A client of mine was recently discussing her interest in going into the legal profession. At first, she considered the possibilities of becoming a paralegal and the kinds of roles paralegals play in the field of law when she remembered her abilities assessment results and said: “Oh, no, that would never work for me.” She knew she had a strong need to be in the limelight, to be a kind of a natural performer like Johnny Cochran and it occurred to her that being a paralegal wouldn’t quite fit.

In the assessment of natural abilities and inclinations there are “driving abilities” that should be considered in setting a career direction. Driving abilities naturally push people into certain career fields where these innate talents can be given expression. Driving abilities demand expression. If they don’t have an outlet in your life they will create dissatisfaction and frustration. Strong musical and artistic abilities are rather obvious examples of driving abilities, but there are others involving problem solving, conceptual organization, idea productivity, and spatial relations.

One very interesting driving ability has to do with something called Classification: a sort of quick, seat of the pants problem solving ability. People strong on classification naturally enjoy problem solving and arrive at solutions easily. Furthermore, they are able to do this in the most chaotic of environments. Such people actually need to have a fast paced and intellectually challenging environment. They are the consummate diagnosticians in all fields. They very quickly can see the pros and cons of almost any situation and can cut through a lot of clutter to get to problem solution. An example might be an urban hospital emergency room physician who can be confronted with making urgent life and death sorts of decisions.

The down side for someone with this kind of strong driving ability is that lacking an outlet for their natural gift at problem solving they become restless and bored. They can become impatient with others who might not be keeping up with them. They are so naturally curious that they need to find things that can stimulate and satisfy this natural curiosity. If you recognize yourself in this description the challenge for you is to ensure that you have a career and life that is mentally challenging and provides a good outlet for your need to solve problems and figure things out. Without that outlet you will likely experience a good deal of frustration.
Research on abilities indicates that although all abilities are important for self-knowledge and career planning, the driving abilities in particular have an uncanny and powerful influence on what we do in the world and what we will find satisfying and rewarding. In my experience people can sometimes guess where they fall on driving abilities, but not always. If you have some dissatisfaction in your current career it might be because you have some strong abilities that your career doesn’t really use. Or, your career might demand some strong abilities that don’t come naturally to you.

Some questions you might consider to get a sense of your own driving abilities include: How do you feel about having a tool in your hands? Is it something that exerts a sort of press on you? Do you thrive in a stressful, highly stimulating environment? Or, do you prefer a structured, less chaotic work place? Are you naturally curious about a lot of things? Do you tend to get bored if you’re not being challenged enough? Do you like to develop a sort of expertise in what you do? Is developing that expertise more important than working for the good of the team?

Answers to questions such as these can help you either start preparing for adjustments you can make in your current career path or perhaps let you know you should consider embarking in an entirely new direction. Remember that long-term satisfaction in your career will depend on having ever increasing opportunities to develop your innate potential. If you have strong driving abilities, they will eventually demand a career path that gives them an outlet.

If you are having difficulty answering some of these questions you can also turn to some objective testing. I like to use the Highlands Ability Battery in my practice precisely because it makes an objective assessment of where an individual falls on the driving abilities. The test uses worksamples: slices of actual work tasks in which you have to demonstrate how well you perform. If you would like to see how this works you can find a sample of the testing at www.CareerPathStrategies.com.

What I particularly like about the Highlands Ability Battery is that whether your score is high or low on a driving ability it yields meaningful information about who you are and what kinds of work roles and work environments you will find stimulating or stressful.

(Editor’s Note: Dr. Paul J. Marano is a psychologist in private practice in Poulsbo specializing in career development and assessment. He can be reached at 360-779-7997 or at drmarano@CareerPathStrategies.com.).