What are your superpowers? I always ask my coachees this question during our first encounter. Surprisingly, many don’t know what to say. I believe aligning your professional path with your inherent strengths and personality traits is crucial for achieving long-term success and happiness, to be honest. Unfortunately, this is not how many career paths are designed at companies nowadays. Performance reviews focus too much on what is wrong, what is missing, and what needs to be improved but too little on your strengths and what you should continue unlocking.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed industries, reshaped job markets, and raised concerns about job displacement. As AI continues to automate routine tasks and decision-making processes, the future of work increasingly favors skills and attributes that machines cannot easily replicate. Building a career based on your strengths is a powerful strategy to stay relevant in this evolving landscape and thrive.
A holistic approach is required to consider individual strengths, emotional intelligence, and personality insights. Personality assessments are pivotal in this process, offering deep insights into one’s unique traits and preferences. However, the true power of these assessments is unlocked when paired with professional coaching.
Understanding and Leveraging Your Strengths
Identifying and leveraging your strengths is fundamental to achieving excellence and fulfillment in your career. Individuals engaging in activities that align with their natural talents are more likely to experience heightened engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. Recognizing and developing these strengths leads to a state of “flow,” where work feels effortless and enjoyable and where stressful situations can be overcome more easily.
Once you have a clear understanding of your strengths, personality traits, and emotional intelligence, you can integrate these insights into your career development by focusing on developing skills that enhance your strengths, tailoring your current role to better align with your strengths, or moving to a role where your strengths are needed.
You can also improve your personal branding by highlighting your strengths in your resume, LinkedIn profile, and during job interviews. Communicating what you do best can help you stand out to potential employers and increase your chances of finding a role that fits you well.
The Role of Personality Assessments
A proficient coach can help you identify your superpowers without a self-assessment, but personality assessments can provide more a structured approach to understanding individual strengths and preferences. Here are three widely recognized assessments:
1. DISC Assessment:
The DISC assessment categorizes behavior into four primary styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It helps individuals understand their behavior patterns, communication styles, and responses to various situations. Knowing your DISC profile can guide you in selecting roles and environments where your natural tendencies are most effective.
2. CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder)
Developed by Gallup, this assessment identifies 34 talent themes and highlights an individual’s top strengths. It focuses on what people naturally do best and encourages them to build on these talents to achieve professional excellence.
3. Emotional Intelligence (EIQ) Assessments
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s emotions and those of others. EQ assessments provide insights into emotional competencies like self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills so that you can react to what happens in your environment in a more productive way. High emotional intelligence is linked to better workplace leadership, teamwork, stress management and even time management, and it is not a genetic trait, it can be improved over time.
The Importance of a Debrief with a Coach
Personality assessments offer valuable insights, but it’s important to have a debrief with a coach to fully benefit from them. Keep in mind that personality assessments are not set in stone and can change over time. They are designed to assess consistent patterns and are not heavily influenced by your current mood, unless you are going through a serious trauma, anxiety, or depression, according to Psychology Today. However, your responses may vary based on the context in which you are answering, such as whether you are considering your behavior at home or at work, or if you are responding for self-reflection or a job interview.
John Johnson from Psychology Today affirms that while some people may lie on personality tests, it’s less common than you might think, even in situations like job interviews. A coach can help you interpret your assessment results, provide personalized feedback, and help you develop actionable strategies based on the insights. They can also help you avoid common pitfalls, such as relying too much on strengths without addressing weaknesses or misinterpreting the assessment results.
Building a career based on your strengths is a powerful strategy for achieving long-term success and satisfaction. Personality assessments like DISC, CliftonStrengths, and emotional intelligence assessments provide valuable insights into your unique traits and preferences. However, the true value of these assessments is realized through a debrief with a professional coach who can help interpret results, develop actionable strategies, and set realistic goals. By understanding and leveraging your strengths, you can confidently navigate your career path, avoid common pitfalls, and build a career where you don’t feel like working anymore.
As an EQ-certified practitioner, I invite you to take the Emotional Intelligence Assessment and meet afterward for a coaching debrief. You will learn so much about yourself! Don’t miss the opportunity.
