PERSONAL QUALITIES & CAREER
Dr. Stephen Brady
Director, Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral
Medicine (MHCBM)
Boston University School of Medicine
(www.bumc.bu.edu/mhbm)
sbrady@bu.edu
INTRODUCTIONS AND QUESTIONS
What personality characteristics are
associated with career success ?
Which of these characteristics do you
possess?
High and Low?
THE SIXTEEN PERSONALITY FACTOR
QUESTIONNAIRE (16PF)
Warmth
Reasoning
Emotional Stability
Dominance
Liveliness
Rule-Consciousness
Social Boldness
Sensitivity
Vigilance
Abstractedness
Private
Apprehension
Openness to change
Self-Reliance
Perfectionism
Tension
PERSONALITY FACTORS AND
CAREER
Global Factors which Impact Career
 Extraversion/Introversion
 High Anxiety/Low Anxiety
 Tough-Mindedness/Receptive
 Independence/Dependence
 Self-Control/Impulsiveness
How would you describe yourself or peers on some of these
dimensions?
INTERPRETING YOUR RESULTS OF THE 16PF
• What high and low scores mean for the Global
Factors
• Example: Results of the Instructor and a Basic
Scientist
• Implications for Career
• Small Group Breakout
CASE EXAMPLE
•
Self Described “Basic Science Nerd”
•
Throughout graduate school referred to as “Brilliant if quirky” and “Mr. Future Nobel
Prize Winner”
•
High on Introversion, Anxiety and Self Control
•
Low on Independence and tough mindedness
•
Just wants to be “left alone to do interesting experiments”
•
Tends to get lost in details and procrastinates unless deadlines
•
Failed as an academic but surprisingly thrives in industry
•
Why might this be the case?
•
It may be just as important to be aware of your challenges as well as strengths in order
to be successful
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CAREER
Being aware of emotions
Identifying your own emotions
Identifying Others emotions
Managing your own emotions
Managing others emotions
Using emotions to problem solve
Expressing emotions adaptively
What is easy and hard for you? (SB and RJL)
CHARACTERISTICS WHICH PROMOTE
CAREER SUCCESS
Cognitive complexity
Cognitive flexibility
Social intelligence
Emotional intelligence
Adaptability
Openness
Tolerance for ambiguity
We would add Self-Reflection
(Zacarro, 2007)
CAREER ACTIVITY: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
How did you become who you are?
What does your family and others want you to do?
How familiar are family/others with your career?
Who has been the most influential person in your life regarding
career?
Trace the development of your likes and interests relevant to career.
What are your most troublesome problems related to your career
interests?
What is your prediction regarding your career?
Make a Plan A and Plan B
A MODEL OF LEADER ATTRIBUTES
AND LEADER PERFORMANCE
Cognitive
Abilities
Personality
Motives
Values
Special
Appraisal
Skills
Problem
Solving
Skills
Expertise/
Tacit
Knowledge
Career
Processes
Distal Attributes
Proximal Attributes
7 HABITS- COVEY
Be Proactive
Begin with the
End in Mind
Put First Things
First
Think Win-Win
Seek First to
Understand
and Then Be
Understood
Synergize
Sharpen the Saw