A641.8.3.RB - Personal Balance Sheet
My Distinctive Strengths
Planning / Organization
Hardworking
Mature / Logical
Personable
Personal finance management
Potential Strengths
Creativity
Asset management
Strategic thinking / planning
Enduring Dispositions
Calm / level-headed in stressful situations
Analytical
Strong relationship skills
My Liabilities
Don’t get personally invested in jobs
Don’t network
Don’t ask for help
Weaknesses I Want to Change
Bad/no long-range career planning
Indecisive
Cynical about unknowns
Hesitant to deviate from “the plan”
Enduring Dispositions that Get in My Way
Being overly averse to risk
In developing my personal balance sheet, I quickly noted that, although I have the work ethic and drive to accomplish large tasks in my personal life, I often don’t put the same amount of effort or focus into my professional work or goals. I also don’t put myself “out there” in ways that could help me develop that skill.
In examining my assets, I realized that I want to build my creativity and strategic mind professionally. My enduring disposition for analysis and ability to stay calm under pressure should help in that area, but there’s more to it than that. For example, I have a skill for relationship-building, but I don’t tend to use that to ask for help or mentorship at work. Being that the foundation is already there for the human-connection side, it theoretically should be relatively easy to expand that skill in ways that welcome rather than ignore the idea that leaning on/trusting others can often be rewarding and mutually beneficial. I realized that reducing the impact of some of my weaknesses could actually work to embolden some of my existing strengths.
My personal liabilities were a little tougher to nail down initially, but once I landed on a few, the rest came easily and worked to highlight patterns: 1) that I historically have not put enough work into planning my future, 2) that I avoid risk, sometimes at the cost of what I really want, and 3) that I’m wary of leaning on others for help. That last one is especially important for me to acknowledge, I think, because I’ve already been consciously trying to overcome the first two. The third, though, is different, and it’s a steeper mountain to climb.
Having never seen myself as a “joiner,” I’ve avoided things like professional clubs and networking groups like the plague, seeing them as disingenuous. I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older, though, that no one is successful in a vacuum, and that even if a person’s initial reason for joining groups like these is self-serving and careerist, it doesn’t mean that the friendships formed after that point are fake. I see, logically, that groups like these can work to expand a person’s options and opportunities, while also offering a social element, and that’s all good stuff. Now, I just need to get past the emotional resistance to it.
Turning this weakness into a strength will take a little time, but the path toward doing so seems easy: Join some clubs! Ask for help/guidance when you need it. Be open to people, and let yourself be surprised. Following these steps, I’m sure, will correct this bad habit quickly, and hopefully, over time, I’ll feel little to no hesitancy in looking to others for support. But “a personal learning agenda is about more than just having a plan of how to change; it about an emotional commitment to move from your current situation” (Careers, 2011). In other words, it isn’t enough to simply go through the motions — you have to embrace, live and embody the concept of change.
As for my other weaknesses — namely, that I generally don’t get emotionally invested in jobs, that I’ve been risk-averse, and that I have avoided making long-term career plans — the way to “fix” those faults seems pretty simple. I just need to do the opposite, a project which I’ve been intentionally working on this past year. I’m determined to make my degree here count, and that has led me to start outlining a post-graduation plan to research, seek out guidance from people more experienced than me, develop a timeline for change and, finally, commit. Committing can often be the toughest part for me, but I know that once I do, I go all in, and that’s when I’m at my best. “Decades of research on the effects of psychotherapy, self-help programs, cognitive behavior therapy, training programs, and education have shown that people can change their behavior, moods, and self-image” (Boyatzis, 2016). But without intentionally putting in the work, and committing to the person you ultimately want to be, change would be impossible.
Boyatzis, R. (2016). Unleashing the power of intentional change. Retrieved from: http://infokf.kornferry.com/rs/494-VUC-482/images/EI_UnleashingThePower_RB_2016.pdf
Careers in Theory. (2011). Intentional change: How does change happen? Retrieved from https://careersintheory.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/intentional-change/
Planning / Organization
Hardworking
Mature / Logical
Personable
Personal finance management
Potential Strengths
Creativity
Asset management
Strategic thinking / planning
Enduring Dispositions
Calm / level-headed in stressful situations
Analytical
Strong relationship skills
My Liabilities
Don’t get personally invested in jobs
Don’t network
Don’t ask for help
Weaknesses I Want to Change
Bad/no long-range career planning
Indecisive
Cynical about unknowns
Hesitant to deviate from “the plan”
Enduring Dispositions that Get in My Way
Being overly averse to risk
In developing my personal balance sheet, I quickly noted that, although I have the work ethic and drive to accomplish large tasks in my personal life, I often don’t put the same amount of effort or focus into my professional work or goals. I also don’t put myself “out there” in ways that could help me develop that skill.
In examining my assets, I realized that I want to build my creativity and strategic mind professionally. My enduring disposition for analysis and ability to stay calm under pressure should help in that area, but there’s more to it than that. For example, I have a skill for relationship-building, but I don’t tend to use that to ask for help or mentorship at work. Being that the foundation is already there for the human-connection side, it theoretically should be relatively easy to expand that skill in ways that welcome rather than ignore the idea that leaning on/trusting others can often be rewarding and mutually beneficial. I realized that reducing the impact of some of my weaknesses could actually work to embolden some of my existing strengths.
My personal liabilities were a little tougher to nail down initially, but once I landed on a few, the rest came easily and worked to highlight patterns: 1) that I historically have not put enough work into planning my future, 2) that I avoid risk, sometimes at the cost of what I really want, and 3) that I’m wary of leaning on others for help. That last one is especially important for me to acknowledge, I think, because I’ve already been consciously trying to overcome the first two. The third, though, is different, and it’s a steeper mountain to climb.
Having never seen myself as a “joiner,” I’ve avoided things like professional clubs and networking groups like the plague, seeing them as disingenuous. I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older, though, that no one is successful in a vacuum, and that even if a person’s initial reason for joining groups like these is self-serving and careerist, it doesn’t mean that the friendships formed after that point are fake. I see, logically, that groups like these can work to expand a person’s options and opportunities, while also offering a social element, and that’s all good stuff. Now, I just need to get past the emotional resistance to it.
Turning this weakness into a strength will take a little time, but the path toward doing so seems easy: Join some clubs! Ask for help/guidance when you need it. Be open to people, and let yourself be surprised. Following these steps, I’m sure, will correct this bad habit quickly, and hopefully, over time, I’ll feel little to no hesitancy in looking to others for support. But “a personal learning agenda is about more than just having a plan of how to change; it about an emotional commitment to move from your current situation” (Careers, 2011). In other words, it isn’t enough to simply go through the motions — you have to embrace, live and embody the concept of change.
As for my other weaknesses — namely, that I generally don’t get emotionally invested in jobs, that I’ve been risk-averse, and that I have avoided making long-term career plans — the way to “fix” those faults seems pretty simple. I just need to do the opposite, a project which I’ve been intentionally working on this past year. I’m determined to make my degree here count, and that has led me to start outlining a post-graduation plan to research, seek out guidance from people more experienced than me, develop a timeline for change and, finally, commit. Committing can often be the toughest part for me, but I know that once I do, I go all in, and that’s when I’m at my best. “Decades of research on the effects of psychotherapy, self-help programs, cognitive behavior therapy, training programs, and education have shown that people can change their behavior, moods, and self-image” (Boyatzis, 2016). But without intentionally putting in the work, and committing to the person you ultimately want to be, change would be impossible.
References
Boyatzis, R. (2016). Unleashing the power of intentional change. Retrieved from: http://infokf.kornferry.com/rs/494-VUC-482/images/EI_UnleashingThePower_RB_2016.pdf
Careers in Theory. (2011). Intentional change: How does change happen? Retrieved from https://careersintheory.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/intentional-change/
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