Have you ever found yourself wondering why youāre better at some parts of your job than others, or why certain situations frustrate you when they barely cause your colleagues to break a sweat? The answer lies in our motivations.
Understanding your motivations can help you develop your career, get on better with your colleagues and keep your emotions in check. At Octopus, we use a tool called the Strength Deployment InventoryĀ® (SDI) to discover what drives us.
What is SDIĀ®?
You can read a full explanation of SDIĀ® in our earlier article. To take part in SDIĀ®, everyone at Octopus answers questions which uncover whether weāre motivated by wanting to help people, wanting to achieve results, or wanting to establish order. Each of these motivations is assigned a colour; people is blue, results is red and order is green. If a person is motivated by the need for flexibility and a concern for the welfare of the group, they are a hub. People can also be a mix of two colours (again, you can find out more about this in the article linked above).
SDIĀ® is by no means rigid, so just because a person is blue, for example, it doesnāt mean they canāt enjoy establishing order too. But on the whole, SDIĀ® is a really useful explainer for our overall drivers.
Below, people from around the Octopus business share their stories about what SDIĀ® means to them, how their motivations affect them and tips for making the most of their unique drivers. Read on to discover how your motivations can become your greatest strengths.
Blue – Philippa Russ (Change Director, Octopus Investments)
For me, the value of SDIĀ® comes from understanding what drives me. My colour has got me perfectly. Iām blue, which means Iām motivated by people. For example, the best bits about my job are my team, getting them to learn, developing them, and so on. And when I think about jobs I havenāt liked as much, they havenāt been as fulfilling in terms of allowing me to develop others.
Iād advise any other blues to celebrate your motivations and donāt confuse them with behaviours. Just because we like helping people doesnāt mean we donāt like getting tasks completed; our ābluenessā just tells us about why we want to get those tasks completed. Iād also recommend you get comfortable with working out where your energy is best placed – sometimes you might be the best person to help, and occasionally you might be better off not getting involved. On some occasions, the most helpful thing to do is actually to not help someone, which seems counter-intuitive initially.
Green – Gavin Eustace (Head of Residential Development, Octopus Real Estate)
Knowing your SDIĀ® colour, and knowing other peopleās, can help you evolve and see what your strengths and weaknesses are. Additionally, it helps when it comes to communicating; everyone is different and being aware of someone elseās motivations can give you an idea of how they will express themselves. It can be useful outside of work too, helping you learn more about what makes you happy so you can look after your mental health.
Iām a green, which means Iām driven by analysis and a desire for process. This came as no surprise to me ā Iām very aware that I tend to fixate on the details! For other greens, Iād recommend trying to step away from the tiny detail a little more to see the big picture. Itās something Iām trying to improve myself. Seeing the big picture lets you see it doesnāt matter if youāre off by a few minute points. Sometimes, done is better than perfect.
Red – Ruth Handcock (CEO, Octopus Investments)
Peopleās brains work completely differently from your own, and I learn that every day. The power of SDIĀ® is that it gives me a common language to use to talk to other people about it. Most critically, itās a really useful tool to help me understand how my team like to be motivated and rewarded so I can get the best out of them.
Iām a red, which means Iām motivated by achieving results. From a young age Iāve been occupied by not wanting to waste opportunities. Iāve always hated the thought of looking back and thinking āI didnāt try very hard,ā or āthat couldāve been really good if Iād have given it my best.ā And if I do that and it doesnāt work out, Iām fine with it, as long as I know Iāve done my best. It just feels like such a waste of a life not to try.
To other reds, Iād say donāt be afraid to be the driver in a team. But at the same time, be aware that delivery and achievement of tasks is about everyone in the team playing their part, and other people wonāt be motivated to work in the same hard, fast-paced way as you. Others may need to understand why you think itās the right course of action, or what data supports it. And if you find yourself in a leadership position, think about how you create your team. Consider the differing personalities and make sure youāve got a good balance of motivations; no team will be successful if all youāve got is people delivering, delivering, delivering.
Hub – Benjamin Davis (CEO, Octopus Real Estate)
SDIĀ® is a really important tool. Itās good to understand where someone sits when you need to engage with them, so you appreciate where they are coming from and why they are behaving in certain ways. That way, you can predict how conversations are going to go and plan strategies to get the best out of interactions.
Iām a hub. What that means is that Iām motivated by a desire for flexibility, and can flex between red, green and blue in any given situation. I really enjoy this, and get a real kick out of variety.
Iād advise other hubs to not be afraid to lean into your ability to change your mind. Itās not a weakness to have firm views loosely held. You can have a really strong opinion but once someone else has given you more information, I see it as a strength to be able to say, āyou know what, Iāve learned more about this and youāve changed my view on it.ā Also, I would say to remember itās a two-way street when working with people who have different motivations to you. Adjust how you approach things to get the best out of the person, but bear in mind they have to make the effort to find a way to work together well, too.