What is your passion?

It seems as if business requires systematic thinking 24/7. Planning, planning, planning. My friend Carroll Emerson (motivation and success speaker) quizzed me about what traits I had to offer other businesses. He asked, "What can you offer that makes them want and need your services?" I named off several "typical" answers like education and experience, but he kept saying "no." I began feeling down as if I did not have the traits necessary to make my business dream work.

Maybe he realized I was not making the connection, so he reframed the question. He instead asked, "What makes a teacher a successful teacher?" Being a part-time psychology teacher at a local technical college I quickly answered, "Being knowledgeable enough about a topic to be able to make it easy to learn." He agreed saying, "A great student makes a good teacher, but an AWESOME student makes a GREAT teacher." I think he realized that with my passion for learning and teaching I would definitely understand this example. He said, "You are knowledgeable about your topic, and you can make is SIMPLE for your students." I got the point. I am an awesome student (I do love to learn and analyze), so I am able to take what I have learned about the subject matter and teach it in a simple way for those I am consulting.

Now when asked about my professional passion, I can quickly respond "learning and teaching." Learning and teaching are VERY relevant to business. They are fundamental to the success of any team. Having the knowledge of the clients and industry you are serving is imperative, but adding passion to the mix can make you unstoppable!

FOCUS

No--not the car. Sometimes, I feel that is the only thing I know about focus, too. I have learned a thing or two about regaining focus. One thing I have learned is it seems to always feel like a major event. When I feel unfocused, it feels like my whole world is out of focus. I feel "out of sorts" and have a difficult time getting my head back on what I need to be thinking about.

Something else I have learned about focus is that sometimes you need someone else to help you regain focus. There is no shame in that. I have a friend who knows my passion for consulting. I was "out of focus," and it had become obvious to him. He started telling me that he was having problems with his business, and I kicked into high gear to help. When I did, it was like everything else came back to me. I can just picture myself as a manual transmission car that we were pushing, and when he gave me the "scenario," it was like me "popping the clutch." I was running again!

You need to have someone who knows your professional passion. They need to know what helps you get back into gear. Talk to them and let them know that you may need them occasionally. Tell them what they can do to help you. This is you giving them permission to get involved when they see you may not be performing at your full potential. When you regain focus, look back on the experience. What did you learn from it? What caused you to lose focus? Were you spending too much time away from your passion? Were you spending too much time ON your passion? There should be a healthy balance between focus on professional passion and your personal life. We must have down time. Just as when a camera will not focus because there is too much in the focus zone for it to determine what you want to focus on, we need to give our bodies an opportunity to focus on what it needs to be focusing on. Step away and be sure you are giving enough time to yourself. There is no value in an out of focus picture, so be sure your personal and professional life is "in focus."

Does your personality vary?

Just this week my clients were interviewed by my Quality Assurance monitor. One of my clients said that I am "always the same no matter when [she] sees me. [I'm] always smiling and in a good mood. If [I] have a bad day, [I] don't let them know it." I think that has to be the BEST compliment ever! It isn't every day you get to hear how other people perceive you. Frequently, people keep those thoughts to themselves, and you have to hope you are coming across as a kind professional.

Earlier in the week, I noticed a difference in how I perceive my personality and how others perceive my personality. Interestingly enough, it was through a brief Myers-Briggs type assessment on Facebook that brought this difference to my attention. When I completed the assessment (suggested from the last post), my type was an ENFP, which was slightly different than what I got earlier in the month through my master's program--ENTP. Apparently, in non-professional relationships, I am more of a "feeling" person. In professional situations, I tend to be more of a "thinking" person, which seems logical enough for me.

What was most interesting to me was what my friends said about me. On Facebook, your friends can answer a list of questions based on the Myers-Briggs as well. They disagreed with my ENFP. They suggest that I am ESFJ. What does all of this mean? It is a way to describe someone's personality style. It can help someone to know more about themselves and how they tend to view things, which improves your ability to learn. Take a look at what the results were for me. This will give you an idea.

Research has found that the Big Five personality traits are significantly related to Jungian Typology (e.g. the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). This is a popular alternative personality framework regularly used for personal development, in which Types are used rather than Traits. Based on your Big Five trait scores, your estimated Type is shown below.

ENFP

Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

ENFPs are initiators of change, keenly perceptive of possibilities. They energize and stimulate others through their contagious enthusiasm. They prefer the start-up phase of a project or relationship, and are tireless in the pursuit of new-found interests. ENFPs are able to anticipate the needs of others and to offer them needed help and appreciation. They bring zest, joy, liveliness, and a zany sense of fun to all aspects of their lives. They are at their best in situations that are fluid and changing, and that allow them to express their creativity and use their charisma. They tend to idealize people, and can be disappointed when reality fails to fulfill their expectations. They are easily frustrated if a project requires a great deal of follow-up or attention to detail.

Your friend ratings disagree with this, suggesting that they view you as an ESFJ
(Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging).

ESFJs are warmly interested in others. They use their Sensing and Judging characteristics to gather specific, detailed information about others, and turn this information into supportive judgments. They want to like people, and tend to be skilled at bringing out the best in others. They strive to understand other points of view. The ESFJs' strong desire to be liked, and for everything to be pleasant, makes them highly supportive of others. People like to be around ESFJs, because ESFJs have a gift for making people feel good about themselves. All else being equal, ESFJs enjoy being in charge. They see problems clearly and delegate easily, work hard and play with zest.

I find this incredibly interesting. So how can we know how others perceive us? Does this mean that our supervisors perceive us differently? What impact can that have on us professionally? These are just some of the questions that I have been considering. What are your thoughts on the subject?

What is your personality type?

Why is it important to know your personality type? There are a lot of things we do without paying attention to why we do it. There are actually parts of our personality that can give us a sneak peek into this mystery. Based on the principles of Carl Jung and Isabel Myers-Briggs, the follow link will pose 72 questions. From your answers to those questions, your personality type will emerge. Be sure to be completely honest with yourself. Try not to over-think the questions--just answer yes or no. Some questions may be of situations you've never been in. If that is the case, imagine you are faced with the situation, what would your answer be?

When your results are returned, you will likely find yourself astonished at just how much the description sounds like you. So, take the quiz. Learn about your personality, and then be sure to consider what impacts your personality can make on your relationships and in your work. Consider how you can make this knowledge work for you. Remember, knowledge is power. If you know more about yourself, you will be able to sharpen your skills and become more effective than ever before.

You'll find the assessment at the link below.
HumanMetrics - Click "Do It" -

Our New Focus--Organizational Psychology

This blog will undergo a transformation from broad motivation topics to topics on organizational psychology. The forum will also undergo a transformation to mirror the blog and give the subjects/clients a place to correspond with one another.

This blog will provide articles from practical applications from the Upward Network (a network of subjects/clients). The plan will be to implement education acquired through the pursuit of a master's degree in Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology --with a specialization in Organizational Effectiveness. This formal education will be coupled with first hand experience from past/present/future motivation and training of employees. The purpose will be to sharpen motivation/training skills while developing the blog for public use and to also build a strong and effective consulting business at the same time.

The ultimate goal is for the Upward Network to be available to provide motivation and training services to businesses and organizations for a fee by August 2010.