Your WorkTypes Report draws from your HAB results and ties your natural abilities into roles and responsibilities that are typical in just about any occupation. You can look at this report as a kind of translation—taking your natural abilities and putting them into the day-to-day language of the workplace.
This report is not an evaluation of your proficiency or performance. Instead, it is a selfmanagement tool that can help you to:- Refine your work—prioritize roles or responsibilities to eliminate or avoid;
- Reprioritize your work—minimize some roles or responsibilities by delegating them or maximize others by taking on more; or
- Refresh your work—identify new roles or responsibilities to add.
WorkTypes describe generic roles and responsibilities—not specific jobs—so they are applicable to any career field. For example, the responsibility of “teaching” can be part of many jobs while the job title “teacher” refers to a specific job or position. The Highlands list of WorkTypes contains an instructive guide to applying your abilities to the workplace.
This report provides a rank order of the 35 WorkTypes based on your unique ability profile, sorted into four categories: Strong, Good, Moderate, and Weak matches. Not everyone has matches with all four categories.
- Strong matches represent work activities that you are driven to use or are so automatic to you that you need to be intentional to not always use them.
- Good matches represent work activities that that are natural to you and you have more flexibility in using or not using.
- Moderate matches are work activities with a foundation upon which you will find it relatively easy to build skills.
- Weak matches are work activities that need to be learned and so long as they are used consistently, can be done with ease once acquired.
We all work from a combination of abilities and skills. Typically, the greater the strength of a WorkType match, the easier it is to perform and the more you’ll enjoy using it. While building skills through experience or training can enhance performance of WorkTypes so that they become easier, the key is to pay attention to the amount of time, effort, and energy required to maintain proficiency. Use this information to balance abilities and skills as you accomplish your job responsibilities.
HOW ARE WORKTYPES MEASURED?
Each of the WorkTypes is connected to various measured natural abilities. Some of the WorkTypes depend on as many as eight different, interrelated abilities. Others depend on two or three.
In most of the WorkTypes, the abilities are considered positively—that is, if you score high in an ability, you’ll have a stronger match with the WorkType. However, for some of the WorkTypes, one or more of the abilities are considered negatively. That is, if you score high in the ability, it decreases your match with the WorkType and if you score low in the ability, it increases your match with the WorkType. Some of the abilities within particular WorkTypes are considered to have relatively greater impact than others. These are given correspondingly more weight when calculating the match.
Experience matters more with some WorkTypes than with others. Particularly in those WorkTypes in which negatively weighted abilities play a major part, your work experience may modify and increase your ultimate success and satisfaction with your work. These WorkTypes in which experience can be a heavily weighted factor are marked with an asterisk (*).
- Review the strength of match of your WorkTypes to change how you work. Since there is more than one way to perform any job satisfactorily, there is flexibility in how you accomplish your required responsibilities. Use the WorkTypes to restructure how you perform your work.
- Identify the WorkTypes important to your current job. Not every WorkType will be equally important. Consider your matches against the requirements of the job. Are they in sync? Having a particular strength does not guarantee the opportunity to demonstrate it in the workplace. And those weaker matches represent skills to develop, if you haven’t already, in order to successfully do your job. Remember, WorkTypes represent matches with your abilities rather than an evaluation of your performance—which is a combination of abilities and skills.
- Very Strong Matches can sometimes represent stumbling blocks. Strong WorkType matches will identify roles that come naturally to you, but they may inhibit you from attempting other roles in which you may perform just as well and achieve greater satisfaction.
- Apply this information to your career development. As you look to the future, consider the outlets for your WorkTypes. Are there WorkTypes that you enjoy although they are not required on your job? Can you be on the lookout for opportunities to try them out on the job? Can you find outlets off the job? Are there WorkTypes in which you would like to gain experience or develop skills? Similarly, job responsibilities change over time. As opportunities present themselves, use the WorkTypes information to take on more of the roles you enjoy and reduce those you enjoy less. You can also use the WorkTypes to negotiate new responsibilities.
- The WorkTypes are transferable. Your scores are based on your natural abilities. You can move from one job or work setting to another and know that you have the potential to perform specific roles or responsibilities. Given the current rate with which job situations change, this is a valuable piece of information to know.