Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Work

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative outside, be it a new job, career change, or personal development outside of work.

  • 4 Lessons in Personality from Hamilton

    4 Lessons in Personality from Hamilton

    Because we like to give experiences instead of stuff at our house, our daughter’s Christmas present was a trip to see Hamilton.  She loves the music and was so excited about her first big girl trip to the theater. 

    The first time I saw Hamilton was on Broadway, a week before the whole world shut down because of the pandemic.  I was not familiar with the storyline or the music then, so I was in overdrive trying to process all that I saw and heard.  I’m still in overdrive trying to process all I’ve seen and heard since then and learn from it. 

    Three years and a pandemic later, my second experience was seeped with thoughts and learning I, personally, gained throughout the pandemic as well as what the first show had taught me to be prepared to take away. 

    What I found most striking this time around was the contrast between Hamilton and Burr and the build up to the ultimate duel and death of Hamilton. It is a classic study in personality science. 

    Here’s what I took away: 

    1. “He has nothing to prove, he has nothing to lose.” vs “a legacy to protect”.  These lyrics help us understand that when it comes to personality, our forefathers and their situations actually shape how we behave.  In fact, the situations may actually affect the genes that are passed down as seen in some new genomic science you can read about in Super Genes.  Hamilton and Burr were both orphans, but in very different contexts.  Burr came from a good family, Hamilton came from nothing.  This impacted how they saw the world and what behaviors they exhibited.

    How has your background, in which you had no choice in the matter about, shaped your personality?

    2. “You never back down, you never learn to take your time” vs “wait for it”.  The main way you see the contrast between Hamilton and Burr- that is at least in part due to the situations they were born into- is in the contrast between two personality poles- fast paced and outspoken versus cautious and reflective. 

    The DiSC Model illustrates these poles.  The model emphasizes how our natural inclinations towards one of the extremes can create a variety of conflict between individuals if they are seen as opposing approaches that become right or wrong.  This view can lead to villainization as opposed to the view that opposites attract and complement one another.  When people also retreat to the extremes, instead of being able to self-monitor on what behaviors are best served given the situation and the people, major conflict erupts. In Hamilton and Burr’s case, it festered for years, and then it led to death.   

    Do you allow people’s differences to polarize or complement? 

    3. “It’s Quiet Uptown.” The common consensus in personality science is that personality is usually solidified around the age of 25.  Your nature and your nurture pretty much combine and by 25 and your personality becomes more of a set rather than fluid state.  

    However, key life events, usually in the form of major changes and tragedy, can shift our personality.  This is no better seen in the song “It’s Quiet Uptown”. This song illustrates how, following Hamilton’s infidelity and the death of his son, he moved his family uptown and found solitude in what was quite contrary to his “you never back down, you never learn to take your time” personality into a slower paced, quiet life.  The key events altered his personality, or at least for a time, the way his personality manifested itself in the form of his behaviors. 

    Have you experienced life altering events that have altered your personality and behavior? 

    4. “The world is wide enough.”  After Burr shoots Hamilton,  his monologue makes such a climactic point.  He realizes the world was wide enough for both he and Hamilton to exist, thrive in fact, but it’s too late.  What would the world have been if Burr and Hamilton had worked together, seeing their opposing personalities and  perspectives as an asset instead of a liability? 

    What would the world look like if you joined forces with your “foe” and used his or her differences to help shape a partnership of impact? 

    What would things look like if we could see the future instead of reflect on it?  No one knows “who lives, who dies, who tells your story,” but if we can learn about how our situations, experiences, and personalities shape us and those around us, maybe we can at least “stay alive” to write a better history where people work together instead of tearing each other apart. 

  • Love is an Action Word

    Love is an Action Word

    Ever heard of the saying that “love is an action word?” If that’s true, then how do you “act” like you love someone? With it being Valentine’s Day, you may be thinking of candy, cards & flowers. Imagery of red roses or big pink, heart shaped boxes may be dancing in your mind. This might be the love that you would show a partner or someone that you care deeply about. Love goes beyond our feelings, it is an expression of gratitude for that person. How does it feel to have someone show up for you in this way? Do you feel appreciated and valued? Do you prefer for someone to say that they love you, to spend time with you, to do the dishes, buy you jewelry or give you a great big hug? 

    I’m confident that most of you are familiar with The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. If someone has asked me once they have asked me 1,000 times, have you read the book, have you taken the quiz, what is your love language? Full disclosure: I have never read the book, nor have I taken the quiz. I know it, throw stones at me, gasp! However, this leads me to my point of redemption. Did you know that there are actually Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace? I have taken the quiz and everything!

    The Languages of Appreciation are: Acts of Service, Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Tangible Gifts and Appropriate Physical Touch. My primary language is Words of Affirmation followed by Quality Time. I scored lowest in Tangible Gifts. In the workplace, I need to be affirmed by my employer and to know that I am doing a good job or, conversely, ways that I can be improving. Being relatively new to my position, I like for someone to spend time walking me through a project before turning me loose. If an employer or co-workers speak to me in a way that is not my language of appreciation, then I will have a hard time hearing it.

    I love the way that the Horizon Point Team incorporates appreciation into the everyday work/life balance. Mary Ila does a phenomenal job of speaking words of appreciation and even sending a handwritten note. As a piece of our Illuminate Workshop, we encourage writing gratitude notes each week. Personally, I try to send 3 a week to show the people around me that they matter. Jillian makes time to create videos to show me how to complete projects. Lorrie and Taylor create “space” for me to walk me through work projects via Zoom calls or meeting in person. These are the ways that they show me they appreciate me, and how I feel that appreciation.

    However, there is a difference between appreciation and recognition. Appreciation is about people and recognition is about results. Appreciation is gratitude for who my co-workers are. Gratitude is a mindset or perspective. All of these things tied together create Psychological Safety in the workplace, and it brings me to Horizon Point’s theme for 2023 which is an “Abundance of Space“. Psychological Safety gives people space and frees them to be who they need to be without fear of judgement. It gives others the permission to make mistakes and learn through the process.

    On this Valentine’s Day, I began with saying that Love is an Action Word, and I believe that with my whole heart. If I love others, I appreciate them and give them space to be become who they need to be. In a successful team, appreciation is shown and there is a large degree of Psychological Safety within the organization. Does your workplace show appreciation in your designated language, and is there a safe space to learn and grow? If not, how can you incorporate that into your daily routine?

    Here at Horizon Point, we offer training on The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace and Building a Psychologically Safe Workplace. Click here to learn more:

  • Our 2023 Theme: An Abundance of Space

    Our 2023 Theme: An Abundance of Space

    “I’m learning that I deserve to take up space,” said one team member at our yearly planning meeting. 

    “There’s an abundance of it,” said another in keeping with something each of us found ourselves recognizing- the contrast between abundance and scarcity mindset– in 2022. 

    “I find that when I give permission to take up space, I’m better at making space and giving space to others,” said yet another member of the team. 

    And later when a meeting notice went out to the whole team at a time that wasn’t the best for one team member, our discussion had given her the permission to say, “I’m going to take up space here, and say this doesn’t work best for me,” then she suggested another time where she knew she and the rest of our team would be best to work together on the subject of the meeting.   She knew herself and all of us well enough to know that a Thursday morning would be much better than a Friday afternoon for all of us to think creatively. 

    As we thought about what our theme would be for 2023, we realized the continuity of a word that kept coming up last year, “abundance” and a new one that seemed to be surfacing this year, of “space”.    

    And I found nothing better that illustrates what we mean by this than the poem “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson that is reflected so well in the movie Coach Carter. 

    I hope you’ll take a minute to watch it.  It explains what we mean by this year’s theme so much better than I can. We at Horizon Point hope that this year you will take up space and share space with others, because there is an abundance of it. 

    Our Deepest Fear
    By Marianne Williamson

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
    Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
    It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
    We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’
    Actually, who are you not to be?
    You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
    There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
    We are all meant to shine, as children do.
    We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
    It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
    And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
    As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

  • Who Will You Be in 2023?

    Who Will You Be in 2023?

    The idea that “The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be” has been coming up as a theme in my life these past few months. First in the form of a children’s book by Joanna Gaines, given to my son Wyatt by his Honey. Then, when Mary Ila hired me, and gifted me with a wall hanging that says the phrase. I think the Universe, God, Spirit, may have been conspiring to write that on my heart. Well, jokes on me! It has worked. I often think of the ways my past can serve me in my future. How can I develop professionally?

    As a 38 soon to be 39 year old… Just starting out working in my field after taking the road less traveled for many years, I have plenty of dreams/goals for myself. One of those goals was set in my first one-on-one with Mary Ila, where we discussed the Leaders As Career Agents Worksheet.  It is to get my SHRM-CP this year. The credential is for people who perform general HR and related duties; or for those pursuing a career in Human Resource Management. There I said it, I put it on paper, so I have to pass, right? Can you sense the apprehension? There have been quite a few years between my departure from Auburn and beginning work in HR. One thing I’ve learned through life experience is that it is never too late to begin again, to be like a phoenix and rise from the ashes. 

    One of the things that I love the most about working for Horizon Point and with the Team of ladies that I work with is that they practice what they preach. Does the World value values anymore? Well, Horizon Point does in 2023. “We believe continual learning is a key driver in creating passion and productivity in life and in work. To that end, we invest in the personal development of our people because we know that people are a company and community’s greatest asset (People First). We work with clients who believe in continuous learning and take steps towards continual self-improvement in order to maximize their passion and productivity.” Mary Ila invests in us and works hard to ensure that we are equipped with what need to be successful in our field. 

    How will I embrace who the world needs me to be this year, you ask? I will be working towards goals in my career, but also putting those goals into action in all areas of my life. I want to be a lifelong learner with no fear of failure or beginning again. How do I do that? Through action and my first step was signing up for UNA’s SHRM CP Prep Courses. To find out more about the courses and to join me this semester, click here: https://www.campusce.net/una/course/course.aspx?C=5&pc=5&mc=13&sc=0

     

  • Create Bigger Impact by Aligning Your Interests with Your Work

    Create Bigger Impact by Aligning Your Interests with Your Work

    My first interaction with Horizon Point was in 2017 as a participant in Mary Ila’s Facilitating Career Development (FCD) Training. At the time, I was the Program Champion for the Department of Management at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business, and my primary focus was professional and career development for undergraduate students. I completed the FCD course, became a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) and a Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP), and have since used the experience and knowledge to provide career development coaching and instruction for over 500 students and professionals. 

    After joining Horizon Point in 2019, I’ve seen the real-world application of career development theories outside of a formal education environment. In all areas of our work, from FCD Training to HR Consulting to Community Workforce Solutions, and across different industries, demographics, and team dynamics, we utilize career development theory, helping skills, and adult learner strategies. Learning about yourself and your interests will always make you a better teammate, employee, manager, friend, sibling, parent, etc. 

    Now, I am a Certified FCD Instructor with the National Career Development Association (NCDA), and today, I have the absolute pleasure of returning to Auburn University to deliver FCD Training to a new group of career developers! 

    As I prepared for this training, I looked back through my notes as a participant in the course for the first time. The first activity in the course is to complete O*Net’s Interest Profiler, which is adapted from The Holland Codes or Holland Occupational Themes (RIASEC). 

    Mary Ila once wrote about “Passions Via Your Holland Code” on The Point Blog, where she demonstrates the purpose behind assessing your interests. She says, “We typically enjoy what we can do well quite simply because we are good at it. This is where it is important to consider your passions and whether or not they align with the talents you possess.” 

    So, what does my Holland Code say about my interests, and am I working in a role that creates space for me to utilize them? My 2017 results indicated SCE, or Social, Conventional, and Enterprising (read about these here). In other words, I was interested in teaching and training others, I appreciated clear expectations and structure, and I enjoyed entrepreneurship and generating new business ideas. Because of all that, I thrived in my role as Program Champion, because my interests / passions aligned with the type of work and the environment. 

    Would you be surprised to learn that many people in coaching and/or counseling related fields have similar Holland Codes? People with careers as Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors commonly have S, or Social, in their Holland Code. O*Net says: 

    People with Social interests like working with others to help them learn and grow. They like working with people more than working with objects, machines, or information.

    They like:

    • Teaching
    • Giving advice
    • Helping and being of service to people

    When I took the Interest Profiler yesterday, my results indicated SAC, or Social, Artistic, and Conventional:

    Turns out, Training and Development Specialists (closest match to my current role), are linked to the Holland Code SCA, or Social, Conventional, and Artistic. Over time, my interests have shifted away from enterprising activities and towards creative roles. With Horizon Point, I’m given the autonomy and the space to stretch my artistic/creative interests through creation of new training content and materials, amateur graphic and web design, and more. Clearly, I’m in the right role for me in this season of life. Are you? 

    As I work with this group of Auburn Career Developers over the next 8 weeks, we will talk about the application of career development theory like Holland with both our clients and ourselves. What can you learn about yourself today that will improve your effectiveness in your current role? 

    Learn more about FCD, Continuing Education, HR Consulting, and Training programs developed and facilitated by Horizon Point at horizonpointconsulting.com or email us at info@horizonpointconsulting.com.