Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Brothers!
7 Months Old
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Do What You Are
Over the last few months I have been doing a lot of reflection on the topic of career satisfaction (or in my case the lack thereof). I recently finished reading the book Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul Tieger. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in the topic of personality type and career satisfaction.
The exercises presented in the book confirmed that I am a rarity. I am definitely a minority (from a personality and temperament perspective), which is probably why I feel like I don’t relate to most people, most of the time. The book is based on the Myers-Briggs personality types. I am an INFJ: Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging. Some call this the “Idealist," “Confidant,” or “Catalyst for Positive Change” personality type. Some famous people that are INFJs include Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson, Mahatma Gahdhi, Thomas Jefferson and Plato. I suppose I am in decent company.
Here are some excerpts from the book regarding basic characteristics of INFJs (both positive and not so positive), which is shared with about 1% of the population:
INFJ’s inhabit the world of ideas. They are independent, original thinkers with strong feelings, firm principles and personal integrity. They trust their own ideas and decisions even in the face of skepticism. They are motivated by an inner vision that they value above all else, including prevailing opinion or established authority. INFJs often see deeper meaning and have intuitive insights into situations. They are loyal, committed, and idealistic. They are quietly forceful in having their ideas accepted and applied. They value integrity and can be determined to the point of being stubborn. Because of the strength of their conviction and their clear vision of what is best for the common good, INFJs can be great leaders. INFJs value harmony and agreement. They will go to great lengths to promote fellowship and avoid conflict.
Generally thoughtful decision makers. Empathetic and compassionate, INFJs have a strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others. They are aware of other peoples’ emotions and interests, and often deal well with complicated people. INFJs themselves tend to have deep, complex personalities and can be both sensitive and intense. They can be reserved and hard to get to know, but are willing to share their inner selves with people they trust. They tend to have a small circle of deep, longstanding friendships, and can generate plenty of personal warmth and enthusiasm in the right circumstances.
Since they tend to be so absorbed with “the idea,” INFJs can sometimes be impractical. They can become so committed to their own principles that they develop tunnel vision. They can be stubborn about change and can resist changing a decision once it has been made. Sometimes they ignore important facts that don’t support their position, or resist ideas that conflict with their values. They are often perfectionists, and they can be hypersensitive to criticism. They can have difficulty dealing with conflict in relationships and can become disappointed and disillusioned when conflicts develop.
A few other interesting observations:
Only about 4% of the American population comprises Introverted Intuitives. Strong messages permeate our culture that it is better to an Extraverted Sensor (action-oriented, social, pragmatic, and practical) rather than Introverted Intuitive (thoughtful, introspective, complex, and creative).
People like me must have work that makes use of their gift for seeing inner meanings, implications and possibilities. They also like to get things done. Find a way to express their perceptions.
An excerpt from the book about my temperament: Idealist, which is shared with about 16% of the American population:
A good job for an idealist is one that is personally meaningful, rather than simply routine or expedient. They value harmony and do not flourish in a competitive or divisive arena. They prefer democratic organizations that encourage high degree of participation from all levels. Promote humanistic values. Help others find fulfillment.
Based on one of the exercises in the book, here are my top five priorities (in rank order) for career satisfaction:
1. A career that is done in a friendly and tension free environment where my ideas are seriously considered and where I am psychologically supported for my efforts;
2. A career that lets me organize my own time and work environment and exert significant control over both process and product;
3. A career that lets me implement my ideas for the good of people or in the service of others; lets me work with others on a one-on-one basis;
4. Work that can be done independently but with opportunity to share frequently with others in an environment that is friendly and free of interpersonal conflict;
5. A career that allows me adequate time to formulate and process my ideas so they are thoroughly prepared.
Here are my top five work strengths: Writing, negotiating, problem-solving, working with others, and analysis.
Observations and take-aways:
For nearly 10 years, I have pursued a career as a corporate lawyer. For all but about 18 months of those 10 years, I have questioned whether being a lawyer was the right decision for me to make. I have felt like a round peg in a square hole for a long time. I fit, sort of, but not great. After looking at my top five work strengths, being a lawyer, from a task perspective, is probably a good fit for me. All those skills are necessary for a lawyer to thrive. That’s a good thing, but it clearly hasn’t been enough to create career satisfaction for me.
What I found more interesting, was my list of priorities for career satisfaction, which had much less to do with my daily tasks and much more to do with the type of environment and the people I work with on a daily basis. Working in a friendly, tension free environment, free from interpersonal conflict came up repeatedly. Although I have known this is important to me, I didn’t realize just how important. What this teaches me is that I need to spend less time focused on the task components of my work and spend more time focusing on creating a tension free environment in which to complete those tasks. That will likely involve learning how to communicate with people with different personality types, especially those who I find nasty, insensitive, judgmental or otherwise CRAZY. It also means I need to acquire better skills to approach interpersonal interactions, especially those involving interpersonal conflict, more objectively. It will take work (probably a LOT of work), but I think I now have some insight into where I should focus more of my attention in order to hopefully find career satisfaction.
The exercises presented in the book confirmed that I am a rarity. I am definitely a minority (from a personality and temperament perspective), which is probably why I feel like I don’t relate to most people, most of the time. The book is based on the Myers-Briggs personality types. I am an INFJ: Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging. Some call this the “Idealist," “Confidant,” or “Catalyst for Positive Change” personality type. Some famous people that are INFJs include Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson, Mahatma Gahdhi, Thomas Jefferson and Plato. I suppose I am in decent company.
Here are some excerpts from the book regarding basic characteristics of INFJs (both positive and not so positive), which is shared with about 1% of the population:
INFJ’s inhabit the world of ideas. They are independent, original thinkers with strong feelings, firm principles and personal integrity. They trust their own ideas and decisions even in the face of skepticism. They are motivated by an inner vision that they value above all else, including prevailing opinion or established authority. INFJs often see deeper meaning and have intuitive insights into situations. They are loyal, committed, and idealistic. They are quietly forceful in having their ideas accepted and applied. They value integrity and can be determined to the point of being stubborn. Because of the strength of their conviction and their clear vision of what is best for the common good, INFJs can be great leaders. INFJs value harmony and agreement. They will go to great lengths to promote fellowship and avoid conflict.
Generally thoughtful decision makers. Empathetic and compassionate, INFJs have a strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others. They are aware of other peoples’ emotions and interests, and often deal well with complicated people. INFJs themselves tend to have deep, complex personalities and can be both sensitive and intense. They can be reserved and hard to get to know, but are willing to share their inner selves with people they trust. They tend to have a small circle of deep, longstanding friendships, and can generate plenty of personal warmth and enthusiasm in the right circumstances.
Since they tend to be so absorbed with “the idea,” INFJs can sometimes be impractical. They can become so committed to their own principles that they develop tunnel vision. They can be stubborn about change and can resist changing a decision once it has been made. Sometimes they ignore important facts that don’t support their position, or resist ideas that conflict with their values. They are often perfectionists, and they can be hypersensitive to criticism. They can have difficulty dealing with conflict in relationships and can become disappointed and disillusioned when conflicts develop.
A few other interesting observations:
Only about 4% of the American population comprises Introverted Intuitives. Strong messages permeate our culture that it is better to an Extraverted Sensor (action-oriented, social, pragmatic, and practical) rather than Introverted Intuitive (thoughtful, introspective, complex, and creative).
People like me must have work that makes use of their gift for seeing inner meanings, implications and possibilities. They also like to get things done. Find a way to express their perceptions.
An excerpt from the book about my temperament: Idealist, which is shared with about 16% of the American population:
A good job for an idealist is one that is personally meaningful, rather than simply routine or expedient. They value harmony and do not flourish in a competitive or divisive arena. They prefer democratic organizations that encourage high degree of participation from all levels. Promote humanistic values. Help others find fulfillment.
Based on one of the exercises in the book, here are my top five priorities (in rank order) for career satisfaction:
1. A career that is done in a friendly and tension free environment where my ideas are seriously considered and where I am psychologically supported for my efforts;
2. A career that lets me organize my own time and work environment and exert significant control over both process and product;
3. A career that lets me implement my ideas for the good of people or in the service of others; lets me work with others on a one-on-one basis;
4. Work that can be done independently but with opportunity to share frequently with others in an environment that is friendly and free of interpersonal conflict;
5. A career that allows me adequate time to formulate and process my ideas so they are thoroughly prepared.
Here are my top five work strengths: Writing, negotiating, problem-solving, working with others, and analysis.
Observations and take-aways:
For nearly 10 years, I have pursued a career as a corporate lawyer. For all but about 18 months of those 10 years, I have questioned whether being a lawyer was the right decision for me to make. I have felt like a round peg in a square hole for a long time. I fit, sort of, but not great. After looking at my top five work strengths, being a lawyer, from a task perspective, is probably a good fit for me. All those skills are necessary for a lawyer to thrive. That’s a good thing, but it clearly hasn’t been enough to create career satisfaction for me.
What I found more interesting, was my list of priorities for career satisfaction, which had much less to do with my daily tasks and much more to do with the type of environment and the people I work with on a daily basis. Working in a friendly, tension free environment, free from interpersonal conflict came up repeatedly. Although I have known this is important to me, I didn’t realize just how important. What this teaches me is that I need to spend less time focused on the task components of my work and spend more time focusing on creating a tension free environment in which to complete those tasks. That will likely involve learning how to communicate with people with different personality types, especially those who I find nasty, insensitive, judgmental or otherwise CRAZY. It also means I need to acquire better skills to approach interpersonal interactions, especially those involving interpersonal conflict, more objectively. It will take work (probably a LOT of work), but I think I now have some insight into where I should focus more of my attention in order to hopefully find career satisfaction.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Milestones
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