“There’s no other instrument that I’m aware of that does such a nice job of talking about how our motivation shifts. To me, that’s a fundamental part of our human condition. And the understanding of that is an explosive a-ha for folks.”
Ted Witherell, MA, ACC is a distinguished faculty member at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health while simultaneously leading his own consulting practice, Ted Witherell Coaching & Consulting, LLC. Witherell wears two hats: an educator nurturing future healthcare leaders and a leadership coach assisting executives in developing their leadership skills. He also works closely with teams to foster better decision-making and navigate conflict for enhanced collaboration and performance. In this multifaceted role, Witherell has found Core Strengths and the SDI 2.0 to be an effective tool to help leaders to conduct self-exploration and teams improve communication and collaboration skills.
With a deep understanding of psychometric instruments, Witherell uses a variety of assessments throughout his practice. But he’s found that Core Strengths’ SDI 2.0 provides a unique solution compared to other assessments as he explains, “One of the things I really like about Core Strengths is that it works in the motivational realm. That’s the most powerful space to impact meaningful change. So that’s one big sort of leg up that it has.”
This unique perspective has helped provide transformative benefits in his executive coaching engagements where he compliments the use of a 360 assessment with the Relationship Intelligence insights of the SDI 2.0 to facilitate self-exploration with leaders, providing a deeper understanding of their motivations. Witherell explains an analogy by one of his clients underscoring the benefits this process provides, “It’s like the Rosetta Stone. I got my 360, then this was the Rosetta Stone to help me unlock and translate it.”
For teams grappling with complex decisions and conflict resolution, Core Strengths emerges as a powerful tool. It not only provides insights into an individual’s motives and those of fellow team members but also unravels the intricate shifts in these motivations during conflicts. Witherell explains, “I love how it measures two core states of motivation – how that shift happens. To me, that’s a very, very key understanding for a team.” This understanding forms a foundation of effective conflict management strategies, fostering better communication and collaboration.
In his role as an educator, Witherell teaches a core course on leadership at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with roughly 500 students a year, and integrates Core Strengths directly into the curriculum. The accessibility and scalability of Core Strengths offers students a unique perspective to understand themselves and peers better as they begin to explore leadership principles. “It’s something they all can access and really wrap their arms around. They get to decide how deep or shallow they want to go with it. And they can do it pretty quickly and simply as part of a core course. So it’s really taken off,” says Witherell.
By integrating Core Strengths into his coaching practice and his curriculum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Witherell is able to help leaders, teams, and students learn the importance of motivations and how they shift in conflict to improve leadership skills, conflict management, and decision-making. “There’s no other instrument that I’m aware of that does such a nice job of talking about how our motivation shifts. To me, that’s a fundamental part of our human condition. And the understanding of that is an explosive a-ha for folks,” says Witherell.
Whether in the boardroom or classroom, Core Strengths empowers leaders and teams to navigate challenges and harness their collective potential for success.
