Corky Thedog's Results

Where This Fits

Collaboration is an APPROACH value that emphasizes teamwork and interpersonal connection in the workplace. Those who value collaboration seek out roles that enable them to engage actively with others, sharing ideas and working toward shared goals. This approach can be a significant driver of job satisfaction, as strong team dynamics often contribute to a sense of accomplishment and community at work. Successful collaboration doesn’t just mean working side by side—it means working toward common goals with mutual trust, shared purpose, and communication. Valuing collaboration can help you feel more engaged and motivated, as it offers chances to learn from others and be part of a cohesive, high-functioning group.

What You’re Seeking

With collaboration high on your list, you’re looking for roles that provide genuine teamwork, open communication, and a strong sense of shared purpose. You are likely to enjoy positions where success relies on working closely with others, brainstorming ideas, and combining strengths to overcome challenges. Positions with a collaborative culture will also give you the chance to build strong interpersonal relationships and develop skills in communication, leadership, and teamwork.

Collaboration pairs well with values like Sociability (seeking connection and interaction), Purpose (working toward shared goals that make a difference), and Flexibility (adapting to others’ needs and approaches). These values combined enable you to create positive, team-oriented environments that encourage diverse perspectives and celebrate shared success.

Crafting Your Position

Build a stronger collaborative environment by promoting open communication, team projects, and shared accountability.

1. Seek Out Team-Oriented Tasks: Volunteer for projects that require teamwork or offer to assist colleagues. By engaging in collaborative tasks, you’ll naturally build relationships and strengthen the team dynamic.
2. Encourage Regular Team Check-Ins: If your role involves managing or coordinating tasks, set up regular check-ins with teammates. This keeps everyone aligned and creates opportunities for ongoing communication and bonding.
3. Request Feedback and Input from Peers: When working on projects, ask for feedback and input from your teammates. This not only strengthens your work but also reinforces the collaborative culture and shows your commitment to team success.
4. Be an Advocate for Transparent Communication: Encourage open discussions and make it easy for others to share updates, obstacles, or successes. Suggest tools (like shared documents or group chats) that facilitate clear communication.
5. Organize Team-Building Activities: Propose low-key team-building activities—anything from lunch meetings to group problem-solving sessions. These small efforts help develop trust and understanding among team members.
6. Celebrate Group Achievements: Recognize and celebrate when the team hits important milestones. Acknowledging successes together fosters a strong sense of unity and pride in the group’s accomplishments.

Potential Pitfalls & Solutions

Maintain balance and ensure productivity in collaborative environments.

1. Pitfall: Collaboration Turns into Over-Reliance on Others
   Solution: Balance teamwork with individual accountability by clarifying each person’s responsibilities within the project. Reinforce that while collaboration is crucial, each person’s contribution is equally important.
2. Pitfall: Collaboration Becomes Inefficient or Unfocused
   Solution: Set clear goals and timelines at the start of each project. Propose agendas for meetings to keep discussions on track, ensuring that team time is productive rather than distracting.
3. Pitfall: Difficulty Focusing on Solo Tasks
   Solution: While you may prefer teamwork, some tasks require independent focus. Set dedicated blocks of time for individual work, making it easier to dive into focused tasks while balancing collaboration with efficiency.
4. Pitfall: Frustration with Team Dynamics or Conflicts
   Solution: Actively foster a culture of openness and trust by inviting feedback and practicing conflict resolution techniques. When disagreements arise, use them as opportunities for team growth by facilitating respectful discussions and finding a path forward.

Valuing collaboration allows you to bring people together to create something meaningful as a team. By developing strong group cohesion, communication, and accountability, you’ll enjoy greater fulfillment and productivity in any collaborative work setting.

Where This Fits

Autonomy is an APPROACH value, centered around how you prefer to work. People who value autonomy tend to thrive when they have control over their tasks and the flexibility to achieve outcomes in their own way. This is an essential work value, as it greatly influences job satisfaction, motivation, and a sense of ownership over one's work. Autonomy varies in degrees and forms: some roles are highly autonomous by nature, while others require adjustments and discussions with managers to achieve greater freedom. Fostering autonomy can build motivation and a stronger personal connection to one’s work.

What You’re Seeking

If autonomy ranks high for you, you’re likely to feel most fulfilled when you have control over your work processes and the freedom to decide how to achieve your goals. This often means preferring environments with minimal micromanagement and a clear, outcome-focused measurement of success. High autonomy doesn’t mean you need to work alone; even collaborative roles can allow for self-directed work within a team.

Autonomy also pairs well with values like Purpose (choosing how to contribute to meaningful work), Flexibility(working when and where you work best), and Specialization (taking ownership of your expertise). In practice, seeking autonomy might mean creating processes to minimize frequent check-ins or suggesting productivity measures that emphasize results over rigid procedures.

Crafting Your Position

Increase your autonomy by building trust and showing reliable outcomes.

1. Clarify Expectations with Your Manager: In a 1:1 meeting, discuss how to best meet and measure success on your projects. Aim to establish check-in intervals that allow you the space to work independently between reviews.
2. Propose Flexible Work Routines: Request flexibility in your work schedule or processes if they’re conducive to better outcomes, explaining how this would boost productivity and job satisfaction.
3. Document Your Work Processes: Build trust by documenting your approach and outcomes. This can show your managers that you’re organized and reliable, potentially leading to more freedom in task management.
4. Be Proactive with Updates: Anticipate questions by regularly updating relevant parties on your progress, without waiting for check-ins. This establishes you as responsible and capable of handling your projects autonomously.
5. Seek Project Ownership: Identify areas where you could take full responsibility, such as managing smaller projects or becoming the go-to expert in a specific area, showing that autonomy boosts your effectiveness.
6. Negotiate Autonomy in Future Projects: Use successful projects as evidence in future discussions with managers about maintaining or increasing your autonomy on new assignments.

Potential Pitfalls & Solutions

Balance autonomy with collaboration and communication.

1. Pitfall: Misalignment with Team Goals
   Solution: Regularly sync with team members to ensure your work aligns with shared goals. While autonomy is important, it’s also essential to stay on track with the broader team direction and deadlines.
2. Pitfall: Isolation from Important Feedback
   Solution: Schedule periodic feedback sessions with your manager and peers to avoid missing valuable insights. Autonomy can sometimes mean fewer direct check-ins, so proactively seek out feedback to stay aligned and improve.
3. Pitfall: Misinterpretation of Flexibility Requests
   Solution: Frame your requests for autonomy in terms of performance outcomes. Rather than framing it as a need for freedom, emphasize how flexibility will help you achieve better, measurable results.
4. Pitfall: Misperception of Non-Engagement
   Solution: Avoid being seen as disengaged by participating in regular team activities and social moments, even if autonomy is more your preference. Joining team meetings or group activities as needed helps show you’re committed to the team’s success, even if you prefer working independently.

By advocating for yourself, balancing team interactions, and demonstrating the value autonomy brings to your work, you can craft a role that gives you the freedom and control you seek.

Where This Fits
Location is an Environment value, reflecting how much a particular physical or geographic setting matters to your job satisfaction. With Location as a lower priority, you’re adaptable and can thrive in diverse settings, whether urban or rural, near family or far away. This adaptability is a key advantage, allowing you to focus on finding roles that align with your career priorities instead of limiting yourself by geography. Recognizing this also helps you maintain a broad range of opportunities while understanding that location needs may shift as personal circumstances change.

Leveraging Lower Values
Embrace geographic flexibility to expand your career options.
With Location low on your priority list, you’re open to pursuing roles based on factors other than geography, which allows for greater career exploration and potential advancement. This openness lets you focus on roles that fulfill higher priorities, such as Autonomy, Remuneration, or Variety, without needing a specific physical setting to feel satisfied. While this flexibility can be a strong asset, balancing it with occasional consideration of long-term location needs can help build both career and personal stability.

Strategic Advantages
Use geographic flexibility to seek roles that prioritize your most important career goals.

• Flexible Approaches: Consider a wide range of locations when exploring job opportunities. Your openness to location can make remote, travel-based, or international roles more accessible, broadening your career horizons and increasing the chances of finding a role that meets your core values.
• Using This Value as Support for Higher Values: If high values include Autonomy, Remuneration, or Variety, seek roles that emphasize these strengths rather than a specific setting. For example, a position that offers growth and learning in your field may be worth relocating for, even temporarily, if it aligns with your primary goals.
• Opportunities for Quick Wins: Keep an eye on how your location preferences evolve over time. Regularly assess if a particular geographic fit would enhance your career or personal life. This approach allows you to remain adaptable while being mindful of your potential needs for a stable base as your life and career progress.

Where This Fits
Leadership is an Environment value, tied to the influence, guidance, and support received or provided at work. If Leadership is a lower priority for you, it means that you’re comfortable working without intensive supervision or mentorship, which can allow you to thrive even when guidance is minimal. This can be a unique advantage, as it frees you to pursue roles where independent work is the norm, while giving you flexibility in adapting to different managerial styles. Understanding this helps you maintain independence without needing to rely on leadership quality as a primary factor in role selection.

Leveraging Lower Values
Use your self-motivation and adaptability to succeed in a variety of work environments.
With Leadership as a lower priority, you’re self-driven and don’t need significant oversight or inspiration from your supervisors. This flexibility allows you to stay productive even when leadership support is minimal, which can be advantageous in lean organizations or roles requiring independence. If values like Autonomy, Predictability, or Remuneration rank high, this independence allows you to emphasize tasks and goals that matter most to you without depending on leadership support. Your comfort with self-direction also positions you well to offer the stability and structure others may need when you find yourself in leadership roles.

Strategic Advantages
Thrive through independence and support others with structured guidance if in a supervisory role.

• Flexible Approaches: Pursue roles that value autonomy, where you can work with minimal supervision. Organizations that rely on self-starters or offer flexible management styles may be a great fit, as you can stay productive without needing regular input.
• Using This Value as Support for Higher Values: If Autonomy or Remuneration ranks high, focus on roles that reward independent work or results-oriented performance. This lets you invest in your primary values without needing a strong leadership presence to keep you engaged or motivated.

Opportunities for Quick Wins: Prepare yourself for future leadership responsibilities by observing effective leaders around you. This can help you build a toolkit of strategies to support others when needed. As you advance, remember to offer the guidance others may need, even if you don’t rely on it yourself.

Where This Fits
Excitement is an ENVIRONMENT value, relating to the level of stimulation a person seeks in their work setting. While some people thrive on high-energy, fast-paced roles, others find greater satisfaction in stable, consistent environments. With excitement as a lower priority, you have the flexibility to pursue roles that may not be high-adrenaline but still offer meaningful work. Recognizing this preference highlights your ability to excel without requiring a constant influx of high-intensity tasks.

Leveraging Lower Values
Embracing a steady work environment that aligns with personal balance
Having excitement as a low priority doesn’t mean you don’t value engagement—it simply means you don’t rely on your job to deliver constant stimulation. This can be a tremendous advantage, as it opens you up to a wider range of work environments, particularly those that are stable, structured, and supportive. You may find satisfaction in roles that focus on reliable outcomes and long-term projects without the need for frequent thrills or constant change. This preference can also support stronger work-life balance, allowing you to reserve your energy for other pursuits outside of work that bring excitement or adventure. By understanding this value, you can focus on roles that align with your strengths, where steady performance is valued over constant action, creating a work experience that’s sustainable and satisfying.

Strategic Advantages
Focusing on stability and balance to create fulfilling work routines

• Flexible Approaches: Opt for roles that emphasize consistency and reliable processes. Jobs that offer a clear, steady workload and well-defined tasks allow you to work at your best without needing an adrenaline boost.
• Using This Value as a Support for Higher Values: By not relying on work for excitement, you have more bandwidth to pursue what matters most to you, such as growth, creativity, or mastery in your role. You can focus on building expertise, developing projects, or supporting team goals with a clear mind and steady engagement.
• Opportunities for Quick Wins: Set up routines that allow you to feel productive and accomplished without needing frequent highs. For example, creating a weekly schedule with clear milestones or periodic check-ins can help maintain steady motivation, supporting your best work without requiring a highly stimulating environment.

Where This Fits
Clarity is an APPROACH value, reflecting how much individuals seek defined goals, roles, and expectations in their work. Two people can work equally well in the same position, with one thriving on clear guidelines and the other enjoying flexibility. If clarity ranks lower for you, it reveals your comfort with less-defined work environments, which can allow you to excel in roles where flexibility, adaptability, and creative problem-solving are key.

Leveraging Lower Values
Turning tolerance for ambiguity into a strength for flexibility and innovation
When clarity is a low priority, it indicates a high tolerance for ambiguity and an ability to function effectively without strict guidelines. This adaptability can be a significant advantage in dynamic work environments where roles are evolving, and processes are not rigidly defined. Understanding this about yourself allows you to focus on roles where you can bring fresh perspectives to open-ended tasks and approach challenges without needing extensive direction. While some thrive in structured environments, you may find greater satisfaction in situations where you can forge your own path, contribute to innovation, and remain open to change. Keeping this flexibility in mind can also enhance collaboration, as you’re more likely to embrace unexpected ideas or shifts without needing constant recalibration.

Strategic Advantages
Embracing flexibility and adaptability in environments with limited structure

• Flexible Approaches: Seek projects that have room for experimentation and creative problem-solving rather than set routines. Without needing rigid guidance, you can more freely engage in tasks that require initiative, allowing you to bring out strengths in dynamic, fast-changing environments.
• Using This Value as a Support for Higher Values: Leverage your tolerance for ambiguity to prioritize values that matter most to you, such as creativity or teamwork. Since you don’t rely on extensive clarity, you can focus more on interactions, brainstorming sessions, or strategy building—aligning efforts with your primary values rather than predefined tasks.
• Opportunities for Quick Wins: Take advantage of environments with less structure by volunteering for new or unconventional projects where guidelines are being developed. This lets you showcase your comfort with ambiguity and may even allow you to shape roles or processes in ways that align with your strengths.