DOES YOUR TALENT FIT YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT?
Albert Einstein once said: “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Sadly, many business people are on career tracks where they feel like a fish being asked to climb a tree.
I used to be one of those people earlier in my professional career, before I discovered which work environment best fits my innate talents. But how about you? Do you work in a “hot” environment that supports your natural abilities? Or are you stuck in a “not” environment that does not allow you to flourish?
Background: Hot or not? In TIPS (Theories, Ideas, People, Systems), Thinkergy’s innovation people profiling method, my profile is that of an “extreme Ideator” — a colourful, creative and entrepreneurial business person who operates at the forefront of change. Twelve years ago I started Thinkergy, an innovation company that allows me to play on my TIPS home base of Ideas and my dominant TIPS style of “flow”. Ever since, I’ve been in a “hot” environment that perfectly suits my preferred styles and natural talents.
But that’s not how I started my professional career. For more than 15 years I tried hard to make a career in banking, an industry I entered to fund my graduate and doctoral studies. I worked hard and did my best to fit in, but at heart I was not a banker. I preferred to think, work, interact, live and even dress differently than the typical banker.
As I know now, the banking industry operates on the opposite TIPS base (Systems) and TIPS style (form) from mine. Big banks favour people who adhere to rules and protocols and don’t rock the boat. In many ways, I am just the opposite. I went from a career that felt DDD (dull, drudgery, de-energising) to one that feels EEE (easy, effortless and enjoyable).
Why is it important to align talent to a hot environment? From a macroeconomic point of view, it’s a giant waste of talent, money and energy invested in education if people lose years or decades of productive work time in a career that isn’t their natural path. On a personal level, it’s a travesty to labour in a DDD job when you could make major meaningful contributions in an EEE career. Fortunately, knowing your TIPS profile can help you to align yourself with a “hot” environment.
What do I mean by “work environment”? The concept can encompass a business function such as marketing, sales or accounting; an industry such as finance, fast-moving consumer goods or consulting; and/or an organisational type such as a startup, a government agency or a non-governmental organisation.
What are “hot” and “not” environments for different profiles? Each of the 11 TIPS profiles has a dominant style, which points you to environments that suit your profile. While we can’t list all the combinations, here are some “hot fits”:
Theorists do well in “smart”, evidence-driven universities, think tanks and research institutions.
Ideators excel at starting new (technology) ventures or working on new product development, content creation or design projects.
Partners shine in people- and service-driven industries such as healthcare, hotels and gastronomy. They also feel at home in NGOs.
Systematisers do well in asset-driven, consolidating industries such as banking, oil and gas, steel, or utilities.
Conceptualisers flourish in industries such as consulting or software development.
Promoters show their creative communication talents in creative industries such as advertising, PR or entertainment.
Organisers ensure smooth operations in industries such as manufacturing, logistics or airlines, where it’s important to pay attention to small details.
Finally, Technocrats can best contribute with their thorough, accurate business minds in administrative, quantitative environments such as accounting and law firms, as well as in government agencies.
Note that every profile also has a “not” environment that suppresses your talents. You can find it diametrically opposite your profile on the TIPS Profiling Map.
So what does this all mean to you? What can you do to check if you’re on a career track that is “hot” or “not”?
Take the TIPS test to find your profile.
Check the section “hot or not” in your profiling report, and see if you’re currently working in an environment that is “hot”, “okay” or “not” for you.
If you find out — as I did years ago — that you’re on the wrong track, check out the recommended “hot” environments and ponder if one entices you.
But if you want to make a change, resist the temptation to do so right away. Instead, first acquire the know-how, skills and contacts needed to succeed in your new field (which should feel highly motivating and empowering to you). Then, once you’re sure that you can earn sufficient income in a new role in your “hot” environment, take the plunge and enjoy the flight.
And here is a special gift to loyal readers of Creativity Un-Limited: the first three readers who write to me will receive a complimentary coupon for a TIPS personality profiling test.
Dr Detlef Reis is the founding director and chief ideator of Thinkergy Limited (www. Thinkergy.com), the Innovation Company in Asia. He is also an assistant professor at the Institute for Knowledge & Innovation-Southeast Asia (IKI-SEA), Bangkok University, and an adjunct associate professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He can be reached at dr.d@thinkergy.com.