The eight factors which align to create best career fit

1. Building a Career that
Matters
Presented by: Ellen Moran, Ph.D.

2. The
Whole
Person
Process

3. 8 Career Vision Factors
Natural Abilities - These are identified and measured by the Highlands Ability
Battery. People are happiest and perform best when their natural abilities are
employed to the fullest.
Skills - These are those tasks you have learned to do well. They develop over
time through study, education, application and practice. To the extent you take
advantage of your innate abilities in developing a skill, the skill will be developed
more quickly and easily.
Personal Style – These are speech patterns, body language, social devices and
personality traits unique to you. Because other individuals respond either more or
less favorably to a person’s personal style, it’s important to identify how these fit
your role and how you best relate to others.
Interests - Over the years, each person develops interests unique to him/her.
When these are clear you can find those roles which make you enjoy getting up for
work every day.

4. 8 Career Vision Factors (cont’d)
Family of Origin - An individual’s background and family shape his/her life and
work ethic in many ways. It’s helpful to understand how these influence our
expectations in subtle but powerful ways.
Values - People’s values (i.e., their scales for judging good and evil, wise and
foolish, moral and immoral) define their reaction to people and events around
them. We cannot work for long in a job or business culture that goes counter to
these values. We have a strong sense of meaning and purpose when they are
supported.
Goals - People have goals which direct and guide their activities. They may wish
to modify these goals after they learn whether the goals are compatible with their
talents, interests and values. Having a clear sense of goals helps you make better
choices when career opportunities arise.
Career Development Stage - All individuals confront critical stages or
transitions in their lives. Some of these are work or career-related. These issues
are sometimes self-created and sometimes caused by external forces (e.g.,
company downsizing).

5. Natural Abilities
These are what you are naturally good at doing. People are
happiest and perform best when their natural abilities are
employed to the fullest.
You can have a very strong natural talent and be unaware of
it.
Having to do work which is not aligned with natural talents
can create stress and frustration.
Many specific talents can be measured by the Highlands
Ability Battery.

6. Work Sample A

7. Work Sample A - Answer Page

8. Work Sample A - “High” and “Low”
A high score on this work sample A low score on this work sample
indicates that you: indicates that you:
• Are able to select among a number • Are happier in study or work that is
of options quickly - to see a unifying organized and stable - where there
theme is structure in your daily routine
• Like change & challenge - a chance • Find it easier than most to persevere
to learn new things, and an in acquiring knowledge and
environment in which a lot happens becoming proficient in a particular
all at once task
• Want to solve new problems - “to • Are patient with individual
figure things out” development - an important asset for
executives whose job is team-
• Can see the pros & cons in any plan
building
quickly and easily. If you don’t
exercise self-discipline, this may • May feel stress in work situations
cause you to be indecisive that are chronically chaotic and
require rapid-fire problem-solving
• Can be easily bored by routine or
with little data
rote tasks or work assignments
• Need time for decision-making on
• May find it difficult to communicate
new data, but can be decisive in
your solutions to others
your areas of knowledge and
experience

9. Work Sample B

10. Work Sample B - Answer Page

11. Work Sample B - “High” & “Low”
A high score on this work sample A low score on this work sample
indicates that you: indicates that you:
• Are able to arrange ideas quickly • Have an advantage in tasks that
into a logical sequence - this require decisive action - when you
enables you to communicate ideas must act quickly. This is an asset in
and to help others make sense of managerial roles
the ideas
• Are generally most comfortable in
• Are able to see the logical order of situations that have already been
events - this helps you to plan organized
schedules for upcoming events
• Are able to plan and organize when
• Can see how all the pieces of a you need to, but do not have a
project fit together to make a strong urge toward this
coherent whole
• Need to rely on external means of
• Are able to organize ideas internally, imposing organization, such as
eliminating the need for an schedules, lists and calendars
organized filing system or desktop
• Find it relatively difficult to plan,
• May feel the need to complete all the organize and prioritize
steps in a project without assessing
• Prefer to work in an external
the importance of each step
environment that is neat and orderly
• May hesitate to make a decision
before you have all the relevant data

12. Work Sample C

13. Work Sample C - Answer Page

14. Work Sample C - “High” & “Low”
A high score on this work sample A low score on this work sample
indicates that you: indicates that you:
• Are a structural thinker, can easily • Are an abstract thinker who likes to
think in three dimensions, and can work with words, ideas, concepts,
visualize and manipulate mentally principles, values, information or
objects in space theory
• Can work in your mind with different • Do not feel a strong pull to use
concepts and arrangements without physical objects in your work or to
having to see and feel them work in a hands-on occupation
• Are driven to work in the world of • Are pulled toward abstract roles,
three-dimensional objects and to see jobs and tasks - literature, music,
the results of your work in a concrete counseling, teaching, training,
way politics, law
• Are most at home in work that
involves concrete data, products,
machinery and tools
• Feel a lack of reality in tasks dealing
mainly with ideas
• Enjoy the touch and feel of tangible
objects and tools used in hands-on
occupations

15. Skills
Enhance performance
Develop through training and practice
Easier if drawn from abilities (musicians/athletes)
Transferable from job to job
Major ways to compensate for ability gaps
Avoid under-utilization and neglect

16. Skills: Thought Questions
What are my best skills with people, ideas
and things?
What is the career fit with my best skills?
What skills fit with my future direction?
What’s the next important skill to learn ?

17. Interests
Interests are about people, places, things and activities that
grab our attention.
Interests may or may not be part of a career direction but can
add “juice” to career choice and balance to the work world.
Interests sometimes give new direction to careers.
Interests can and do change, although some people have life-
long interests such as gardening, reading, etc., which greatly
enhance their lives.

18. Primary Interest Patterns
R Doers in manufacturing, industrial or
R I outdoor settings (production, construction
Realistic Investigative or engineering settings)
I Thinkers in research, scientific or
academic settings (computer industry,
higher education, scientific or medical
settings
A Creators in unstructured, artistic and
self-expressive settings (fine art, design or
C A advertising settings)
Conventional Artistic S Helpers in collaborative, supportive,
interactive settings (education, religious or
mental health settings)
E Persuaders in fast-paced, business-
oriented and entrepreneurial settings
(sales, politics or self-employment
settings)
Enterprising Social
E C Organizers in structured information-
S
oriented settings (finance, government
service or office settings)

19. Interests: Thought Questions
What activities gave/give you the most satisfaction?
You are having a dinner party for ten guests. You may invite
anyone (living or dead, mythical or real). Who is on your guest
list and why?
You are invited to a major “hands-on” museum which you can
instantly choose to display anything. What topics do you want
to explore?

20. Personal Style
There are many theories and tests of personal style.
These are habits and consistent ways we tend to think
about things and relate to others.
Sometimes they are a good fit for our role and sometimes
they are a stretch, e.g., an introverted sales person.
While we can’t modify our basic personality we can adopt
new behaviors to better fit our role.

21. Personal Style: Thought Questions
What are the strongest aspects of my personal style
that help me succeed?
What aspects of my personal style present my greatest
challenges to success?
What type of career is a great fit with my personality?

22. Family of Origin
Our family experiences shape many attitudes we have
about career success, relating to authority, trusting co-
workers, etc.
We are often not conscious about how these influence
us in helpful and non-helpful ways.
Family messages can strongly influence career choices.
We can have a sense if our family/friends would approve
or disapprove of our choice.

23. Values
Values are the guiding beliefs or principles that give purpose and
direction to our lives.
Some values remain with us for life while others change and develop as
situations change and we grow and mature.
Some people can be so driven by values they need work that embodies
and expresses these values; any other work will lead to frustration and
tension.
Some people are satisfied to express their values on their personal time.
In a team or organization, values can conflict. What is the most effective
way to reconcile differences?
Some values are recognized and followed universally.
Some values are unique to the individual.

24. Values:
Finding What Gives Meaning to Your Life
Value Rank according to My Own Rank according to Time
Priorities Actually Spent
Security
Monetary Success
Family Time
Status
Wisdom
Health
Stability
Productivity and competence
Creative and artistic work
Spiritual fulfillment
Authority and decision making
Excitement
Innovation
Physical challenge
Friendship
Change and variety

25. Goals
Must come from and be linked to self awareness.
Cover different aspects of your life and career at specific times
in the future.
Are influenced by our natural time horizons—the space of time
in which we naturally think.
Are influenced by internal and external factors.

26. Goals: Four Steps
Mining - list the important areas of life
Refining - choose those which are primary and
secondary
Defining - get clear on strategies and milestones
Shining - put them into language that inspires and
motivates

27. Career Development Stages
High School to College (17-18) What should be my major?
School to Work World (22-25) What job do I want? Will I like it?
Age 30 Assessment (28-33) Do I want this to be my career? Modify or
change. Fast-track? Moves? Start a family.
Mid-Life Transition (40-45) Beginning a new cycle. Have I been satisfied
with my first choices? Develop parts of myself that have been missing or
overlooked.
Age 50 Assessment (50-55) Do I want to modify my choices? Am I
living and working true to my values?
Retirement Transition (65+) End of the second cycle and beginning a
new one. How do I stay vital and engaged with what I’m doing? How
do I contribute now? Do I want/need to continue a job/career?

28. My Career Stage
What are my goals for this stage?
What are the challenges of this stage?
How do my career and personal life need to connect
for this stage?
Do I have a mentor(s) for this time in my life? Can
I mentor someone in another stage?

29. Job
Engagement
Analysis

30. Ellen L. Moran, Ph.D.
10472 Frontenac Woods Lane
St. Louis, MO 63131-3423
314-995-6825
ellen@leadershipdialogues.com