Knowledge about yourself can make all the difference when it comes to career performance. If you don’t have the motivation to succeed or if a career doesn’t match your personality or preferences, that’s probably not the career for you. This is why you’ll see no shortage of personality tests (CliftonStrengths®, Myers-Briggs, etc.) out there. And it’s also important to have the knowledge and skills to compete in your chosen industry, which is why cognitive tests are important.
But none of these tests factor in the single most predictive factor for how well you’ll perform in a given role: how you naturally take action and solve problems — your instinctive strengths.
How you naturally approach problem-solving dictates everything from how you’ll get a job done to whether a task will enrich your life or burn your energy, and how productive you can be without stressing yourself out.
So, ask yourself, how much do I know about how I do the following 4 things:
When faced with a new work project, some instinctively need to know anything and everything about the project. They’ll have questions…and lots of them. Others will naturally wade through all that information, get the “gist” (a few bullet points, maybe), then move on. Then, there’s a significant number of people who naturally gather and share information by explaining, editing, and working within priorities.
Are you one of those people who plan for everything, then organize your plans? Who has color-coordinated systems for everything and ensures each process is running smoothly with a corresponding spreadsheet to explain how to keep it perfect? Or do you naturally take those systems and make them better while looking to improve the things that aren’t working right? Or are you someone who will make sure things don’t turn into a bureaucracy? Someone who will find natural shortcuts and loosen rigid systems?
There are those among us who have more ideas than they know what to do with. Of course, not every idea is a good or productive one, which is why it’s good there are other professionals who can check them from indiscriminately chasing after every idea that comes along. Finally, there are the people who hear ideas and think, “Hey…I’d love to make that work, but why don’t we test it first?” After all, if it’s not broken, why fix it?
Many people have an instinctual need to demonstrate. And when you give them the freedom to be themselves when tackling tangible solutions, they will build foundations, work with equipment, and focus on quality solutions. Once those foundations have been created, others find their strengths in maintaining and renovating. These restoration-inclined superstars are also super helpful to bridge the gap between those with the need to demonstrate and another group of individuals who instinctively envision instead. These types will likely burn out if they create tangible solutions too often. However, they are naturally strong at conceptualizing solutions.
Ultimately, when asked to work against your grain, you are likely to lose mental energy fast. Nobody wants that. But if you can place yourself in the right position to capitalize on your instinctive strengths, you’ll find that your work productivity, collaboration skills, and communication will all improve dramatically.
Ready to learn how you naturally take action in these 4 areas? Take the Kolbe A™ Index to learn your instinctive strengths and how they can work for you.
Want to discover jobs and careers that best fit your natural strengths? Try the OPgig™ Career Assessment.
