m curious about how these insights could help when holding a performance-related conversation with someone else. Any suggestions?

There is an assistant director in my department who is awful to work with. She makes her team nervous to fail, so they are dishonest with her about the status of projects. I’ve voiced this concern to my director, whom we both report to, but nothing has changed. I want to have an honest conversation with this assistant director, but I’m not sure how to approach it. Any suggestions?

A man is worried that his wife is losing her hearing but that she won’t acknowledge it, so he asks the family doctor for advice. The doctor suggests an experiment. The man should stand in a different room and ask his wife the same question at different distances, moving closer each time.

In my experience, it is easier to work on teams with people who are alike.  When people are really different, it seems like there is much more friction on the team. I am now a manager of a team that has a lot of different types of people, and I don’t know how I can create a cohesive, well-running team with this group. It seems like it might be easier to change out some of the team members, but that doesn’t seem right or fair. How can I get everyone to work well together?

The S in SDI and CSA both stand for Strength. Same word, but vastly different meanings. Understanding how the two assessments define strength is key to understanding the differences between the assessments themselves.

Why do people get defensive about a normal question? Isn’t that a “you” problem?

This is the third article in a series that addresses the numerous questions we’ve received about how the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) compares to other workplace personality assessments. This installment looks at the five-factor model of personality, often called the Big Five.