Who do you think you are?

Many of us will have had to face a personality profile at some point. But did you realise that that they can help you move your career faster?

There are several different types of profile test and psychologists debate the scientific basis, but I find them to be a very useful guide. For me they have 2 main uses

Accept how you’re wired: you can’t change it

Decide how and where to focus your energy: don’t swim against the tide

I find them really helpful by stopping you from wasting energy, both with yourself, and with other people. And if you aren’t wasting energy, you have the time and headspace to focus on things that help you move forward. So you get there faster.

The first area is in just recognising – and accepting – how you are wired. We are all different and we are naturally good at some things and not so good at others.

Take sport as an example and a metaphor. At my school, all the best athletes were in the rugby team. I wanted to be part of it too but I am not a big guy and nor am I fast sprinter. So I trained really hard and eventually scraped the occasional place on the team. Of course, they only let me play against the weaker opposition. Whilst I was really proud of at least having made the team, I wasn’t a natural. It was always going to be hard work.

On the other hand, my ‘low centre of gravity’ made running up and down hills easy for me. And because I found it easy, guess what? I was soon one of the better distance runners. I won races, and decades later, I still enjoy running several times per week. It doesn’t feel like hard work.

So what’s this got to do with your DISC profile?

You don’t have a choice about the talents you get given. They are a combination of genetics and environment and, in your formative years, you have no influence over either.

But you can choose what you do with your talents. And it starts by recognising and accepting them.

With hard work and training you can, of course, improve ANY skill, but you need to decide if you want to spend your time and energy ‘swimming against the tide’. Understanding and accepting your skills can stop you chasing the wrong goal.

Or you can focus on where your talents are and put your energy and effort into what you love doing.

Life gets a lot easier and you’re much more likely to be successful too.

And this is what the profile helps you do. It helps you recognise and accept your talents and aptitudes and stop wasting energy on the wrong the things!

Want some help? Contact me for a free consultation on building your recovery plan and landing your new role.