The Highlands Ability Battery: A Time-Tested Tool to Steer Your Career Decisions

Can a zebra change its stripes? No.
Can you teach an old dog new tricks ? Definitely possible!

Our natural abilities and developed skills present together as performance. Often the two are so intertwined they are incredibly hard to differentiate.

Natural abilities are inherent to you. While you’re not necessarily born with them, they stabilize around the age of 14. Think of them as your “stripes,” which combine in patterns to make you unique.

Skills are expertise you acquire, whether by choice or circumstances. You might choose to learn how to play the piano. You may have to become accomplished in social media advertisements . You can learn “new tricks” at any stage of your life.

While skills decline without use, your natural abilities remain available throughout your lifetime (with the exception of cognitive decline, accident/injury). Consequently, it’s critical to take your natural abilities into account as you make critical decisions about your career and life. Over your lifetime, your abilities will change very little, but the perspective from which you view them certainly will.

ABILITIES: THE FOUNDATION FOR YOUR SUCCESS

Based on 19 timed, work samples, the Highlands Ability Battery™ reveals validated “data” about your natural abilities.

Learning about your natural abilities can be incredibly affirming: “So that’s why I feel slightly misunderstood when I’m communicating with my team!” … “No wonder I struggle with focus; the ideas just keep coming!” … “It’s alright that I move at a slower, more purposeful pace than my study group.”

Even more so, understanding your natural abilities can empower you to make career decisions with confidence. Are you more likely to enjoy working in a large corporation or as an entrepreneur? Will you be energized by working with and through a team to achieve a common goal, or would you prefer working autonomously? Would a fast-paced environment be motivating or depleting to you?

A higher level of awareness regarding your abilities is the foundation to your success. But it’s certainly not the end of the road to self-discovery. You are much more than your abilities! Several other pivotal elements, including skills, interests, family of origin, values and goals, come together to shape the whole you and all your career decisions. Contact Cindy to inquire about The Whole Person for Success coaching program which provides a more holistic picture of who you are and what fuels you throughout the many stages of your career development cycle.

STEERING YOUR NEXT CAREER MOVE AND BEYOND

There will be times when you will find yourself at a pivotal stage in your life or career. And, at various points, you will either choose, or be forced, to make some sort of major career transition.

Some turning points are externally driven. No matter how much you love high school, graduation day inserts a turning point in your life. You can choose to do many things — move to college; enter the workforce immediately; take a gap year to experience life outside your childhood boundaries… but there’s one thing you simply cannot do: stay in high school. With diploma in hand, you are obliged to make your first outwardly driven career transition.

Imagine ahead a few years - You’re fulfilled and excited about your work. And then, out of nowhere, your company goes under. Once again, you have multiple choices, but working for a company that’s no longer functioning isn’t one of them. You’ll find yourself facing yet another externally directed transition.

Often, the desire for change comes from within. You may find yourself bored, frustrated, or downright miserable at work., in which case you would need to change jobs or careers for sanity’s sake. Perhaps you’ll love your job when you decide that it’s time to explore a more lucrative opportunity to support your growing family. Maybe you’ll crave greater meaning or deeper purpose in your career. Internally driven transitions often happen at “predictable” turning points in life, but every of us follows a different timeline.

The Highlands Ability Battery™ can effectively lead you at any point in your career development cycle, including beyond retirement. Let’s consider a few examples taken directly from the Highlands Co Blog:

1. Marco, High School Senior

Marco’s parents, both lawyers, have encouraged him to attend their alma mater, choose a pre-law major and attend law school. As a child, Marco thought it might be fun to follow in their footsteps. But doubts began to surface during sophomore and junior year, when he felt a pull toward architecture or engineering. He wondered if he should he take the path of least resistance and pursue law, or if something else might be a better fit.

The results of his Highlands Ability Battery™ revealed that Marco had strong natural Spatial Reasoning abilities, supported by strong 2-D visual aptitudes (high Design Memory + high Observation). These abilities would serve him well should he choose either architecture or engineering. Was a legal career even an option? Absolutely, especially had it aligned with his interests, values and goals. But his strong preference for Introversion and low Classification might have rendered certain types of law draining, which would be worth consideration out of the gate.

Building on the foundation of his natural abilities, Marco, with the full support of his parents, filtered both architecture and engineering through the other elements of the Whole Person Model, and confidently decided to choose a college that offered a robust architecture program.

2. Kristin, Mid-Career Professional

Kristin graduated with a degree in hospitality 15 years ago, and had been working as an event planner until the pandemic hit. Her employer was forced to furlough most of its staff, including Kristin, who was both blindsided and disappointed. While she loved her job, Kristin realized that the hospitality industry was shifting in a way that no one saw coming. Reality sunk in. Waiting it out wasn’t an option for Kristin, who was raising a son on her own. She needed to work. But what else could she do?

Kristin was at a career crossroads. Having taken the Highlands Ability Battery™ in college, she returned to the reports in her client portal, reminding her of how her natural abilities (including high Generalist, high Classification and high Concept Organization, among others) lent themselves to myriad other occupations, including consultative work for businesses in crisis.

What better time to help ailing businesses pick up the pieces? Kristin began talking to other business coaches, and was so energized by the idea that she dove into a certification program to become a business continuity professional. Kristin landed an exciting new job within six months … and is thriving in her new role. Her career transition was intentional and well-planned, thanks to the insights she gained by revisiting the results of her HAB.

3. Daniel, Late-Career Professional

For as far back as he could remember, Daniel was an overachiever. He graduated summa cum laude from a prestigious Ivy League university and earned his first C-suite position at a global biotech company before turning 35. Life was good, and just kept getting better as he and his wife raised their three children.

As his 65th birthday approached, Daniel’s wife asked him when he planned to slow down … enjoy life … travel more … consider retirement. At first, Daniel was taken aback. Not working was something that had never crossed his mind. But his wife’s question stuck with him.

One day, while attending a community outreach program sponsored by his alumni association, Daniel realized that he could downshift without bringing his career to a full halt. The allure of a fancy job title and enviable salary had lost its luster. But he was energized by the thought of work with greater meaning and purpose. Daniel was facing a pivotal career turning point.

He turned to the results of the Highlands Ability Battery™ he had taken as part of his company’s leadership development program, viewing them through a completely different vantage point this time around.

With the help of his Highlands consultant, Daniel decided to pursue a position with a non-profit organization devoted to helping students in economically disadvantaged communities develop leadership skills. The role, which involved both fund-raising and direct contact with mentees, drew on Daniel’s strong driving abilities, including a strong preference for Extroversion, low Classification and high Idea Productivity.

After a year in his new role, Daniel contacted his coach to report that the intrinsic rewards of this new role were beyond measure and that he was so grateful for having the data and insights to have made this transition with confidence.

“I Wish I Had Done This Sooner!”

Clients love hearing the results of their Highlands Ability Battery™ and frequently express that they wish they had taken it sooner.

It’s never too early to learn about your natural abilities. It’s also never too late. As a Highlands client, you have lifetime access to the reports in your portal, which you can visit any time you’re facing a crucial turning point.

Every stage of your career cycle presents the opportunity to level up your experience, knowledge and skills and adjust the perspective through which you regard your natural abilities.

Curious when is the best time to take the HAB? Taking the Highlands Ability Battery™ at any time will allow you to make data-driven, future-focused decisions as your life and career unfold.

This blog post was taken from the Highlands Co Blog and originally written by: Mardee Handler, Marketing Director for the Highlands Company and founder of Mardee Handler Coaching & Consulting. Various words and phrases have been changed by Cindy Foote of EmpowerWise Coaching to reflect brand and personal preferences, with permission from Highlands Co.