Optimizing Soul Does this sound like you? Are you highly visual? Are you unconventional, and do you gravitate to things that are unusual or unique? Have you or would you like to remodel a house? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts: If you are an Optimizing Soul, your decision process is designed to refine, improve, renovate, renew, and rethink everything - what you have, what you do, and how you do it. You are an amazing problem solver. You love to think outside the box and are drawn to ideas that are new, unique and original. You can combine seemingly unrelated things or see relationships between things in new ways that allows you to be truly innovative. You probably learn best from hands-on experience rather than from books or lectures. You are highly visual, and can have artistic talents.
What you need to be most successful: Your work will feel more fulfilling if you have the freedom you need for innovative problem solving. Look for roles where you can rethink and improve existing processes or things. You are highly creativity and you may rely on unconventional methods, combinations, or approaches regardless of existing rules or protocols. You will need freedom and independence in your work environment to take best advantage of this ability to think outside the box, so you are less likely to be happy in environments that are highly regulated, repetitive, bound by tradition or strictly defined. You will most likely chose freedom and independence over safety and may resist being micro-managed.
Expressive Soul Does this sound like you? Are you at home on stage or in front of others? Do you have a natural talent for expressing yourself with words, story, drama or metaphor? Do you hate to lose? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts:
As an Expressive Soul, you are influential and persuasive. You are often are able to express with words exactly what others may be feeling but haven’t yet identified. You can give voice to other’s thoughts and help them make sense out of their feelings, tapping into shared experiences that can connect and unify people around a cause or idea. Rather than focusing on facts, you focus on the moral or insight of the story you are telling. You can usually communicate your ideas successfully either in person or in writing. You are great with words, and may read a lot.
What you need to be most successful:
The best environment for you is one where decision making and action steps happen quickly. You have a talent for the creative expression of ideas but you will be most successful when you have partners or team members who are more practical types that can help with the mundane details of business and the hands-on aspects of creativity. You are a big picture thinker, so too many practical details may frustrate you.
You are individualistic and place great importance on personal freedom and self-expression. Because of your independent work style, you may be intolerant of micromanagement. The way you see it, you understand what's been asked of you, and all you require is the freedom to accomplish your goals. Following rules and tradition generally won’t work for you so stay away from roles and organizations that are extremely rule-bound – you evaluate ideas against your internal values and you decide for yourself what seems right.
Learning style Does this sound like you? Do you develop deep knowledge about the subjects that interest you? Are you pragmatic and practical? Do you have or have you considered getting an advanced degree? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts: Learning Souls love new ideas and are fascinated by what they don’t yet know. They are able to remain objective and open-minded. They are highly analytical and able to grasp complexities. They enjoy the mental exercise found in questioning the prevailing mode of thought, making them irreplaceable in reworking existing systems. Their curiosity and thirst for knowledge pushes them in clever new directions.
As a learning Soul you have the ability to develop a deep knowledge and understanding of the subject areas that you find relevant to your decision process. And you will seek out all available input and information about a topic before coming to a conclusion. You have a talent for figuring things out, and your expertise and analytic mind make you an excellent problem solver.
What you need to be most successful: Your work will feel more fulfilling if it gives you the opportunity to learn new things and if you are in a position to develop and use your expertise. You would thrive in roles where there are lots of meaty, complicated problems to solve. You need interesting work that engages your curiosity and makes you think about things in depth. Look for industries and roles where expertise and knowledge are important such as technology, research, science and education. You might prefer a role that doesn’t require a lot of personal change– you would probably rather not deviate from you accustomed path all that much.
Experimenting Soul Does this sound like you? Are you drawn to exploration and adventure? Do you drive somewhat aggressively? Do you feel satisfaction and take pride in self-discipline? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts: As an Experimenting Soul, you are an energetic risk-taker that is driven to action, which gives you the ability to create a tidal wave of momentum towards progress. You are direct, assertive, skeptical and pragmatic, and you will tell others exactly what you think. You are a realist that learns by doing rather than from textbooks. You excel at action-oriented tasks which require detailed logical analysis and technical or mechanical skill. You probably live in the here-and-now, focusing on action in the moment and placing less importance on introspection or theory. Long-term goals are less interesting than tangible results in the moment since you enjoy solving practical problems quickly.
What you need to be most successful: Your work will feel more fulfilling if you have the freedom to take action and if your work provides practical avenues for growth, change and variety. You might find fulfillment in the feeling of self-discipline that comes from working very hard under a demanding, rigorous schedule.
The best environment for your soul type is fast-paced and free from too many rules and restrictions. Most of the time you probably see rules, laws and established ways of doing things as guidelines for behavior rather than mandates, and your desire to act may take precedence over the rules. You need a role where you can explore and conquer. You could be an entrepreneur, or if you work for others, you will get along best with a manager or leader that is decisive and willing to take risks.
Efficient Soul Does this sound like you? Is work your primary hobby? Are you comfortable being assertive and taking charge? Are you usually able to take standardized tests quickly? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts: If you are an Efficient Soul, you are a long-range thinker with an excellent ability to translate theories and possibilities into solid plans of action. You are organized in your thinking and in life – you probably dislike messiness and inefficiency. You excel at logical reasoning, plan well and consider all contingencies. You value knowledge and competence. You can grasp complex situations, absorb vast amounts of information quickly, be very decisive, and adapt in real time.
You are most likely assertive and comfortable taking charge. You might see your role as organizing people and processes to achieve your goals. Your decisiveness, your ability to see future possibilities, and your confident demeanor add up to make you a charismatic leader. You are very self-assured in what you know and what you can do.
What you need to be most successful: Your work will feel more fulfilling if you can see how your contribution fits into the overall business strategy and if you agree with your organization’s strategic direction. The best environment for you is one where you have ownership and accountability for your part – or perhaps all of the business. You would most likely be happiest in a fast moving business and industry with room for upward mobility. You will have an easier working relationship with people who are not too thin-skinned since your approach may sometimes be brusque and could ruffle feathers with more sensitive people.
Coaching Soul Does this sound like you? Does your work involve directly serving the health, wellbeing, needs, or development of others? Is your life centered on your family and friends? Are you good at organizing and developing processes to manage work that you are responsible for? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts: As a Coaching soul, you are most interested in individual connections with people. You are able to bring out the best in others by enabling their growth and development and inspiring their best contributions. You are able to see past the self-limitations that hold people back and focus in on what is best about them. For you, those qualities that you admire in someone become who they are to you. Because you see them that way, you hold the space for them to become their best selves. You are probably expressive, open-minded, tolerant, and have the easy sociability that allows you to relate to others easily.
A quick learner and excellent multitasker, you are able to take on multiple responsibilities with competence and good cheer. You are hardworking, reliable and eager to help, and can be good at anything that captures your interest. You can be organized and put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done.
What you need to be most successful: Your work will feel more fulfilling if you have friendships with others at work. Look for roles that that give you the opportunity to have meaningful interactions with others. You have a knack for organization and processes and you take care to deliberately think through the best way to do things, so you will be happiest if you feel you have control over your area of responsibility and can run things in the way that you think is most effective. The best environment for you would be organizations that prioritize the happiness and wellbeing of their employees.
Collaborative Soul Does this sound like you? Do you offer your time to help, teach, or organize others? Do you feel energized when you’re around groups of people? Are you sentimental about things, objects, or people from your past? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, then you’ve probably found the right soul type.
Some of your creative gifts: As a Collaborative Soul, you have the ability to pull people together, creating communities and connections. You step into this leading role through the integrity of your actions. You strive to set a perfect example, modeling the same behaviors that you want to see in others and that bind a team, group or community together.
You have a buoyant enthusiasm for life. You may enjoy travel for the lived experience and interaction with people and cultures. You may be socially outgoing and enjoy being involved in your community.
You may be very compassionate and forgiving which can make you a great diplomat, able to mediate or prevent conflict. You can find compromises and navigate complex, conflicted organizations. You take the time to build consensus and make sure that the concerns of each stakeholder have been considered.
What you need to be most successful: In most cases, the best environment for you is a more mature business with established processes and procedures. Start-ups might be more risk-oriented than you would prefer.
You will want to take advantage of opportunities for greater experience and have a desire to develop yourself and feel progress toward to your highest potential. You won’t be happy in a role or organization that feels stagnant – you need room to grow.
While your interests most likely gravitate around people, you will most enjoy efforts that lift everyone up in a rising tide rather than focusing on one person at a time. Your work will feel more fulfilling if you are part of a well-coordinated team.
You may feel naturally at home in front of large groups of people and find fulfillment in roles that let you take advantage of this skill.
You can find out more about your soul type and how you can free yourself from doubt in my new book Undoubtedly Awesome Comments
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.