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A REVIEW OF PERSONAL ASSESSMENTSJuly 2010
By Lazar EmanuelIn any inquiry into assessments of human attributes, it's essential to compare like with like. There are at this date at least seven distinctive types of assessments. Each type is different in focus and execution from the others and each has a distinctive purpose.
Anxiety, Career Choice and Aptitudes! What’s a ‘Quarter-lifer’ to do?July 2010
By Dr. Thomas N. TavantzisThree students - Gail 29, John 26, and Sam 21 - though of different ages, share much in common. They are in the midst of developing themselves so they can successfully launch their careers and, well, their lives! Each is still single, all live independently from their parents (Sam is in college) while experiencing (considerable) ongoing parental support. They all share trying to develop themselves as people, finding careers they can be passionate about, but all appear stuck, in large part, from the consequences of too little self-knowledge.
THERE'S VALUE IN WORK-TYPESJuly 2010
By Elaine M. (Lanie) Damon, M.S., LPCMy work with clients focuses on helping them work more wisely in their current positions - how understanding their natural abilities can enhance their current job, or how using their abilities can help them move to another position which draws more directly on their strengths. The Work Types report at the end of the Highlands Ability Battery report is a masterful tool to help clients facilitate these transitions.
Preparing Aspiring School LeadersJuly 2010
By Gail Ostrishko, B.A., M.S.Research consistently reveals a direct correlation between strong educator leadership and the overall performance level of young teachers in our schools, suggesting the significance of proactive approaches to the identification and training of school administrators. The Triangle Leadership Academy, housed within the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, NC, is committed to the process of training educators to recognize and take advantage of this new approach to leadership.
The Heart of Leadership: Thoughts on Identifying, Recruiting, and Developing Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Organizational EffectivenessJuly 2010
By Valerie A. Duncan, MBA, MAODThe purpose of this article is to define the foundational competencies that leaders need prior to accepting their assignment to lead - together, they are called emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is needed to: 1) go before or show others the way, 2) to conduct by holding and guiding, 3) or to influence or induce.
How to Improve Your VocabularyJuly 2010
By Denise Taylor, MSc, MBA, C.PsycholThe Highlands Ability Battery vocabulary work sample measures the client's vocabulary level by comparing it to the vocabulary level of the average graduate. Some clients can be disappointed, they want a higher score. Because vocabulary is a skill rather than an innate ability, there is scope to develop vocabulary and increase the overall level.
Using the Highlands Program with College GradsJuly 2010
By Anne Gottlieb Angerman, MSWHave you been seeing more college grads recently, as I have? How can we use the Battery and feedback to assist these people? Many of these young adults are scared, confused, and clueless. Many have never worked a day in their lives. How can we, as Highlands affiliates, help?
Learning Agility: The Key Ingredient to Effective Leadership in Turbulent TimesApril 2010
By Erica D. ChickQualities previously identified as the hallmarks of great leadership - such as vision, perseverance and intelligence - remain critically important to organizational success. However, the rapidly changing landscape of businesses today increasingly requires leaders to be flexible, adaptable, and welcoming of the challenging situations at hand. This nimbleness and creativity has been termed "learning agility".
Job Track to Joyride -- Re-launching your view of workApril 2010
By Joe ColavitoHow do you view work? Do you see it as a job track you're stuck on until you reach retirement age or as a joyride that allows you to enjoy life at every stage? As you ponder these questions, consider this: The typical American will invest between 80,000 and 100,000 hours at work during his or her lifetime. Your job will consume a higher percentage of your waking hours than anything else you do. Therefore, the way you view work matters. It affects the quality of your life, the quality of all the lives you touch, and the future generation's view of work.
Overlapping characteristics between The Highlands Ability Battery and Myers Briggs Personality TypesApril 2010
By Diana DawsonDue to their life-long consequences on health, finances and psychological well being, career decisions are among the most important decisions an individual has to make, and, whilst some people make these decisions easily, others face a more difficult process. Career choice and career direction are not only influenced by the external environment but also the wants and needs of the individual, including a person's experiences at work, family attitudes, environmental influences, work values, abilities, skills, personality and interests: a myriad of different factors affecting what people do for a living and how they feel about their work. Knowing personal qualities, strengths and interests can be seen as key to enabling an individual to market herself and choose, change and flourish in a job.
Highlands Helps Students Identify Multiple IntelligencesApril 2010
By Michael Cerreto, MS, CET, CSC, Edu-K, CLCParents are the only people who observe their children in all their dimensions. Other adults see their children in narrow and limited environments such as school, sports, arts, and occasional contacts. As parents, you see your children as unique people because you observe their talents, challenges and personalities across all parts of life.
Invest In Yourself – Developing Your Career VisionApril 2010
By Dr. Thomas N. TavantzisMy passion has always been in helping people move towards self-knowledge and self-direction, creating and fulfilling a career vision. Since I went through my original training as a licensed Affiliate in 1995, the Highlands Program has provided me with an avenue to do what I love.
How to raise your profile at workApril 2010
By Denise Taylor, MSc, MBA, C.Psychol1. Too many people do a good job, but don't let people know about it.
When you get positive written feedback from others, be sure to keep it, and circulate the feedback to your senior people. If you get verbal feedback, ask that it be put in writing. Don't hide your light: let people know what a great job you have done. Affiliate Academics and AffirmationsApril 2010
By Gail Ostrishko, B.A., M.S.As a long-time Highlands Affiliate, I take pride in the knowledge and experience I have gained through guiding others in the introspective process we call The Highlands Program. Though it comes in many forms, and each of us brings our personal style to the experience, there is something very exciting about facilitating self-awareness and its application in the lives of other people.
Training Law Students to Explore Other CareersJanuary 2010
By Lazar EmanuelNo day passes without another news story about law school graduates and their dire prospects for employment. No longer can they be confident of employment in the traditional way - i.e., by qualifying for the major law firms. The news stories we see originate either with the law firms themselves or in interviews with law school officials and students. The law firms describe the steps they've taken to delay or reduce employment of graduates, and the students bewail their debts and their prospects.
IT Career Error! Click Here to RepairJanuary 2010
By Steve BohlerNatural abilities are the foundation of IT career satisfaction...or hell.
Two years ago Jeff was a discontented software developer. His work left him frustrated and mentally drained each day. His performance reviews were generally positive, but they always noted a lack of genuine interest or motivation. He agreed completely with these reviews. Following a specific aptitude test and some coaching, Jeff understood the reason for his malaise and set his sights on becoming a systems administrator...and he's never looked back. Set New Year's Goals that You Can KeepJanuary 2010
By Anne Whitaker, M.S., J.D.If you started 2010 with New Year's Resolutions that have already evaporated, you're not alone. Many people I coach say that they have been caught for years in this cycle of making and breaking Resolutions. It's frustrating and the cycle continues until you do something proactively to break it. It's not too late for you to do it differently this year and set goals that you can keep.
Self-Promotion for Introverts - Author Nancy AncowitzJanuary 2010
By Alan KearnsIn today's tough economy and ruthlessly competitive job market, nobody can afford to go unnoticed. Too often, introverts get passed over while their chattier although not necessarily more gifted colleagues get the jobs and the promotions. But it doesn't have to be that way, according to business communication coach Nancy Ancowitz, author of Self-Promotion for Introverts (McGraw-Hill).
Emerging Adults- Issues and ChallengesJanuary 2010
By Anne Gottlieb Angerman, MSWLast week, Sarah came to consult with me. She had graduated from college a year before and had gotten a fabulous teaching job in a new school in Denver. She had been teaching for one year. Everything had fallen into place, except one thing-she didn't like teaching.
Should You be a Manager?January 2010
By Denise Taylor, MSc, MBA, C.PsycholA typical career path is to start as a team member, whether as a sales associate, PR officer or accountant and then get promoted to team leader or manager, and into a more senior role. But is this playing to your strengths?
Leverage Your Talent and Love Your Career!January 2010
By Gail Ostrishko, B.A., M.S.In our fast-paced, success-driven society, individuals and organizations are constantly being forced to find creative ways of doing more with less. Downsizing, outsourcing and off-shoring have become synonymous with the new business world, breeding a culture of fear and confusion. Getting the right people in the right jobs has become a crucial element of survival for individuals as well as organizations.
A New Tool for the PSPSJanuary 2010
By Dr. Thomas N. TavantzisOver the years, I have looked at how to strengthen an already powerful program. Our Personal Strategic Planning Seminar (PSPS), as it was originally called, has been a core program since the beginning of Highlands, and it still shapes many of our shorter programs (my own Invest In Yourself, and THC's Team Program and Paths to Success etc.). Yet I constantly search for new ways to strengthen this remarkably successful program.
Burnout: When Specializing Becomes Too DiverseOctober 2009
By Michael Cerreto, MS, CET, CSC, Edu-K, CLCI was sitting in my office after a client session the other day wondering why so many of my recent high school clients were experiencing such high levels of burnout and stress. Many of them are involved with developing a wide variety of talents and interests, and have supportive parents. But there they sat, telling me how tired, bored, and uninterested they were in continuing the development of the many talents and interests they were honing to advanced levels.
The 6 Most Important Rules For a Successful CareerOctober 2009
By Alan KearnsBook Review and Podcast Interview with Daniel Pink, New York Times best selling author of The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, Art by Rob Ten Pas, Riverhead Books, Penguin Group publishers 2008.
Have you followed all the career success rules? You went to a good school, worked hard and joined a good company, yet you are still not fulfilled? This week's podcast is with New York Times best-selling authors Daniel Pink and Rob Ten Pas who are the winners of TOKYOPOP's annual Rising Stars of Manga Competition. Daniel and Rob are the creators of Johnny Bunko - The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need. This is America's first business book created in the Japanese comic format known as manga. Taking Highlands OverseasOctober 2009
By David L. Wickstrom, Ph.D. As we drove into the U.S. consulate compound in Karachi, I thought to myself, "I guess this is the most unusual place I will ever test anyone in the Highlands Ability Battery." Five people were scheduled to take the paper and pencil version of the Battery. One of the test-takers had worked for the consulate for a few years. The other four were Americans who lived and worked as missionaries in Pakistan and who were friends of the consulate officer.
Highlands and the Unfolding of Musical Talent, A Personal StoryOctober 2009
By Sue Seel, M.S.When I was 7 years old, I started piano lessons. My aunt, who became my teacher, proved to be quite a taskmaster. Under her guidance, I carefully and dutifully improved year after year. My mother and father encouraged me in my dedication and natural talent. They were both musical. My mother played the piano, and my father played the violin. Although I loved my music lessons, I began to realize that my commitment to practice was keeping me from any social interactions!
The Queen Bee SyndromeOctober 2009
By Steve BohlerIn a popular 2007 movie called "Bee Movie", the main bee character, Barry B. Benson, graduates from college and finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice - producing honey with the majority of the hive. Barry is drawn to the seemingly more interesting, specialist role of the elite "Pollen Jocks", a position open to a relative few. Barry shows the tell-tale signs of a Specialist who suffers from what I call the "Queen Bee Syndrome."
Family Influence on CareersOctober 2009
By Anne Gottlieb Angerman, MSWOur family of origin - and where we were born and grew up - is an important and powerful influence on our lives. Our abilities are stabilized by the age of 15 and our personality is formed by the age of 6. By watching our parents work or not work, we learn subtle messages about making a living, surviving, and success.
Life in a New LightOctober 2009
By Bryan Kelso, M.A.Joel struggled as a student. His parents were divorced, he hated school, and he was actually expelled from high school because of his poor grades. After two years, he barely had one semester of credits. He ended up in a continuation school, but it was no better. He eventually graduated through a home-study program, but almost a year after his peers did. He did not have much motivation for college or work. He felt that he was just not cut out for school, and had no interest in working at some fast-food place. He did like computers, but he figured that would take too much schooling.
Back Pocket PlanOctober 2009
By Gail Ostrishko, B.A., M.S.The Highlands Company has partnered with GlaxoSmithKline for over a decade to support the GSK commitment to attracting and retaining productive and satisfied long-term employees.
GlaxoSmithKline has embraced The Highlands Program as a foundation for professional development planning and has used it as an instrumental asset through two mergers, and many changes in leadership and organizational structure. |