Would You Rather...?

"Oh, that explains why..." is a very common response people have after they take the Core Values Index™, read their report, and evaluate that knowledge in the context of their job.

Which of these four scenarios best describes your ideal chance of finding true job satisfaction?

• I am the source of all knowledge on a particular topic. I am the go-to person for answers and data on that subject, never failing or faltering in my ability to know what is requested.
• I am the one that unites everyone on the team and brings them all together, pulling in one direction toward a common goal, with me as the hub of it all.
• I take charge and boldly lead by example from the front, faithfully confident that I always know how to get things done.
• When a problem comes up or some tough and seemingly insurmountable challenge arises, I am the one everyone turns to because they have complete confidence I will always find the best solution.

Your preference to this "Would you rather...?" question tells a great deal about you and how you are emotionally hardwired.

What are Core Values?

In the parlance of the Core Values Index psychometric assessment, these preferences reveal the likely choice of four possible core value energies. You have a certain amount of all four core values within your personality's DNA, much like a four-way teeter-totter. When one personality type is strong within you, the others are proportionally reduced.

It is the combination or ratio of these four core value energies within you, coupled with your life experiences, that make you unique.

How does knowing your innate, unchanging nature benefit your life?

How does knowing your emotional preferences to these scenarios help you?

Imagine you are young, in your late teens or early 20s, and struggling to choose the education and career path that is right for you. Like most people, you could take a stab at what you think might be the best course, but the series of jobs you take would most likely entail a lot of guesswork and trial-and-error.

Your vocational track might call for a combination of experiences where you are placed in situations demanding responses similar to the four scenarios at the beginning of this article, yet only a tiny fraction of people would be happy in all four (i.e., someone with a well-rounded CVI psychometric profile).

If you had relatively equal amounts of all four core values energies within your personality, any of those four paths would likely suit you, or at least present little deviation from your comfort zone.

Most people spend far too much of their career in jobs that just don't fit.

If you have more of one core value energy than the others, however, three of those four possibilities would feel like you're wearing someone else's clothes. They might be about the same height and even of similar weight, but they just don't feel right. This is a common experience, and most people spend far too much of their career in jobs that just don't fit.

If you knew your psychometric make-up before you began, however, you'd be able to pick the career path that makes the most sense for you, the vocational track that aligns with who you are and how you are hardwired. No second-guessing and time-consuming trial-and-error would be required.

What if you are already well into your career?

What can you do if you're fully invested in your current career? If you took the CVI and found out the way you are hardwired doesn't fully match up with how you pay the bills, is there some recourse you can take?

In that situation, there are four possibilities.

1. You can alter some details of your current position to play more strongly to your strengths and minimize the tasks and duties that are misaligned (some unpleasant tasks are likely inevitable).
2. You can change roles entirely but stay within the same organization.
3. You can do the same job but at a different organization (sometimes what you do is right but where you do it isn't).
4. You can change careers entirely ("I've always wanted to be a lumberjack.")

Obviously these four options are listed in ascending order of impact, and some may not be possible, either in whole or in part, due to various circumstances or timing.

Sometimes just simply having the awareness of how your unchanging nature lines up — or doesn't — with your vocation can make each day just a little bit easier.

"Oh, that explains why..." is a very common response people have after they take the Core Values Index, read their report, and evaluate that knowledge in the context of their job.

Would you rather take the CVI and learn how you really tick? Or keep hitting snooze every Monday morning without knowing why it's so hard to start your week?

Core Values Index™ and CVI™ are trademarks of Taylor Protocols, Inc.