Are You a Snowplow, Submarine, or Ambulance?

The big idea that the SDI unlocks is that the what of a person’s behavior is best understood by knowing the why of a person’s motivations. When we are aware of our own motivations (and the motivations of those around us), our relationships become more adaptive and effective. And because each person has a unique blend of three core motivations (acceptance, significance, and security), a tool like the SDI that provides a unique relational blueprint of every person is invaluable for personal and relational growth.

In addition, the SDI provides shared language and categories for interpersonal understanding that are easy to remember. For example, every motivational value system is color-coded for ease of use—red for the significance/performance drive, blue for the acceptance/people drive, and green for the security/process drive.

But my favorite way to remember core motivational value systems is to associate them with word pictures that represent the core motivational drives:

Blue / People Motivation = Ambulance Red / Performance Motivation = Snowplow Green / Security Motivation = Submarine

Of course, all of us have a blend of all three of these motivational drives, and how our drives blend together shapes our perceptions, behavior, and use of strengths. Depending on how your core motivations are weighted, the best picture of your motivational blend might be a hybrid like a snowplow-ambulance (red-blue), a submarine-ambulance (blue-green), or snowplow-submarine (red-green); and some of you (hub) blend all three about equally, so you are an ambulance with a plow and a snorkel!

So what is your motivational value system, and do you resonate with the associated picture of your MVS? A picture can help us be more aware of the values that shape our contributions and interpretations. It can also help us “beware” of our negative impact when we don’t pay attention to what is needed in context.

Consentia Group stands ready to help you and your ministry teams get better results through relationships while connecting relational intelligence to soul development and discipleship to Jesus. Check out our cutting-edge trainings for leadership development (Changed2Lead) and interactive marriage workshops (SoulMates) at ConsentiaGroup.com.