Following your passion is terrible advice and why you should rely on your strengths.
People saying "Follow your passion" have made billions in iron ore smelting. In business and career, we should rely on strengths. [1]
Having found oneself strength we become good and then best at what we do. Being the best at something creates success, success means we love what we do and then passion is born.
Unfortunately, many people don't know their strengths, their spots of brilliance.
Strengths point to where you perform better than others
I recently talked to a job-seeking professional. He had several interviews but he didn't get the job. He was seeking advice from me. But as many folks, he was missing clarity:
- He didn't enjoy his current job (neither did the next one).
- He applied for jobs that sounded interesting.
- He didn't know what is his biggest asset.
- He wasn't having any specific goals.
The bottom line: he was lost. I felt it and the interviewers, too. The first step is to get to know and understand yourself better. Take a personality test. It will reveal plenty of things and the more honest you answer the more honest the result is.
Jonas Enge
About the result: Keep in mind that there is no good or bad result. There is a continuous spectrum, e. g. being introvert or extrovert - there is nothing good or bad about either of them.
I have seen that people reject the result. To be honest the younger the people the more they reject. The reason is that their character is formed and they lack experience. The older a participant the more feedback they have experienced and they agree.
Find career options using your proven strengths
You have found your strengths? Great. And now? It's all about your options.
I studied physics but I didn't go for a scientific career. I was aware of my analytical and technical skills. So where to apply? Or later I was an IT-Consultant and consultancy is a broad field. What were my options?
Of course, the first step is to ask a more experienced person. Most often it is your manager or supervisor. This option is limiting. Ask your best wingman ChatGPT because it aggregates knowledge.
Use this prompt - (frankly speaking, I am positively shocked by the great results):
I want you to be a career coach. I am a [put job in here]. In addition keep in mind that I studied [research area] and I am interested in [topic of interest] and my strength is [put a list of strength]. Please list my career option starting with my current role as well as my background and interests.
Read the results and let them sink in. What does sound most matching or appealing to you? Which to pick? Read on.
Strengths + Interests + Need + Money= Career Ikigai
But why is this all important: The strengths, the career options, etc.? In the 19th century, workers were focussing on economic stability - getting the bills paid. Indeed, today the bills are still there but we are "knowledge workers."
In the 20th century, we all have jobs, a salary, and job security. We seek different things - that's the reason my client was searching for a new job.
The Effective Executive, Peter F. Drucker.
Working 40 years and not knowing why, not knowing the values we are following makes us feel empty and useless. It influences our mental health.
A way is the career Ikigai - the reason for being.
The old Japanese Ikigai Concept summaries all the different dimensions:
What we are good at - strength.
What we love - interests.
What the world needs - challenge.
What we can be paid for - job.
Once you find your Ikigai, it is like a rock - huge, stable, and lasts forever. Hence, take the result of ChatGPT, read it and find 3 spot which match your Ikigai.
You will be the unbeatable person in a room. It is a transformation like with my clientx going from:
"I am seeking a new challenge and opportunity in my career."
to
"I love to work on the topic [name the topic] and with my strength [name strength] I push the boundaries in each team."
Whom would you hire?
The Career Playbook Rule
Know your strength. Play it.
[2] Effective Executive, Peter Drucker
[3] Ikigai - The Japanes Secret to a long and Happy life, Héctor Garcia and Francesc Miralles