Recently I repeated my GC Index® profile, an Organimetric that measures your impact, to reconfirm my proclivities and check where my level of energy is for making an impact. The first time I took the profile was three years ago when, together with Quanta Consulting, we became accredited GCologists.
Three years ago, my profile showed my natural proclivities were Game Changer Polisher, where at my best I turn creative ideas into reality. I was surprised when I saw my profile because I really struggled to connect it to my work.
However, when I had my review session I started to understand what that combination meant. As you can see from my profile above I was largely dominated by Game Changer, followed by Polisher – I could relate to the Game Changer because I am always full of new ideas and combined concepts and knowledge from different fields; I can design a new programme in a few minutes and create a story in seconds. Ideas flood into my mind all of the time and I continually think of new and better ways of doing things.
When my profile started to shift…
In the meantime, my professional reality changed. The environment changed, which required a different attitude and activity. New ideas are great but as a Consultant & Coach but I also needed clients and work. I needed to connect to people, to create a network and expand it in order to increase my opportunities for projects and new work.
I got more involved in the Coaching Association of my country and became Member of the Board, I also got involved with a global research programme (my Game Changer is always there) and published a survey study which gave me the opportunity to connect to more people and present in various countries.
At the same time, I continued investing time in meeting new people in the business environment; although work wouldn’t come easily more people knew me and some new projects started coming.
When I completed The GC Index® profile again my profile had shifted to Play Maker Polisher (see image below) – at my best I inspire people to give their very best. This time I was shocked! How can my natural proclivity change so dramatically?
So, I reached out to Dr John Mervyn-Smith, Chief Psychologist at The GC Index, who researched and designed The GC Index® to ask him to explain to me what has happened. We had a very interesting discussion in which he mentioned that this is not an “adaptation” because I was playing out the new profile with pleasure!
My energy is much higher now. I have developed the skills to be an effective Play Maker – I genuinely feel myself and I enjoy what I do. When I look back at my original profile and the role I was doing at the time, I can now see that that particular role didn’t require my Play Maker energy so much and instead there was a need for ideas.
Dr John Mervyn-Smith said, “When circumstances require people to change or adapt, they can – this comes back to the survival argument. ”
What has really changed? The environment has changed for sure. When I moved into the new role, there was no stability or security anymore and I had to do what was needed in order to get work. If I wanted to survive I would have to get more work; and the only way to get more work was by connecting to more people (Play Maker skills). And because it was my decision, my responsibility and my choice, it became my new natural proclivity.
If you look at the two profiles, you will see I always had the Play Maker in me but the new role has shifted it to the fore and I have learned new skills to support my.
IMPACT = PROCLIVITIES + SKILLSET
I made a plan as I would do with a coaching client and followed it through; most of the time if wasn’t easy nor comfortable at first. The need for survival was always there and with this is mind together with my coaching plan I gradually shifted to show much higher flexibility and joy in play-making. Still with a lot of new ideas!
Dr John Mervyn-Smith, Chief Psychologist at The GC Index said, “Maria’s story is a fascinating one of adaptation and change during difficult times; a question of survival as she saw it. This is reflected in her GC Index® profile as a shift in focus and energy from the world of creative ideas to a world of pragmatism and building those relationships needed to survive and thrive.”
Maria Biquet
Maria Biquet 