The Power of Informed Story Telling to Support your Self-Knowing
- Julie Gillespie
- Feb 25, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 26, 2021
Do you groan when you need to undergo yet another personal profiling assessment at the request of your organisationor or for a job interview?
Why is that? Do you see it as a waste of time because no-one has previously helped you interpret the meaning and usefulness of your profile, and/or there has been no follow-up by the organisation? Or, in cases where there has been feedback, have you felt that your profile put you in a ‘box’ that didn’t reflect how you see yourself?
Then I totally groan along with you! I hate wasting my time on things that don’t mean anything to me.
However, in the above scenario there is potential to activate a ‘missing link’ that can make a world of difference … namely, the power of coaching.
I’m speaking from personal experience. The opportunity to be coached using the results from some personal profiling assessments has helped to make greater sense of how I relate to the world around me. The power in these assessments has come from establishing a common language and from gaining insights into how to better understand situational responses of myself and others. The result has been an enriched personal/professional development, more productive interactions with others, and greater inner peace. My personal journey has involved systematically exploring: my style of behaviours and how I communicate with others (DiSC profile); why I do what I do (Motivators profile); what components of wellbeing I can harness to be resilient; and, what can I do, really well, that leaves me feeling energised (Strengths Profile).
This knowledge/awareness has, empowered me to grow and flourish despite the challenges that I have faced, especially as I have had mental health issues. The experience of overcoming my health obstacles and attaining positive mental wellbeing was incredible and led me to a revelation—I am in control of my own story!
When I realised that I really, really wanted to share space with people in a coaching capacity, I had to figure out a number of things:
1. Who would want me to coach them?
2. Why would they want me to coach them?
3. What do I have to offer that is of value?
All of this came down to a basic question: am I a credible coach?
The answer today is “yes”, but there was a journey to come to that conclusion. Coming from a business background, and having the feeling that I'd had a lot of failures through my life, didn’t equate to the type of credibility that I would expect in someone as a coach. So, on top of doing a Cert IV in Coaching, I became accredited to deliver not only science-based profiling tools, but also Resilience at Work, and Mental Health First Aid training. The result has been the credibility and know-how to create a safe space for people to figure out how they want to grow, flourish, and move through the world, despite their own struggles.
So, next time you are requested to do a profiling assessment, ask for a copy of your results and ask whether there is someone qualified to go through it with you. Or, take your profiles to them and say, here I am, and this is my story that I tell with them.
If you are looking for someone to walk with you through your challenges, I’d love to share space with you, to help you figure out what your story is—creating a language of understanding, steeped in greater self-knowing, designed to keep you safe and secure as you grow and move through our demanding world.
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