Every Personality Dimensions® Facilitator Has A Story
We all have a past and a present that points to a preferred future. That story becomes the lens by which Personality Dimensions®, and other assessments are focused. The primary focus when I use Personality Dimensions®, both personally, as a career consultant or in my Leadership & Team training is ‘Alignment’.
I’ve been a Personality Dimensions® facilitator from its launch in 2003 and used another similar tool prior to that. Before being trained as a career counsellor, I went through the process of being counselled as a key part of my career transition. This temperament or behavioural study became the tipping point, the fulcrum of my life before and after my transition.
Here’s my story in a nutshell
I’m a Preacher’s Kid, and before I was eight years of age, my mother suddenly passed away. This caused me to cling to dad, my surviving parent. I, too, chose to be in the ministry. Being so young, I both watched and listened to my father closely, so I could be like him, a very loved pastor. I desired the same outcome. The problem was that we were very different people. What he taught me was his way of doing things…on my part, learned behaviour. It wasn’t bad or wrong, just different from who I really was. Unfortunately, he taught me how to live as a workaholic because that was how he dealt with the loss of his beloved wife. Yes, I was successful in ministry but there always seemed to be a level of discomfort. After 25 years, I hit a wall and really wasn’t certain what to do with my future. The transition process was slow, ten years slow. It wasn’t one I ever thought I’d go through, but I cautiously decided to check out another world. This brought me face-to-face with temperament, type, and interest studies.
When You Are Successful
Though I did things the way my father did, in retrospect, my most successful ventures in ministry were the ones that I did out of who I really was. This happens when the real you, subconsciously, kicks in. This became evident during my counselling process when we discussed past successes. Getting a grasp of the Patterns of Human Behaviours, which Personality Dimensions® does, was a great awakening for me…a series of Ah-ha moments which introduced a process I call ‘Life or Personal Realignment’. As important as ‘understanding who you are is’, equally important is ‘understanding who you are not’. If you’re living too much of life in the latter, Personality Dimensions® is my tool of choice for ‘Life Alignment’. This happens when you bring what you do in line with who you are, your hardwiring. Not once did I have to comply with the Personality Dimensions® result. I saw the pattern it presented and ‘there I was’. I released the dominance of well learned behaviours (which I still use), and fully embraced the real Murray that was quietly working in behind them.
One Thing That Always Amazes Me
When I was in my mid to late teens two things happened. Someone introduced me to the book, Transformed Temperaments by Tim LaHaye. It fascinated me. I always wanted to know what made people tick so I could impact their lives. In Grade 10, I had to write an essay on a topic of my choice. I wrote it on, How to Find a Career. Thirty years later, I became an ‘Assessment based Career Development Practitioner’. When I realized this, it blew me away. Do I regret those 25 years in ministry? Not in the least. Those years provided me with all the illustrations that make the concept of Personality Dimensions® a reality. What really stands out is the consistency of how I have lived life. Whether the teen years, the ministry or the years since transition, the attitude and way that I do things, while tweaking on the fly, has remained constant.
Personality Dimensions® Plays Out This Way In Me
Within me is a deep NEED to make a difference…an Impact. I call it my helium balloon that does what is natural…Goes Up! There is my Introverted Resourceful Orange. That has never changed. Pointing back to this is the way I COMMUNICATE, by sharing with others what I know, not only with academics, but with the wealth of what I have learned in life experience. That is my Extroverted Inquiring Green. That is what people see, but not what really drives me. What my dad taught me well was the Organized Gold factor of how to work well within organizations, the ENVIRONMENT in which I work. And finally, he taught me how to treat people with respect, dignity, and compassion, because PEOPLE ARE IMPORTANT…Yep, my Authentic Blue. There is ‘My Plaid’. Whatever I do, that is the way my pattern of human behaviour has always played out, and there is no reason to think that will change.
Have you taken a deep dive into your pattern? It is MORE than worth the effort. (Reach out if you out need help)
Murray is a husband to Heather for 46 years with 2 adult children, a Papa to 4 Boys, Personality Dimensions® Level 2 Trainer, Career Consultant, Leadership & Team Developer since 2001, and loves life. He is the creator of CareerFitForYou.com online video training, and owner of LifeConcepts.ca and LifeConceptMinistries.com.
One Response
Thank you for sharing your experiences Murray. What a wonderful post that completely resonated with me! After taking my level 1 trainer certification a number of years ago, I have had the privilege to work with people as they have their own “a-ha” moments and I continue to have my own. This is all about a journey of self-discovery!