Career Match: Connecting Who You Are with What You'll Love to Do

ISBN-13: 9780814438152

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: AMACOM

Publication Date: 06-22-2017

Pages: 304

Product Dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

Age Range: 18 Years

Shoya Zichy is a respected career coach and past president of the Myers-Briggs Association of New York. Her Color Q personality system has helped hundreds of thousands worldwide and been featured in Fortune, Barron's, USA Today, and on CNN. Ann Bidou is the coauthor of Personality Power and Your Own Terms.

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Career Match

Connecting Who You Are with What You'll Love to Do

AMACOM

Don't Read the Whole Book

THIS IS NOT YOUR typical career book. The Color Q system doesn't change people, but it does change how they view themselves. You will not be told to be more organized, to assert yourself, imitate your boss, or emulate some celebrity CEO. You will not even have to change how you dress. Instead, every word will move you to operate from your deepest, most natural talents, fueling the passion that separates good workers from great achievers. You just need to recognize your strengths and use them on a daily basis.

Sound easy? It's not. Most of us come loaded down with guilt and parental/societal expectations that push us in unnatural directions. Did pressures like money, prestige, educational opportunity, or family desires force you into making more "practical" choices? If doing so hasn't made you happy, then what will?

You need to get back to your core and make it work in the workplace. Define this core by taking the Color Q self assessment in chapter 2 and being bluntly honest. For many of you it will be career altering, if you answer as you really are. Please note that a preference is not "1 generally work with piles, but 1'd prefer if 1 kept my desk clean." What you actually do is what you prefer.

You do not need to read the whole book, unless you want to explore all sixteen Color Q personality types. Learning a little about other people's styles, however, will help you in:

* Job or promotion interviews

* Team projects

* Salary/contract negotiations

* Sales

* Boss/coworker conflicts

* Dates

* Family relations

The theory behind the Color Q system has been tested for decades on millions of people worldwide. It has changed lives and altered careers, including those of both authors of this book. If it changes your life, as we think it will, we'd like to know. Your story is as significant as the ones included in this book. Email me at Zichy@earthlink.net and check out my website at www.ColorQPersonalities.com.

The Color Q Personality Style Self Assessment

Instructions: Part I

IN THE COLOR Q personality profiling system, you have a primary personality Color. This is who you are at your core. You also have a backup Color — a strong secondary influence. Finally, you have an Introvert or Extrovert tendency. Color Q describes people, for example, as Green/Red Introverts. This ten-minute either/or self assessment will reveal all three aspects of your personality.

Select one of the two choices in each line according to your first impulse, which is usually correct; but choose as you are, not as you would like to be. Don't overanalyze your choice. There are no right or wrong answers. Think of this like your left or right hand. While you can use both, you have a preference for one over the other, and you use that hand with less effort and better results. If you are truly torn between the two choices, it may mean you either feel guilty about your honest answer or feel pressured to function in a certain way.

First, fill out Section 1, choosing what you (not your boss, mate, parents, or anyone else) prefer. Choose from column A or column B. Each A or B choice must be filled in by choosing the statement that describes you at least 51 percent of the time. You should wind up with nine checkmarks total in this section.

Instructions: Part II

Now read the short overview of your primary Color below. Does it ring true? If yes, continue to part III to determine your backup style. If not, skip down to part V, "What to Do If This Doesn't Ring True for You."

Golds (46% of population)

Grounded, realistic, and accountable, Golds are the backbone of institutions of all kinds — corporate and public. They are society's protectors and administrators who value procedures, respect the chain of command, and have finely tuned systems for everything. From raising children to running large divisions, Golds get involved in details and are known for following through and mobilizing others to achieve concrete goals. They are most interested in making lists, planning in advance, and dealing with what has worked in the past.

Blues (10% of the population)

Theoretical, competitive, and always driven to acquire more knowledge and competence, Blues are unequaled when it comes to dealing with complex, theoretical issues and designing new systems. As natural skeptics, their first reaction is to criticize and set their benchmarks against which they measure everyone and everything. They are highly precise in thought and language, trusting only logic, not the rules or procedures of the past. Blues are future-oriented visionaries who do best in positions requiring strategic thinking. Then they move on with little interest in maintenance.

Reds (27% of the population)

Action-oriented, spontaneous, and focused on "now," Reds need freedom to follow their impulses, which they trust over the judgment of others. Cool headed and ever courageous, they get things done and handle a crisis better than most. Found in careers that provide freedom, action, variety, and the unexpected, they bring excitement and a sense of expediency. Work must be fun and the environment collegial for them. Reds resist schedules and hierarchies. Long-term planning is a low priority for them, as each day brings its own agenda.

Greens (17% of the population)

Creative, empathetic, and humanistic, Greens need an environment that is idea oriented and egalitarian and that provides the chance to impact the lives of others. Gifted in their understanding of people's motivations, they have an unusual ability to influence and draw the best out of others. They also excel in verbal and written communications and in the ability to position ideas. Greens are enthusiastic spokespersons for the organizations of their choice, and have a unique, charismatic quality that sweeps others into their causes.

Instructions: Part III

Now that you have determined your primary style, go back to the assessment and fill out the section you originally left out (Section II or III). This will provide you with your backup style. You should share about 40 to 50 percent of the characteristics of your backup style. The backup style refines your primary style.

If your primary is Gold or Red, your backup is either Blue or Green.

If your primary is Blue or Green, your backup is either Gold or Red.

My primary style is ____________. My backup style is ____________.

Instructions: Part IV

From each pair of statements, choose one from the left or right column. You should wind up with seven checkmarks in this section.

More About the Extrovert and Introvert

Since the Extrovert/Introvert dimension is often misunderstood, it is worth explaining further. First of all, it appears to be biologically based and has nothing to do with liking people or being socially adept.

Extroverts (which Jung and the Myers-Briggs community spells "extraverts") get their energy from being with people and doing group activities. If they have to spend too much time alone or doing tasks that require solitude, they quickly become tired, bored, and dispirited. Introverts get energized from their inner resources, that is, spending time alone to recharge their internal batteries. Even if they like being with people, which most Introverts do, interacting too much can drain their energy.

The population divides fairly equally between Extroverts and Introverts, and many hide their natural preference well. An Introvert who needs to socialize for business can appear Extroverted to casual acquaintances. We all use both dimensions, but not at the same time. Also, as your score will indicate, you may be mild or pronounced in this dimension. Relationships between the two are often tense until this dimension is understood and valued.

Next Step

lf your overview sounds right, read about your primary Color first: Greens in chapter 4, Reds in chapter 9, Blues in chapter 14, and Golds in chapter 19. Then read your individual chapter, which is one of the four immediately following your primary Color.

If you want to delve deeper, read about your backup Color. For skeptical Blues, reading chapter 3, "A Quick History of Personality Typing," might be your first stop so you don't feel you're wasting your time on an unproven methodology. Greens may want to skip straight to their individual chapter, and then into chapter 24, "Before l Do Something Stupid: Adjusting to Other Styles," to learn about other Colors. Golds will prefer to follow the recommendations above, and reading one chapter a day will allow you to absorb and review this material. Reds, we know the self assessment wasn't all that much fun, but your individual chapter will be. Go there now and skim it; you'll see it can be quite entertaining.

What to Do If This Doesn't Ring True for You: Part V

Your personality Color is simply who you really are when not pressured by family, friends, or work life. But if the majority of characteristics do not ring true, it is likely that you belong to another group.

Go back to the self assessment and check the section where you had close scores. Did you answer the way others need you to be? Or as you feel you ought (instead of prefer) to be? That creates false results. Choose the opposite column choice and follow instructions to a new Color. If that fits better, go up to Section III and continue.

Or, see if a family member or friend who knows you well agrees with your self assessment. You might be very surprised, as one lawyer was when her friend of thirty years corrected her answers to most of her self assessment. The lawyer didn't want to admit to her real preferences for piles on her desk and last-minute deadline rushes. Remember, we're not judging you here, or even suggesting that you need to change. And what you categorize as a weakness actually might be a strength — for example, the tendency to focus primarily on short rather than long term goals.

People are multifaceted. Though everyone has a predominant type, people may be one of several shades of that style. A person may be a strong Gold with a Blue backup. Another might be a light Gold and hence not as pronounced a Gold. Also, as you get older, you develop the nonpreferred parts of your personality and may appear less Gold than in younger years.

If you are going through catastrophic life changes or have been dissatisfied with your life for some time, scores can reflect your survival skills and not your real preferences. You may have "forgotten" your real preferences, although unhappiness is a signal that they're being denied. Try answering as if, right now, you lived in the world of your choice. If your personality Color still seems wrong, wait until things have stabilized and retest yourself.

A Quick History of Personality Typing

CATEGORIZING PERSONALITIES into types — an activity called typology — has been embraced by major civilizations since ancient times. For more than twenty centuries, scientists and scholars have recognized that while individual people are unique, there are predictable patterns of human behavior. Around 400 BC, the Greeks, most notably Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Galen, believed human behaviors fell into four groups, or "humors": sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic, and choleric.

In the 1920s, the pioneering Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, who had been a favorite student of Sigmund Freud's, split away and developed his own typology. According to Jung, human beings' four ways of intersecting with reality were thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition, which he outlined in his book Psychological Types, published in 1921. He called these the four "functions."

Jung spent most of his life studying how people are similar and different. He concluded that certain inborn or early emerging preferences become the steadfast core of our likes and dislikes about other humans and the physical world. He further described each of these functions as being used in either the outer or inner world and hence in different ways, concluding that each person has one of eight mental processes as the most preferred or dominant.

Jung's theories were abstract. Fortunately, in the 1940s, a mother and daughter team began to provide a practical key to unlocking his work. These two U.S. women, Isabel Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs, individually and together spent the next forty years testing Jung's ideas by observing the people around them. They quantified their observations, then rigorously tested and validated them. They created the most extensively tested personality typing system ever developed, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) inventory, which to date has been administered to millions of people around the world.

In the 1950s, another typology enthusiast, David Keirsey, did work that overlaid the Greek humors onto the Jungian/Myers-Briggs types. In his book Please Understand Me, he outlined four temperament groups, which serve as the basis of the Color Q model in this book. Since then, his work has been expanded by his longtime student Linda Berens, who continues to provide a rich array of new insights.

Today, work on the MBTI is continued by the next generation, Peter and Katharine Myers, co-owners of the MBTI copyrights.

"The Jungian model is an excellent nonthreatening tool for developing career goals," said Katharine Myers in a recent interview. "Extensive research shows that certain types more than others are drawn to each career. However, since every type is found in every field, no one should be told not to go into any specific career. If an individual is strongly drawn to a profession, he or she needs to be clear on the tasks inherent in the job and then evaluate what their skills will contribute." It is not uncommon for people to create special niches in areas dominated by other types.

Myers is a Green, as defined in chapter 4. And like many in her group, she excels at fostering the growth of others.

Meanwhile, modern brain imaging technology has validated many of the MBTI's theories by showing how chemicals and activity in different parts of the brain impact behavior. Most importantly, it has been demonstrated that Jung was indeed correct. While each person is unique, a part of that person — a core, if you will — is solid and steady. It is that core that the MBTI, and the Color Q system, define and apply to a multitude of life issues.

I developed Color Q as a quick introduction to the concepts of personality typing. When running team-building and leadership seminars for my corporate clients like the U.S. Treasury, Bank of America, Northern Trust, Merrill Lynch, the Government of Pennsylvania Leadership Institute, UBS, and Prudential Insurance, among others, I also asked participants to fill out an investment questionnaire. From this pool of knowledge emerged the Money Q profiles, which explain how different personality types approach money and compensation. Several results of this proprietary research are presented in chapter 26, which sheds light on how individuals approach the financial negotiation aspects of their job search.

Greens Overall

GREENS REPRESENT approximately 17 percent of the overall world population. If you are not a Green but would like to learn how to identify and communicate with one, go to figure 4–1.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney understands that leadership and success come from first mastering the issues, cultivating alliances, and then mustering all your resources. For nine terms she has represented the 12th district of New York City in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2015, the nonpartisan website Govtrack.us ranked her as the number one Democrat in the House for leadership and the number two member in Congress for the number of cosponsors her bills and resolutions attracted. She was the first woman to chair the Joint Economic Committee and is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of economic policy, financial services, national security, and women's issues. She was the powerhouse behind the landmark credit card reform legislation that an independent study found saves consumers $12 billion annually.

"I have learned how to pull together bipartisan support, and that has really been the key in passing many important bills that people thought could never overcome the opposition of special interests," says Maloney, demonstrating the Green/Red's dynamic initiation and ability to persuade. Her alliance with Republican Marcia Blackburn of Tennessee to pass a bill aimed at establishing a National Women's History Museum is one good example of her ability to reach across the aisle, find areas of agreement, and build alliances. In one session alone, she introduced over seventy pieces of legislation, tying the record for the most from any legislator.

Her tireless efforts over the course of a decade led to the passage of a bill that provided badly needed healthcare for New York's ailing 9/11 first responders. Her dogged perseverance won her plaudits and admiration around the world. "If you believe passionately in and understand fully the importance of the goal," says Maloney, "it's not work. And no obstacle can withstand the unwavering determination of a united people committed to a just cause." She is also proud of having helped draft the Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Report Act, which changed the structure of the U.S. intelligence system.

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Excerpted from Career Match by Shoya Zichy, Ann Bidou. Copyright © 2017 Shoya Zichy. Excerpted by permission of AMACOM.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Introduction VII

Acknowledgments XI

People Profiled XIII

PART 1  The Jump Start: Defining Yourself and Others 1

CHAPTER 1 Don't Read the Whole Book 2

CHAPTER 2 The Color Q Personality Style Self Assessment 4

CHAPTER 3 A Quick History of Personality Typing 13

PART 2  Greens: "Let's Humanize It" 17

CHAPTER 4 Greens Overall 18

CHAPTER 5 Green/Gold Extroverts 24

CHAPTER 6 Green/Gold Introverts 36

CHAPTER 7 Green/Red Extroverts 47

CHAPTER 8 Green/Red Introverts 60

PART 3  Reds: "Let's Do It Now" 71

CHAPTER 9 Reds Overall 72

CHAPTER 10 Red/Blue Extroverts 78

CHAPTER 11 Red/Blue Introverts 90

CHAPTER 12 Red/Green Extroverts 102

CHAPTER 13 Red/Green Introverts 116

PART 4  Blues: "Let's Change It" 127

CHAPTER 14 Blues Overall 128

CHAPTER 15 Blue/Gold Extroverts 134

CHAPTER 16 Blue/Gold Introverts 146

CHAPTER 17 Blue/Red Extroverts 160

CHAPTER 18 Blue/Red Introverts 173

PART 5  Golds: "Let's Do It Right" 185

CHAPTER 19 Golds Overall 186

CHAPTER 20 Gold/Blue Extroverts 192

CHAPTER 21 Gold/Blue Introverts 206

CHAPTER 22 Gold/Green Extroverts 221

CHAPTER 23 Gold/Green Introverts 234

PART 6  Getting the Job 247

CHAPTER 24 Before I Do Something Stupid: Adjusting to Other Styles 248

CHAPTER 25 Would I Make a Good Entrepreneur? 253

CHAPTER 26 Money and Compensation 262

PART 7  Creating a Customized Roadmap for Your Professional Life 267

CHAPTER 27 A Roadmap for Putting It All Together 268

Notes 273

Bibliography and Resources 277

Index 283

About the Authors 290