Back in my days as a young professional one of the firm’s partners caught me off guard when he gave me some advice.
I remember him saying this to me.
“Don’t tell HR this. But the conventional wisdom about focusing on your weaknesses is BS. By now, your weaknesses are never going to be your strengths. My advice to you is to direct almost all your energy towards your strengths. Because it is your strengths that people are going to pay you for and your weaknesses, even with improvement, will never be better than others that possess those same weaknesses as strengths.”
I was 27 and little did I know I’d be in business myself in just a few short years.
This advice was counterintuitive at first. All my professional life up until then I had bought into the mindset of improving on my weaknesses. This is noble, and to a certain age, the right approach. However, probably in your mid to late twenties and after, it’s time to take on board this sage advice passed on to me.
I’ve recently read Sally Hogshead’s best-seller How the world sees you – Discover your highest value through the science of fascination. It has a compelling message and I urge you to read it.
Here is an intro.
How is your personality most likely to impress and influence the person sitting on the other side of the table? Once you know what makes you valuable to others, you’re more authentic and confident, and more likely to make a brilliant impression.
You’ll be able to confidently and authentically communicate, based on your natural personality advantages. To become more successful, you don’t have to change who you are. You have to become more of who you are. HOW THE WORLD SEES YOU reveals who you are at your best, so you can create better relationships, grow your business, and become intensely valuable to those who matter most.
The book is based on research conducted by Kelton Research on Fortune 100 Companies. The research focused on over 1,000 Americans based on understanding the relationship between fascination and decision making regarding brand choice, careers, relationships and personal branding.
The book identifies 7 advantages of fascination:
• Innovation
• Passion
• Power
• Prestige
• Trust
• Mystique
• Alert
While all of us have elements of each of these seven primary archetypes, we have a dominant archetype. We also have a secondary archetype within the seven advantages. The combination of our primary and secondary archetypes determines one of 49 personality archetypes (7 primary advantages x 7 secondary advantages).
Knowing your personality archetype helps you to focus on what makes you most fascinating to the world. This helps you to spend time on your advantages. Knowing this advantage provides an edge and can make you more successful.
There is a Fascination Advantage Assessment for free included with the book (you can purchase online but it costs more than the book) which provides an assessment of your personality archetype.
I took the test…… Spoiler alert!
My primary advantage is INNOVATION and my secondary advantage is PRESTIGE.
INNOVATION + PRESTIGE = THE TRENDSETTER
Here’s what the book says about The Trendsetter as a personality archetype:
Trendsetters prefer breakthrough to incremental innovation. Their ability to reformulate products, processes and business models is a distinct advantage. They impress with their intellect and inventiveness.
You’ll like to turn to Trendsetters in uncertain times. They are able to see opportunities where others see only threats. They’re able to turn a company’s weakness into a strength by adapting your product offering to changing conditions.
Trendsetters’ implement change with determination. They have an ability to see things in a different light. They change your perception of what business you’re in.
Understanding your personality archetype is powerful as you begin to strategize ways of utilizing your fascination advantage. The book also explains how to work with other personality archetypes.
And finally I discovered who my kryptonite archetype is – MYSTIQUE – the personality archetype that I find most challenging to deal with.
This stuff is great to know.
So I recommend you buy the book How the world sees you by Sally Hogshead. The book includes a free personality profile. You can learn more at www.howtofascinate.com
I’d love to hear your personality archetype so please post it on my blog or social media.
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Cheers, Darren K Bourke