Continuous personal growth is vital to survival. The ability to reinvent yourself periodically will become increasingly critical during times of rapid change.
In my career, I consider myself a work in progress: with endless areas for me to learn and develop. Ultimately, the responsibility for acting upon it and allowing growth, is up to us.
I’m often approached by people who are considering a career change or trying to grow professionally. Below are some resources I often recommend to these friends seeking clarity, as they’ve helped me tremendously through times of contemplating my own next move.
After years of insights gained from mentors and peers, along with reading and reflection, I’ve found the following three tools to be the most useful in developing clarity:
- Strengths Finder 2.0 by Gallup Press, helps you understand your strengths and perception of the world.
- How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead gives you insights into how others perceive you.
- The Kolbe A Index assessment helps you to discover how you operate.
Through these assessment tools, I’ve gained better personal insight which has helped me navigate my actions and build out my brand.
Although each of these tools is beneficial alone, when you combine the results of all three assessments together, you gain powerful insights and increased confidence in your career pivots and moves.
Understand your strengths and how you see the world
The Strengths Finder 2.0 by Gallup Press book and assessment reveal your top strength themes, helping you better understand yourself and how you see the world. By understanding your strength themes, you recognize the situations and opportunities which will allow you to operate in the areas of your greatest strengths.
Understand how others see you
How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead is a great book to help you perceive how others see you. The digital version of the book allows you to enhance learning by easily alternating between reading and viewing embedded companion material. You can take the assessment for free here.
Understand how you do things
The KOLBE A index assessment measures how you naturally function, illuminating your instinctive method of operation and the ways that you will be most productive. For me, this assessment explained that as a “big picture” person, I thrive in environments that allow me to generate ideas and cast a vision for the future. Also, why I feel suffocated when dealing with maintenance or project management details. The results from my assessment explained so much about my work style: helping me to avoid situations that aren’t a fit for me, instead focusing on refining my personal brand.
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