Guest Blogger Aaron Marshall shares:
Do you ever catch yourself wondering about your purpose? I sure used to. You might be selling insurance, fixing A/C units, managing H.R. benefits, etc. Your particular job actually isn’t that important in this case.
I believe that in order to fully appreciate working in your career field of choice, you need to operate in the way you were designed.
Over the years, I’ve noticed 5 distinct ways in which I think we are all designed to operate. I also believe our level of satisfaction and sense of purpose (real purpose, not just making money) are closely tied to how often we get to “operate” by our design. I believe you have been designed with one of these gifts and you are amazing at it.
1. The Ignitor – You are excellent at seeing opportunities and defining a vision for the
future. You see potential in others and you can inspire them to join you on your
missions. Putting together a team in order to tackle a problem gets you excited about
the day. Details get in the way and are best solved as they arise rather than spending
too much time on them up front. You can start 6 things simultaneously and keep a pulse
on all of them without getting bogged down in the details of management. You want to
build teams and empower others to lead them using the foundation you’ve laid.
2. The Warrior – You cannot stand by while people are misled or misrepresented. You
stand for justice and you feel an urge to ensure that no one is taken advantage of on
your watch. You won’t allow an organization to make a decision without examining the
second and third order effects. You speak your mind and that’s not always popular but
you’re the person everyone wants in their court. You genuinely do not want things to go
wrong and you will stand up for the “right thing” sometimes at your own expense.
3. The Storyteller – You are able to get other people excited about what you are excited
about. You see people where they are and you have an uncanny ability to recognize
when your words can help someone along their journey. You have a message to
communicate. However, you might never deliver your message the same way twice;
rather you instinctively know how to adapt it to fit the audience. You see the value in
the experiences of others and you add their stories to your own repertoire. You love it
when you have chemistry with others and people love having you around.
4. The Instructor – You take pleasure in seeing someone’s light bulb come on after you
explain a concept. You’re excited by the thought of a smooth operation or a finely tuned
team working in perfect harmony. You can simplify complex systems and break them
down into realistic objectives. You are excited by the opportunity to help people
understand a topic and you have the ability to clearly communicate “what’s most
important”.
5. The Caretaker – You want people to know you have their back. Every person has a
unique life situation and you want them to know that “you see them” and “you’re doing
everything you can to help”. You have a pulse on the entire team and you probably
know how they’re feeling on a day to day basis. You love seeing people stress-free and
living their best life. If they’re not, you want to “do” something to help change that.
Think about the last time you felt fulfilled or that your contribution mattered at work. Maybe
I’m wrong but I’m willing to bet it was because you operated by design. The coolest thing about this list is that it doesn’t limit your ability to operate in any one of these 5 designs. In fact, I believe that the more confident you are in your primary design, the more likely you are to “operate” in any of these as the situation allows.
This also isn’t about personality types or motivations, but rather I believe that these are our
unique gifts that activate our sense of satisfaction and purpose in an organization. These
designs also demonstrate our need for one another and the inherent value of each individual.
When you do something that you are designed to do, it causes you to stand a little straighter, walk a bit more confidently, and smile more.
About the Author:
*Aaron Marshall is the Founder of Extra Mile Billing - to connect with him you can email him here.
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