As published in Business2Business, November, 2001

Career Planning: Getting Excited About Life and Career
By Ira S. Wolfe

I used to hate Tuesdays. It wasn't supposed to be that way. Tuesdays you see were self-designed to be my ideal day at work. I arrived at 7:30 AM, attended to one or two patients, and then left the office no later than noon. The problem was that I hated what I had to do for the next four and one-half hours. Mondays and Wednesdays weren't too bad but I now attribute that to being so busy that I didn't have much time to think about anything else. Thursdays were great….. as far as work goes. I worked my another half-day until noon and then began my weekly golfing marathon - four straight days of golf.

Nearly seven years ago I decided to stop trying to figure out how to leave my practice. I just left it. I joke about this transition because I probably left the practice mentally in 1994. It just took another year for my right-brain to speak to my left-brain and physically decide enough was enough.

My career switch has been quite interesting. It's hard to say whether this business will ever pay as well or better than my previous one. I believe it will. But realizing that starting business projects, making things happen, and getting the results I wanted were not only transferable skills I developed but activities that I was excited about doing. My personal reward for working hard was not working less. Working less - and playing more golf - was just an escape from a career that was running on empty and I lost the desire to refill the tank. In 1995 the time was right for a career switch.

The change now is that I love Tuesdays…and Wednesdays and Thursdays through Monday. I left a profession working as few as 22 hours per week and exchanged it for a new career that wakes me up early and keeps me up late. How can that be enjoyable you ask? I'm now living a life that matched my passions. I have a real sense of excitement in the possibilities and opportunities that face me each day and I found purpose in my new work.

How a person spends their time is how they are spending their life and that usually is reflected by which value clusters are important to them. It's amazing how energized individuals can be when their career paths are matched to their value clusters and how de-motivating it is to be doing a job in which they feel trapped.

For many people, something at work fundamentally changed after September 11. The World Trade Towers were not the only symbols shattered on that infamous day. The live to work attitude of many workers was jolted as well and now thousands of employees are re-evaluating the choices they've made about their jobs, family and career success.

In the four weeks since the attack, I have received at least two dozen phone calls, e-mails, faxes and letters from virtual strangers requesting help and advice about career changes. A few career changes were forced due to terminations and down-sizings. Most were voluntary calls from individuals in search of a purpose for their lives. Up until September 11 many people were chasing success and a lifestyle, not fulfillment and life.

The terrorists may have done more than awakened America, a sleeping giant. Today, "there's got to be a better way" is heard all over the airwaves, streets and workplaces. The embers of personal fulfillment have been re-ignited. Individuals from all walks of life are looking for answers. They are searching for direction.

According to Seneca, "If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him." No truer words have been spoken. It takes nothing like a tragedy to propel people into re-examining their life's path and beginning to re-focus their energies on living a life that is rewarding and satisfying to them.

How does one start making a career change?

One of the most rewarding processes I have discovered is called Success Discovery. Although I did not use this particular process prior to my transition, I embraced it almost immediately when I discovered it shortly thereafter. Success Discovery guides an individual through a critical self-evaluation that helps each person understand his or her strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and passions. The experience empowers you to make a winning career change.

Success Discovery uses two behavioral assessment tools, Managing for Success and Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values (PIAV). Although both tools contribute equally to a reliable self-assessment, the PIAV, in my opinion, has the slight edge in guiding people toward choices that shape personally satisfying life paths and careers. The remainder of this article will focus on providing a basic understanding of the PIAV.

Research dating back as far as the early 1900s shows us that Edward Spranger identified six value clusters or attitudes. In his 1928 book titled Types of Men, he describes these six attitudes through which we see the world. These attitudes are not good or bad but instead are beliefs that drive us to action or inaction. Bill Bonstetter, in the 1990's took the writings of Edward Spranger and developed and validated an attitudes assessment program called Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values.

Each individual gives different intensities to each attitude to form a hierarchy. The higher the intensity, the stronger your desires and feelings. The top two ones are called dominant attitudes. Dominant attitudes drive you to action that you value. On the other hand, you may show indifference to the bottom two attitudes. If an individual is placed in a job or environment that matches his values, he likely will feel good about his choice of career paths and jobs. If the work environment or job requires certain values to which he judges indifferently, getting through the day may be very stressful and fatiguing.

When what you value is not fulfilled, burnout may result. When your value clusters differ with another person, conflict may result. Having the knowledge of your attitudes enhances your ability to make decisions that will satisfy your top attitudes, minimize conflicts and increase your enjoyment of life.

When Socrates said, "Know thyself," he wasn't far off the mark when it comes to looking for a job. But a test is not the final answer. It is just a guide for the individual. Some individuals can make the career switch without any help. Many people can not. The best advice is to seek the help of a skillful interpreter and a coach or counselor if your choices are not evident. This professional third party can incorporate the results of an assessment with your education, experience, work history and personal and professional goals to find a career path that energizes and motivates you.

The following is a list of the six attitudes identified in the PIAV, with a brief description of each,and a few career paths that might be satisfying for each.

Theoretical Attitude:

A passion to know, seek out, understand and systematize the truth.
Careers: Education, research, marketing, law, new product development

Utilitarian Attitude:

A passion to gain a return on all investments, involving time, money and resources.
Careers: Sales, management, banking, entrepreneur, business owner

Aesthetic Attitude:

A passion to enjoy and experience the world through writing, painting, exploring - virtually anything that enhances the richness of oneself or the environment.
Careers: Forest service, architect, creative writing, photography, interior design, drama

Social Attitude:

A passion to invest yourself, your time, and your resources into helping others achieve their potential, even if there is no return for you.
Careers: Healthcare, non-profit organizations, counseling, social work, customer service, ministry

Individualistic Attitude:

A passion to control your own destiny. A passion to lead.
Careers: Positions that encourage competition, advancement, leadership, networking

Traditional Attitude:

A passion to find and pursue a particular system for living that works for you.
Careers: Positions that allow you to fulfill your system for living or working for a cause such as the ministry, armed forces, police and fire departments, civic/social organizations

Assessments like Managing for Success and Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values provide solutions for personal and professional conflicts. They help guide people to not only feeling whole again but whether they should be working for themselves or for others, what types of careers should they pursue and in what organizations will they feel most comfortable. Individuals currently holding a position and looking for ways to re-energize and improve their performance are also using Success Discovery.

Katherine Hepburn may have said it best, "Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find a way that is going to be interesting." If you're thinking about a career switch, my advice is to find something you're excited about doing.

Ira S. Wolfe is Founder of Success Performance Solutions, a training and assessment center helping businesses to match, manage and motivate employees. Ira is a Certified Professional Behavioral and Values Analyst with TTI Performance Systems, the publisher of Managing for Success and Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values. Ira can for information about coaching, training or speaking at 717-656-4632 or iwolfe@super-solutions.com.