Actually, I’m not always right

We are all essentially blind-sided by the limits of being human.  We can only know what we feel, observe, and think.  Everything else is actually an assumption.  So of course we experience everything through the lens of our experience and personality.

Why so philosophical today, you might ask?

Because this point is critical to your job search.  If you only see yourself from your own perspective, guess what, you’re probably looking in a distorted mirror.

Naturally the prospects who come to the Barrett Group tend to be more outgoing and comfortable with self-promotion.  These are typically high D and/or high I people (in DISC terms).  They are often relatively extroverted and willing to speak quite readily about their experience and their opinions.  They may also suffer from thinking that they already have all the answers.  That is why we adopt a coaching approach, asking questions to see if they really do have all the answers.

Usually, they don’t.

Recently I spoke with a journalist, my colleague Julie Norwell. She interviews our clients after they land and develops the Success Studies you will find on our website.  I asked her if she could summarize the impressions that she has gained from conducting scores of these interviews with successful clients.

What do they say about the Barrett Group?

Julie readily reeled off a number of statements that gave us all a warm glow.

Here is a simple summary:

1. Our clients have researched the career change market and discovered that our service is unique and by far the most comprehensive and effective in the world.
2. Most clients enter the first stage (“Targeting,” a.k.a, The Clarity Program©) thinking they do not really need it because they are already clear on their targets. But they leave the program feeling gratitude that we helped open up (professional) possibilities available to them through this simple but effective first step.
3. Clients truly appreciate the availability of their Barrett Group (TBG) career coaches who make time for them to help them with whatever stage of the process they are then engaged in.
4. Our successful clients praise the gentle but firm coaching TBG consultants provide, whether they felt they needed it or not. They realize that they really did need it and they appreciate it.
5. Clients come through the front door (virtually) thinking that what they know is of critical importance but exit our service with a profound appreciation for the importance of the new connections they have learned to make.  In a word, it’s not what you know, but who.
6. Most prospects think career change is a one-off event but our clients come to realize it is continuous and on-going—even after obtaining their dream jobs, because dreams change.
7. In summary, our clients find the whole TBG experience “eye-opening.”

Personally, I remember the third or fourth time I took a psychographic assessment (Myers-Briggs). I discovered that I am an INTJ (introverted, intuitive, thinker, and judger). 

My consultant said, people with this personality type should have a sign over their desks saying “I am not always right.”  And she was right, but not for the reason you might think.  It’s not arrogance or conceit that leads to this impression, but blinders, like a cart-horse.  INTJ types have a tendency not to look left or right but to set their course based on a leap of intuition. And then steer for their goal come what may—right or wrong.

That is, unless they actually develop some emotional intelligence and start to take into account signals they receive from others along the way.  Eventually, INTJs can even learn to solicit and value input despite their personality type. Learn to make richer and better-founded decisions that are borne on a whole team’s shoulders instead of only those of the INTJ.

I’m just speaking about INTJs here but in principle every personality type whether DISC or Myers-Briggs or some other psychographic subset. All of us risk being blindsided if we are not open to exploring options and other possibilities.

In a career context, you may want to enlist the Barrett Group to help you pan for gold in your experience because, particularly due to Covid-19, so many industries are in such extreme flux that it would often be foolish not to explore options.  Yes, the market turmoil means some downsizing and pain, but it also represents a huge opportunity if you are willing to seize it.

So let’s take off the blinders and explore your career options professionally.  Thousands of clients before you have done so and profited greatly.  How about you?

Peter Irish
CEO
The Barrett Group

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