If you have a need for physicality in work, you can still thrive in the corporate world. You just need to understand your strengths and embrace them.
Cliff Haggerty had a can-do attitude, a need to produce tangible solutions, and a degree from the highly rated engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin. Yet somehow, he found himself in a series of jobs that left him tired, frustrated, and unfulfilled.
“I got down to the corporate world,” Cliff recalls, “and I really didn’t fit in. I kept having what I used to call failures.”
Until, that is, Cliff turned to Kolbe and started to develop a deeper understanding of his instinctive strengths and his 3-3-6-8 Kolbe A™ Index result.
“When I saw my Kolbe result and received my interpretation,” Cliff shares, “I realized that all these things I thought I failed at, I never should have been doing in the first place.”
Cliff used to be a direct marketing analyst, dealing with spreadsheets and databases all day long, and a customer service rep in the printing industry. Neither situation catered to his natural strengths to simplify, adapt, and demonstrate.
Here’s the thing… Cliff’s a smart man. He got all his job tasks done, and he got them done well. But he found it draining instead of energizing because those tasks didn’t suit his instinctive strengths. And for a while, he struggled to find the best use of his mental energy each day.
An 8 in Implementor, one of the four Kolbe Action Modes®, Cliff possesses unique strengths when handling space and tangibles.
Once Cliff started to understand that he wasn’t necessarily getting these needs met through his day-to-day corporate work, he was able to find an outlet.
“I would tell somebody like me who was out of their element to absolutely find some way to express the Implementor part.”
“If you’re feeling tired and drained,” Cliff suggests, “it’s probably because you’re working against your grain. I would recommend taking breaks during the day and doing something physical, or even accomplishing something physical.”
For Cliff, that can look like anything from chopping down trees to renovating properties. When he’s not traveling in his van, Cliff’s riding his mountain bike through the Redwood Parks near his home. These are the things he does when given the freedom to be himself, and the knowledge of that reality has been invaluable. Of course, not everyone who leads with their Implementor instincts gains energy from renovating properties. Others may find energy through activities like building models, working with mechanical devices, or producing quality solutions to a variety of problems.
Cliff’s deeper understanding of his instinctive strengths through Kolbe provided him with a personal path to sustainable energy. But he wanted more.
After he moved on from marketing and customer service, Cliff found success in property acquisition and renovation. Though he continues to make six figures through these properties, his desire to help others achieve drew him back to corporate life. Only this time, he was more fully equipped with self-awareness and ready to conquer the world.
People like Cliff, who initiate actions and solve problems through an Implementor lens, are incredible assets in every walk of life. This includes corporate jobs and office work.
In his current role as Director of People Ops at Abroad.io, Cliff “helps leaders and teams actualize their potential through a balance of mental health, self-awareness, personality characteristics, and instinctive strengths.”
His conative strengths are an incredible asset to this position. Cliff ensures substance in his results, no matter what it takes, even if it requires a painstaking process to find the perfect tool for the task at hand. Which begs the question, what is the perfect tool to help leaders and teams actualize their potential?
“There are things that cut that look like scissors and are used to cut metal,” Cliff explains. “There are ones that are used to cut wood. There are many things that look like scissors that are meant for a million different things. But you need the right tool for the job. And when you’re an Implementor at my level, you start to realize that, if I don’t feel safe and I’m not comfortable, I will not produce a quality material.”
Cliff made sure to find that perfect instrument to make him feel safe and comfortable in his work.
As a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, he wields that tool, along with his conative strengths, to help countless others with proven, actionable advice on how to harness their natural talents.
Given the freedom to be himself, Cliff used it to help others find that freedom as well.
Now, this Life Purpose Advisor—thanks to his spiritual curiosity, generous spirit, and Implementor instincts—has truly found his purpose. There was always plenty of room for him to find the results he wanted; he just needed to forge a path on his own terms.
Ready to carve out some space to be YOURSELF? The KOLBE A™ INDEX is the best place to start.
