Rawabi Holding Newsletter Issue 26

TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS
Hanaa Almoaibed
CSR Unit Head
Doing What You Love to
Love What You Do
Figure 1: Holland’s model
Rawabi Holding CSR just launched the third leg of the Youth Empowerment
“Self Discovery” programs; the Rawabi Guidance Program.
Although we are applying this in high schools, what this program essentially
does is train just about anyone to be a career counselor. It’s 120
hours of training and implementation and practice on psychometric assessment
tools that measure interests, personality profiles, priorities,
values, you name it. Based on the results of a combination of these,
we should be able to determine what we were born to be good at. The
most important point brought across in this training is that it doesn’t
matter how we measure this, since there are thousands of assessment
tools out there—the tool in and of itself is useless, if you don’t know
why it was developed, what it measures, and what all of that means
for your cognitive style. These tools are all models to represent what is
going on in our brains. And how your brain works determines what your
strengths are. Some of us have done those online quizzes and taken
cognitive assessment tests in the past, but I am going to go out on a
limb and venture that we all more or less stumbled into what we were
doing without a scientific plan outlining our futures based on our brain
activity. But that is ok, for many, we don’t need to measure our likes
and dislikes and use tools to model our preferences, because they are
so strong that we just know. But for others, those that flip flop back and
forth between college majors, career paths, and life partners for that
matter, perhaps a quick model of their brain patterns might reveal why
these mistakes keep recurring.
So what do these models look like As
mentioned, the tools used to model
what’s happening inside our brains
are abundant and most likely they are
all useful. Common typological tools
are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI), the Herrmann Brain Dominance
Instrument (HBDI) and the Holland
Occupational Themes (RIASEC).
Many tools have been created using
the Holland Codes, formulated by psychologist
John L. Holland, who argued
that “the choice of a vocation is an
expression of personality”. Holland’s
model has been adopted by hundreds
to measure people’s cognitive preferences,
and they are modeled in a
handy hexagon.
One of my favorite things to talk about
is myself. Don’t judge me; I know that’s
what you like to talk about too. We all
have to exercise a little bit of self control
in social settings so we don’t come
off as conceited or completely self absorbed.
So here it is: something you
can use to find out more about yourself
so you can more easily communicate to
others why you feel and act in certain
ways. Oh, and maybe it will also help
you figure out how to be even better at
what you do. I will discuss the six personality
types and you can then think
about where you fit on this model. Of
course, you can’t fit into a box of just
one personality type, but most likely,
one or two of these personal styles are
stronger than the rest. If you look at the
hexagon you will see that R and S are
on opposite ends. Those two interests
are as different as they get, so you will
most likely not be strongest in both.
Some people are though, and that just
means that you will have to be a bit
more creative in the ways you exercise
your profession or employ your skills.
R: Realistic
Realistic personalities are those who
are hands-on. I’m pretty sure my son is
this. But then again, he’s a year and a
half old, so maybe he’s just mechanically
inclined and very physical right
now. Either way, if you obsessively
played with trains when you were a
child, this may well be where you fit.
The types of jobs realistic personalities
excel in are areas like field engineers,
graphic design, information technology,
dentistry, and environmental science.
Don’t forget, you need to have
20 Rawabi News Issue 26 Jul-Sep 2011
Rawabi News Issue 26 Jul-Sep 2011
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