Swings + Roundabouts Summer 2020

dreams, interests, motivations, personality, and behaviour. Where do we thrive and what do we actually excel at doing? Two behaviour and personality tools which you might have heard of are DISC and OCEAN. Both of these models attempt to group our behaviours around four or five major themes, which can then be used to guide and predict future preferences. For instance, DISC refers to Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Dominant people tend to be very determined and result-focussed, while Influencers tend to be out-going and sociable; Steadiness types embody calmness and sympathy, and Conscientious people are systematic and diligent. From these four basic types, various combinations are possible, such as DS, CD, or SD (where the first letter denotes the stronger influence). So, if teaching is your thing, then an IS, SI or even CS profile would be best. DC, DC, and ID types should tend to orientate towards management roles. In contrast to DISC, the OCEAN (or ‘Big Five’) model rates subjects on the following five key personality dimensions: ● Openness to experience (inventive/curious v consistent/cautious) ● Conscientiousness (efficient/organized v extravagant/careless) ● Extraversion (outgoing/energetic v solitary/reserved) ● Agreeableness (friendly/compassionate v challenging/callous) ● Neuroticism (sensitive/nervous v resilient/confident). The Holland Codes are another useful tool, specifically designed to help people in their career choices. The model recognises six key categories, and differentiates between interest in people and things, and also ideas and data. Consequently, people can be: ● Realistic (Doers) ● Investigative (Thinkers) ● Artistic (Creators) ● Social (Helpers) ● Enterprising (Persuaders) ● Conventional (Organisers). According to this model, early childhood teachers tend to excel in both artistic and social categories, where an interest in ideas and things, overlaps with an interest in relationships and people. If your real forte is people and data, then maybe a move to nursing or counselling might be better options for consideration? The real idea behind all this introspection is not to box people in to jobs, but to help them to understand themselves and where they might fit best in the workplace. Even better, they are quite useful as reflective tools, helping us to self-assess and to manage our own development strategies. This is our first challenge: Understanding who we are, and where our natural strengths and inclinations might lie. The second idea which I would like to discuss is understanding different workplace cultures, and the impact which these environments may have on our career choices. In a previous article, I mentioned one particular description of different workplace cultures, suggested by English academic, Charles Handy. Handy described four different work environments which he had come across, and he designated them as club, role, task, and existential cultures. While Handy grouped different professions into each of his four categories, it is also possible to see elements of each culture within the same industry sector. For instance, as an early childhood educator, if you find yourself working under a very charismatic and dynamic boss, then you might be operating in a club environment, whereas a hierarchical and highly- ordered environment might suggest a more bureaucratic and role-orientated organisation. Handy himself tells a very pointed and emotionally-charged story about his own experiences, misplaced in an entrepreneurial club culture when his own natural inclination was towards orderliness and systems. Ultimately, his only option was to leave the organisation, and to move on to a workplace where he was better suited. So, this is our second challenge: Once we know a bit more about ourselves, can we then make educated choices about the environment and culture in which we best operate? The third idea is based around understanding the needs of the business which we are working in, or intend to work in. On the whole, businesses are not philanthropic charities, looking to hand out jobs to ‘needy’ or ‘deserving’ people. Most private businesses are profit-driven (or, at least, not loss-motivated!) and they have an obligation to staff, customers, and other stakeholders to continue operating as viable going-concerns. This is the context in which these jobs exist: There is a job-to-be-done and your ability to deliver on that job, in a timely and effective manner, will probably play a large part in whether you get that job. So, your main tasks as a candidate at a job interview are (1) to demonstrate a good fit with the-job-to-be-done and (2) to instil a sense of confidence in the employer, through displaying your personality and competencies. Another way of looking at this situation is to think in terms of problems and solutions. The employer has a problem and you will have one or more solutions, which you can offer. The more compelling that you can make your proposition, then the more likely it is that the employer will take you on. This approach is about creating value for the employer, and we can display value in a number of different ways. For instance, you might be able to generate income, reduce costs, ensure happy customers, increase brand awareness, introduce new people, or do something else which makes a positive impact on the business. If it is measurable, and if you can show that you have done it successfully before, then all the better! Another useful analogy is the therapeutic approach, where your task as a job-applicant is to provide relief from the pain points which the business is experiencing. Identify the pain and fix it, and you have done the job expected of you! This, then, is our third challenge: To think like a business, and to understand why the job exists, and what purpose it serves. So, if you find yourself looking for a new job in 2021, then see whether you can use some of these ideas to increase your chance of landing the job that you want. Good luck! About the author Phil Sales is specialist business coach, interested in 'cool stuff' in the business development sector. For more about Phil, see https://iact15. wixsite.com/iactltd/who-we-are December 2020 { 23 }