Do you know your Natural Abilities?

The famous management consultant, Peter Drucker, once said, "Most people think they know what they are good at.  They are usually wrong."

Please can I take a few minutes of your time to let you know the benefit of knowing how you've been "hardwired"?

Think about when you last chose a holiday, a car or bought a new computer.  You probably spent a great deal of time researching and gathering information, speaking to experts and friends, weighing up different options to try and ensure you made the right choice.

However, when people choose a career, whether it be their first job or a career change, they can restrict their choice to what they think they can do based on looking at adverts.  They do this without really knowing whether this is a job that matches their natural abilities and will fit with their personality, personal work style and values, not to mention their lifetime goals.

We spend 50-75% of our waking hours and 60-90% of the years of our lives working.  Yet many of us never invest even a fraction of that time exploring the vision that drives our lives and work.   Similarly, many of us have not discovered our true natural abilities and talents, which if never used can cause a great deal of dissatisfaction at work.

God intended our work to be a blessing - yes, it is his desire that work be an enjoyable experience, and it will be when we are using the gifts and talents that he has put on the inside of us.

People will typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Have work and you are satisfied with what you do and feel that your God-given abilities are being usefully employed.
• Have work but are not fulfilled which in many cases is due to a poor 'fit' with your personality, personal work style and preferences in working environment, and your natural abilities.  You may be considering a change in the hope that you will find something more fulfilling.
• Are looking for work.  In today's economic downturn this is the situation for an increasing number of people who have been made redundant and are now either looking for new employment or are considering retraining or further education in order to become more 'marketable'.
• A student considering university who is having to make educational choices such as what degree course to follow (or a parent of one also involved in the decision-making process or at the very least involved in the future funding of whatever choice is made!).  With the rising cost of student fees it is increasingly important that informed choices are made.  Studies show in the U.S. that college students take an average of 7 years to complete a 4-year degree programme, due to starts and stops, switching courses and multiple institutions along the way.  This results in thousands of extra dollars being required to pay for the additional years of study, which could have been avoided had the right and informed choice been made at the outset.

Everyone is born with a range of abilities unique to him or her.  It's fair to say that these abilities are essentially hardwired.  They mature during infancy and can be measured in most individuals after the age of fourteen.

Discovering your natural abilities is a fundamental step towards being successful and satisfied in whatever work you invest your life into.  Everyone can benefit from the Highlands Ability Battery.  Whether you are a student seeking guidance for your studies or a possible career path, or an adult who wants to enhance your career, relieve work stress or change your career direction, the Highlands Ability Battery is the place to start.  Even missionaries can benefit from the Highlands Ability Battery and I am starting to use it to help ensure other missionaries are using their talents and are suitably placed on the 'mission field'.

Rather than relying on subjective, self-reporting or assessments by friends and associates, the Highlands Ability Battery is a unique, objective assessment of your natural abilities and gives you a clear and powerful picture of who you really are.  Originally developed within industry nearly 80 years ago, it is psychometrically valid and reliable.  This means the information and suggestions that it makes are highly accurate.  Compared to the self-assessments that some people use, it is light years ahead and has been described as the equivalent of getting a CAT scan for a painful injury instead of a traditional x-ray.

After you complete the Battery, you receive a 30+ page report describing your results.  The report is divided into driving abilities, specialised abilities and personal style.  In a 2-hour feedback session (which normally takes place by phone or via Skype, unless face-to-face is possible), as a newly certified Highlands Affiliate, I will go over the results with you and discuss your abilities as they relate to your career and the work roles for which your ability profile ideally suits you.

For more information, please contact me.  I look forward to hearing from you.