“The more aware we are of what makes us tick, the more aware we are of what makes others tick, the more aware we are of the impact we make on each other’s feelings, the more empowered we become to control the outcomes of our relationships with others.”

—Dr. Elias Porter, psychologist and creator of the Strength Deployment Inventory®

What factors play into a team’s ability to perform well? The answer might surprise you. According to our recent research study, it wasn’t the size of the team, the type, or even whether the group was homogenous or diverse. Rather, what matters most is how strong the relationships are between team members.

This finding is exactly why we’ve launched our brand new Crucial Teams® course. Built on the relationship intelligence of the Strength Deployment Inventory, Crucial Teams helps learners better understand themselves AND their teammates to turn personality differences from a source of friction into a source of strength. 

“During the course, teammates draw on the Strength Deployment Inventory to explore their own and each other’s motives, the different strengths each member brings to the team, the behaviors that can trigger conflict in the team, and how each person uniquely reacts to conflict,” explained Master Trainer Justin Hale, principal consultant of learning design and research at Crucial Learning. “They discuss and explore these insights with each other and learn how to apply them in their interactions.”

The additional understanding can have a tangible impact on various team performance outcomes, too. In our recent survey of 800 professionals, those who reported having strong relationship factors also reported that they:

• Waste less time and money than when these relationship factors aren’t present
• Adapt to change to stay competitive, improve efficiency and processes, and/or develop new products or services
• Have clear performance standards and expectations that everyone understands
• Report a higher quality of the team’s work
• Achieve team goals
• Meet deadlines

These tangible results matter, but to me, the arguably greater effect is the psychological safety and improved happiness that comes from working on a team where you assign positive intent to others’ actions and can understand one another’s motives, conflict triggers, and strengths.

My first taste of the SDI’s power to mend broken workplace relationships came in January 2024, just weeks after Crucial Learning acquired Core Strengths, when we gathered as a company in Salt Lake City. We’d all taken the SDI before the conference so that at the event, we could dive into the SDI in a classroom setting. Of all the luck, the colleagues with whom I had the most conflict were at my table!

Sure enough, as the workshop wore on, I gained more and more understanding of why we kept butting heads. The crowning moment was when one of them tapped me on the arm, pointed to his Strengths Portrait, and then gave me a high five—my top strength of Quick to Act was dead last on his list! It was a lightbulb moment, seeing that where I felt like he was lagging, he felt like I was nagging.

We walked away understanding the need to meet in the middle, and we’ve navigated that dynamic well in the year since. I’m thrilled that now others can experience similar insights and improved collaboration through our new Crucial Teams course.

How can you help the teams with which you work similarly improve relationships and team performance? Justin Hale offered these four tips from the Crucial Teams course:

• Identify At-Risk Relationships: Think about a handful of relationships on your team that impact results you care about. First, rate the quality of each relationship from 1 to 10. Then rate how the quality of the relationship impacts those aforementioned results. By doing this, you can more accurately understand which relationships need the most attention. Remember, a team is a collection of personalities held together—or torn apart—by the relationships among them.
• Mind Your Wake: There are behaviors we do that help us succeed, but sometimes we can overdo them—turning a strength into a weakness when we do it too much or in the wrong context. Being helpful is great until you’re smothering, for instance, or persevering is admirable until it becomes stubbornness. Consider the frequency, duration, and intensity of your strengths to ensure they aren’t irritating others.
• Cultivate Curiosity to Build Respect: If you’re having conflict in a team relationship, try to understand the other person’s motivation. How might their behavior help them feel good about themselves? What is the most generous interpretation you can give? Ask them, “Why is this important to you?” “What do you care most about on this project?” The more the other person feels understood, the more respect you’ll build.
• Speak Their Language: Have the other person’s value system in mind when discussing a project together. Are they most concerned about the people involved? The process? The results? Small shifts in focus help them know that you care, you respect them, and you value their unique contributions.

If you want to share the research and why behind Crucial Teams with others, access and pass along the Why Crucial Teams? overview. 

If you’re ready to bring Crucial Teams to your organization, contact your senior client advisor today. Not sure who that is? Contact us. While we do offer a Crucial Teams trainer certification course, those who are already certified in a Crucial Learning course and/or the SDI assessment may want to consider the Fast Track certification program, but specific prerequisites apply. Learn more by downloading our resource, Three Paths to Certification.