Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

C. K. Prahalad, a well-known management consultant, and the father of the core competency concept, once wrote this about leadership, “Leadership is about self-awareness, recognizing your failings, and developing modesty, humility, and humanity.”  Teachers, mentors, coaches agree - self-awareness is the first step in the creative process for an individual on the road to happiness.  It’s a way to explore an individual’s personality, value system, beliefs, inclinations and tendencies.  By taking a look at who we are, we can become empowered to make the changes necessary to reach our personal goals for self actualization. 

Whether you are interested in raising your self-awareness in order to build your leadership skills, develop yourself for advancement or a career change, or curious about how to improve as a person, it’s important to utilize all your avenues for collecting honest and insightful feedback.  This feedback helps you raise your awareness to those areas where you are excelling as well as failing, and guides you in determining what goals to set and what areas you should pay more attention to.  Work on self-awareness can not be accomplished in a vacuum – you need to not only explore what makes you tick, but also the perceptions others have of you.

Usually developmental feedback is given by a close friend, family member or a supervisor.  Someone who is honestly and sincerely interested in your professional and personal growth.  Feedback can be difficult to hear, but it’s useful and necessary. We should accept it as a gift, because we often don’t see ourselves as others see us and without their willingness to reflect back to us what they see – we are operating in the dark.  We see what we want to be, not necessarily what we are. Conversations about developmental issues usually occur in the employment arena during the annual performance review.  However, if you’re working with a mentor, coach or therapist you may be gaining insights on a more frequent basis.  Armed with the insight and perceptions from others about your strengths and developmental areas you can choose to do nothing or you can:

• target specific training courses and learning opportunities that will strengthen your mix of skills and knowledge
• align your skills and interests with specific jobs and career opportunities
• transition to a different career path that matches more appropriately with your interests and preferences

In addition to the perceptions and insights from others, another helpful method for looking inward for clues about who you are and why you do what you do can be obtained by incorporating a self assessment into the mix of avenues for feedback. Utilizing a self-assessment allows you to take a look at who you are, not through anyone else’s lenses but your own. Naturally, the more honest you are in answering the questions, the more relevant and helpful the feedback will be.

Perhaps you’ve already experienced a self-assessment?   If you have, then consider re-reviewing your debrief materials to determine if the feedback is still relevant.  If it’s been a while, or you have never taken a self-assessment before, check with your HR Department for options available to you.  Many internal HR Departments provide employees access to assessment tools as part of their career development benefits.  If you don’t have access to internal options, you might consider working with a Career Development Coach or contact a university Career Development Center to learn what options they might offer.

Assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), DISC and Emotional Intelligence (EI) each provide a different snapshot of your preferences along with information that can be thought provoking and inspiring of personal change.

So what should you expect when you decide to seek information about yourself through self-assessments?   You should expect the:

• assessment will be accessible on-line.  
• price will vary depending on the sophistication of the assessment and the extent of the debrief and coaching you will receive to assist you with the reflection and planning phases.  
• assessment questions have no right or wrong answers – it’s all about understanding and reflecting on the preferences your assessment choices display.
• debrief to always be conducted utilizing a written report of results and a personal conversation focused on reviewing the appropriateness of the results as well as assistance with interpretation.   
• debrief could be offered over the phone or in person.
• professional conducting the debrief to be certified by the producer of that particular assessment.   This certification provides you assurance that the professional has received sufficient training to properly interpret the assessment results, as well as design and facilitate a meaningful and directed debrief meeting.
• assessment data to be handled in a confidential and proprietary manner.

If you’ve never been exposed to the type of information offered through self-assessment tools such as those I’ve noted above, here is a glimpse at some of the developmental areas you might find yourself reflecting on based on your results, interest and feedback:

• Communication style
• Leadership style
• Careers that match your work style preferences
• Interpersonal skills
• Supervisory style
• Preference for addressing issues such as change and conflict
• Learning style
• Decision-making style
• Working with others and team development

The EI assessment takes a different approach from the MBTI, HBTI or DISC type assessments.  As our society is becoming more comfortable talking about feelings and emotions in the work setting, we continue to see the popularity of Emotional Intelligence assessments grow.  Daniel Goleman is often credited with the introduction of EI to the workplace.  In 1995, however, his work was difficult for many leaders to get their arms around since it dealt with emotions and sounded too “touchy, feely”.  Today however, we are experiencing more and more research, writings and consulting being directed to better understand and acknowledge the emotions and feelings of our workforce.  Just look to the popularity and insights the work of the Heath brothers, Dan and Chip, is having on organizational change as a result of their book, Switch which deals with the emotional side of successful change. As you consider assessments, don’t shy away from gaining some insights to your EI – you’ll be glad you took a look.

Self-awareness is nothing new.  Remember Socrates’ advice – “Know thyself”.  Through the use of self-assessments you can gain a better understanding of your preferences and raise your awareness to your own feelings as they are occurring.  With this expanded knowledge of yourself you can improve personal and professional relationships, your abilities to supervise and lead others, abilities to work better with your team mates, and to align yourself with a profession and a job that best suit the styles in which you like to work.   It may be a little scary to turn the mirror on yourself, but with the guidance of the right professional at your side, the experience can be exhilarating and powerful! 

I’m curious – what have your experiences with self-assessments been like?  I particularly like the HBDI, MBTI and EI.  What assessments do you prefer and why?

Resources:

Time Magazine, October 2, 1995, Volume 146, No. 14 The EQ Factor, Nancy Gibbs

Working with Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman

The Artist’s Way:  A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron 

Do What You Are, Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger 

The Whole Brain Business Book, Ned Herrmann

Blogs:

Look Far – The Art of Self Awareness

Enlightened Living

Your Career Development Journey

I recently heard a career coach give the advice that your resume is your number one tool for finding a job. I cringed. I take a different view on job search and career development. For me, it’s a journey. Before you leave on a trip you usually do some planning, collect the right maps and directions, pack the appropriate items, and prepare to adjust to the “potholes” and detours you may encounter along the way. Navigating the best way to reach your destination takes a variety of actions, and may involve visiting with others who have traveled to, and toured your destination, in order to gather information and knowledge that will help you arrive safely, and prepared for taking advantage of the best sites and local flair. Career development is very similar to this metaphor.

Regardless of whether you are employed and looking to move up, or unemployed looking to do something part-time, full-time or entrepreneurial, following these same type of “travel” preparations will save you time and energy.

And there’s no doubt about it - getting your resume updated in order to share past experiences with potential employers is an important part of the job search journey (the first thing any potential employer or networking connection will ask, “Do you have an updated resume?”). However, when you step back to take the time to plan your “trip to the next job”, the resume is not the first thing to focus on. Trust me on this. From personal, as well as coaching experiences with hundreds of clients going through some type of career transition, I’ve confirmed the following steps will provide you with a more productive, organized and successful journey.

1. Self-Discovery – I see lots of individuals try to avoid this step. Their reasoning – Who knows me better than me? I don’t need to explore – heck, I just need a job! However, when they avoid this critical starting point, they usually find their journey is not as targeted, their interviews are not as crisp, and they appear like they are shooting from the hip at anything that moves….. trying to find any job that will pay the rent. This usually plays out as a big red flag for managers interviewing candidates who have scooted around this initial step of career planning.
At another time I’ll write more about self-discovery, but for now just consider this:

• When’s the last time you took any time to really think about and get feedback on your strengths and areas needing improvement? You probably also haven’t thought much about what kind of work makes you happy and doesn’t even feel like work.

• When’s the last time you gave serious thought to how the workplace is changing and what new skills or experiences you might need to be “best” qualified for a job, especially in this new workplace/economic environment?

• When’s the last time you used an assessment tool such as Myers-Briggs or the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) to help you open your mind to your work style and communication preferences and how you relate with others?

Are you getting the idea? Without taking the proper amount of time to get to know yourself and how you fit an organization in this new economy, your journey will be helter-skeltor because your branding will be inconsistent. And just a word about timing – the amount of time you may need for this step may vary depending on what personal work you’ve done in the past, how open you are to change, where you are working with a coach, lots of things. Just make sure it’s enough time to allow you to ask and answer those questions that will be most meaningful to your development.

2. Appraise the market and clarify your career goals and objectives. We’ve lost a lot of jobs over the past few years. As the economy comes back and jobs are once again created, be aware that the job requirements may not be the same as what they had been. As you do your research be on the look out for new skills, knowledge and abilities you may be required to have. Using your network to help you gather this data is an excellent idea, as well as utilizing all the information available on the internet.

3. Create a powerful resume and communications plan. Be consistent in the branding of your communication pieces. Consider your resume a work in progress. Get opinions on your resume from others. Really showcase what you have to offer and how you will solve problems, save money and improve efficiencies for the new organization. Sometimes that hard to do in no more than two pages. You may have to ask someone for help, or use on-line resources to assist you. Check out my resume worksheet as a template to help you.

4. Networking – build your skills and talents to reach out to everyone you know, and then everyone they know to learn of requirements and opportunities in those areas you are interested in. While working within an organization, network with co-workers in your department, but also across departments. Take every avenue to be visible. With the number of people currently looking for a job, many organizations will use the “informal” channel to look for qualified candidates. It’s more likely to be “who you know” that leads you to an opening, not a formal ad or internet posting. To help you organize your networking an approach like this might be helpful – click here.

5. Interviewing – remember it’s a conversation. Be prepared to answer their questions as well as ask your own about the things that are important to you – but don’t talk money and benefits until they are ready to offer you the job! And never be the one to bring the topic up. Practice sample questions out loud. If you don’t practice your presentation, they’ll know it the minute you open your mouth. This is also a point where you want to make sure your emotions are under control. You don’t want to sound desperate, or angry, or not sure of yourself. If you have recently lost a job, wait to interview until you have your emotions under control.

6. Efficient use of your resources – your time and energies are very important to you. Use all the job search avenues available to you, but don’t spend more time in any lane than the expected payback. Since 80% or more of the jobs being found today are through networking, spend 80%+ of your time in networking activities. Be careful with the amount of time you spend answering ads on the internet. Remember – not everything you read on the internet is “real”. Be careful about what personal information you share and post when you are not sure who may be viewing it, i.e., birth date, address, etc.

7. Continued Learning – I can’t say enough about investing in your education. Look at your co-workers. If your boss had to choose who to keep on the team, would you have more to offer than your colleagues? If you are up against one other qualified candidate for the job would your education and experiences be relevant enough to tip the decision in your favor? Certifications, additional course work, another degree, an unpaid internship, volunteering for an assignment…. there are lots of ways to take charge of your education and your future. Don’t wait until you need it – be aware of what your profession is requiring right now and start acquiring it.

Career development is definitely an individual responsibility. We do see progressive organizations offering guidance and help with career pathing. However, the ultimate decision about how you manage your career is up to you. Be proactive and invest in yourself. It’s a journey that keeps evolving from one destination to another. Be prepared. No one has a crystal ball to look into the future. Keep your bags packed, and always be aware of your options for exciting excursions!

What’s your experience been? Do you see the journey metaphor with these 7 these steps helpful, or would you make some modifications? I’m curious to hear from you.