DisabilityBiz.org Coach's Corner 3

Session 3- JR
Today's article is the third in a series about my business-life coaching service and how it can help you and your business grow -- even when you have a disability.

Understanding your own personality and work style temperament

JR and I exchanged a number of e-mails on his progress. Things were going well. He had completed all of the tasks on his To Do List and was busy taking some business classes.

During our next phone session, we started off talking about his business plan. He was having a little difficulty with figuring out his cash flow chart so we worked on that first. When we talked about how he was feeling about his progress so far he said that he was very excited and looking forward to the many new challenges. I suggested that now might be a good time to look at his personal motivations and behaviors. Understanding these traits and developing the interpersonal, social skills to effectively relate to his customers and business associates were factors that would definitely affect his business in a variety of ways.

Understanding strengths and weaknesses

JR thought that his strong points were his past work experience and his personal knowledge of his target population and their needs. He also felt that his optimism, motivation and ability to solve problems were others. .

As to his weaknesses, JR felt that he needed some help with developing his people skills. He did not have any experience in sales; his old job did not involve selling at all. He told me that in social situations he often was so nervous that he would talk too much. .

Discovering more about one's self

To help learn more about himself, I suggested that JR go to Insight Learning's testing center and take some of their personality tests. These assessment tools use colors (Gold, Green, Orange and Blue) to describe different kinds of personalities or dispositions. Most people's total personality style, or color spectrum, contain all 4 colors but in different amounts. I told him that it was important to remember that all of us are unique and that his and other people's differences should be respected and honored.

His Personal Color

JR took the Primary Color Preview test and quickly learned that his dominant color was "Orange." This meant that he was energetic, a risk taker and spontaneous. People, like JR, who are primarily "Orange" usually value talent, effort and challenges. They also love being the center of attention and are easily bored while doing repetitious and routine matters. According to Insight Learning's research they comprise 70% of the CEOs, VIPs and high achievers in our society -- Michael Jordan, Martha Stewart and Clint Eastwood are examples. On the negative side, however, "Oranges" can express their values negatively and because of this tendency 72% of them are in the criminal justice system. As a consequence, "Oranges" need to have a lot of direction to keep them on a good track.

JR scored lowest on the "Blue" scale that measures such characteristics as empathy, consensus building, patience, and perceptiveness.
What he found out about himself was not a total surprise but affirmed what he already suspected. Now that he had a clearer understanding of his personality style he said he felt empowered to start working on and strengthening some of his weaker areas.

Developing New Skills

For the rest of the session, we talked about all of his new responsibilities. There were "just so many things to do." He told me that he had been so busy lately that he had been arriving late for meetings. Since he didn't already have one, I suggested that he start putting all of his contact and appointment information in one place, like a day planner. Then it would be easier to make and keep his commitments. We made an agreement that he would consult his planner first thing in the morning. If he had something scheduled for the next day he was to schedule adequate time that day to prepare. Being well prepared would not only keep him on time for meetings but also help him feel less nervous. Lowering his anxiety level would allow him to be more comfortable in his interaction with others and less likely to "talk too much."

Homework

Before our next session I asked him to do 2 things. First was to get involved with a Toastmasters-like organization in his area which would give him an opportunity to practice some of his communication skills.
Second, he was to examine his lifestyle skills. Being an entrepreneur necessitates wearing many hats: marketing, sales, accountant, producer or service provider, etc.. Balancing all these things can be stressful. Practicing good lifestyle habits could help reduce the effects of stress and keep JR and his business healthy.

If you have any questions or comments please contact me at aleaf@seedbiznet.org or
P.O. Box 9637, Laguna Beach, CA 92652 or 949-413-1555 and I will address them in future articles.
For more information on Andy Leaf, Seed's founder and president, click here.