For more than a decade, Octopus Investments have integrated the SDI 2.0 and the Core Strengths Platform into their training programs to provide employees with a common language and framework to understand each other’s strengths and motivations.
“By having a common language, it just helps enrich our understanding of others, helps us to understand motivations, and from an individual perspective, helps us to understand our own strengths and potential areas of development.”
Octopus Investments is a leading investment management organization with over £14 billion in assets under management. As the organization was going through a high-growth period, leaders began to notice that individuals were having trouble building relationships and understanding each other’s motivations, leading to conflicts between teams. To address this challenge, Octopus Investments sought a solution that would help individuals and teams understand the motivations behind people’s actions and behaviors to improve collaboration and build better relationships.
After reviewing several vendors, Octopus Investments chose to partner with Core Strengths and leverage the Relationship Intelligence insights of the SDI 2.0. For more than a decade, they have integrated the SDI 2.0 and the Core Strengths Platform into their training programs that include new employee onboarding and people manager development to provide employees with a common language and framework to understand each other’s strengths and motivations.
The Core Strengths Platform has proven to be an invaluable resource for employees, empowering them to prepare for meetings and conversations with colleagues by leveraging the Compare feature to understand each other’s strengths, motivations, and get tips on how to navigate through conflict. “We have some advocates, avid users, people that use it inside and out and know that completely, and they love the compare functionality. Being able to get some tips on how to go into a meeting with somebody else or having a challenging conversation, how to deal with somebody that might be in conflict, etc,” explains Daniel Chapman-Harris, Head of Learning and Development. “And so when they’re then talking about a project, their own priorities, giving feedback, any of these things, they’re able to think, how can I position this in a way which resonates with that person’s motivations?” Chapman-Harris continued.
By leveraging Relationship Intelligence as a core part of their culture, Octopus Investments has achieved a common language and framework for improving collaboration and building stronger relationships. “By having a common language, it just helps enrich our understanding of others, helps us to understand motivations, and from an individual perspective, helps us to understand our own strengths and potential areas for development.” said Chapman-Harris.
The benefits of Relationship Intelligence extend beyond individual growth to team dynamics as well. Coaches at Octopus Investments are better equipped to help individuals and teams navigate through conflict by reviewing each other’s strengths and motivations to help them understand why someone may be leveraging a particular strength or approaching something in a way that doesn’t resonate with them. “I’ve genuinely seen the a-ha moment where colleagues are like, ‘I get that person now. I understand why they are doing what they’re doing.’ And, it’s really, really helped with individual dynamics and also team dynamics.” said Chapman-Harris.
Through their partnership with Core Strengths, Octopus Investments has been able to improve collaboration and relationships between individuals and teams to help them deliver on their goal of providing consistent, long-term value for their clients.
Octopus Investments is a UK-based investment management firm that was established in 2000. Their mission is to help individuals, financial advisors, and institutions achieve their financial goals through innovative and effective investment solutions.
With over £14 billion in assets under management, Octopus Investments offers a wide range of investment products across various asset classes, including equities, bonds, property, renewable energy, and venture capital.
