12 Data-Driven Steps To Finding A Job You Love

In 2024, I named Be The Unicorn: Data-driven Habits That Separate The Best Leaders From The Rest, by William Vanderbloemen, as the best new leadership book of that year.

The book is timely, incredibly practical, and immediately usable for any leader wherever they are on their leadership journey.

Through extensive research of more than 30,000 top leaders and proprietary data, Vanderbloemen identified in the book the twelve habits that the best of the best leaders have in common. These superstar leaders are the unicorns – highly desirable but that are difficult to find or obtain.

And recently, Vanderbloemen followed up that gem of a book with another terrific book called, Work How You Are Wired: 12 Data-Driven Steps To Finding A Job You Love. It’s a great companion book to Be The Unicorn.

Those 12 steps align with these 12 personality traits/interpersonal habits:

Fast
Authentic
Agile
Solver
Anticipator
Prepared
Self-aware
Curious
Connected
Likeable
Productive
Purpose-driven

In the book you’ll learn key takeaways for finding the best jobs tied to your specific trait. For example, Vanderbloemen recommends for a person with the fast trait, they should look for jobs that require quick decision-making and high levels of attentiveness. They should avoid jobs with even a whiff of bureaucracy or slow-moving gears.

He also highlights for each of the other 11 traits specific positions to avoid at all costs based on someone’s work style and personality.

Vanderbloemen adds that “The most important person to learn from is yourself. When you know who you are—truly what makes you you—you can begin to narrow your wide ocean of options and draw that much closer to finding the work you are wired to do. Stop doing what doesn’t serve you and start doing what your heart and brain implore you to do.”

Two of my favorite learnings from the book are where Vanderbloemen lists the six reasons why people hate their jobs:

Toxic work environment
Bad management
Lack of work-life balance
Bad pay
Lack of opportunity for advancement
Lake of purpose

…and the six keys to being happy at work:

Having a good boss – where your boss has your best interests in mind.
Work-life balance – when you’re not on the clock 24/7.
Making enough money – when your basic needs are met in the form of a fair, living wage.
Autonomy and flexibility – where you are treated like a responsible adult who can do their work without being micromanaged.
Professional growth – having a chance to advance in your career.
Meaningful work – having a sense of purpose and believing in in your work.

William Vanderbloemen

Vanderbloemen shares these additional insights with us:

Question: Can you explain the quiz mentioned on page 22 in the book?

Vanderbloemen: The VanderIndex is proprietary index we developed a couple of years ago. It helps individuals learn about their best interpersonal habits and places they need to work. The index was born out of our research of the top 1% of all candidates we have ever seen and an in-depth survey studying over 250.000 individuals.

Question: Can a person be more than one of the 12 traits and if so, how best do they find their ideal job?

Vanderbloemen: Of course. These 12 "lanes" for employment are built around those same 12 interpersonal habits. Nearly everyone has one or two that rise higher than the others. Knowing what those habits are will help. When paired with the DiSC inventory and Enneagram results, most people will be able to narrow down to the best lane to explore.

Question: Which one of the 12 traits does your data show is the most common and why might that be?

Vanderbloemen: Purpose-driven - Now more than ever, people seem fulfilled by doing fulfilling work. Think of Simon Sinek's viral talk, "Start with Why." This trend crosses generations but has been increasingly true with younger employees. Over 85% of all Gen Z's say that they need to know the purpose of a business to have satisfaction at work.

Question: What inspired you to author the book?

Vanderbloemen: Most Americans aren't happy with their jobs. Most managers say their teams are average or below. What would happen if people could find a pathway to discovering a job that they truly enjoyed and are truly good at? That led to the research that uncovered the pathway I write about in Work How You Are Wired.

___

"Work How You Are Wired is perfect for anyone at the start of their career journey feeling lost where to look first, or for the many of us who feel drained in a position misaligned to our personal strengths,” shares Vanderbloemen.

Vanderbloemen, founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group, has become an unlikely business expert over his long and continuing career. Combining over fifteen years of ministry experience as a Senior Pastor with the best practices of executive search, he created a brand-new industry: executive search for faith-based organizations. Prior to founding his own search company, he studied under a mentor with over 25 years of executive search experience at the highest level. Vanerbloemen also has experience as a Manager in Human Resources in a Fortune 200 company, working on integration of corporate culture and succession planning.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

How To Uncover Your Blindspots To Become A Better Leader

What you don't see about yourself can hold you back as a leader. That's typical for many leaders. What we don't see is what we can't see: we have blindspots . Your blindspots prevent you from achieving your greatest success. “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems,” explains Martin Dubin , author of the new book, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader . “Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward. The good news is that you can learn to do your own blindspotting .” “Most of us understand the idea of blindspots in a general sense—areas we can’t see, to take the term most literally, or places we have gaps that we may not even realize, to be a little more abstract,” says Dubin. “But in the context of this book, I’m defining blindspots quite specifically: They are...

How To Do Great Work In A Fast-Changing World

Today brings the new book, Effective: How To Do Great Work In A Fast-Changing World , by Melissa Swift . “Effectiveness is where employer and employee interests come together—you want to be great at accomplishing the goals of your job, and your employer wants that too,” explains Swift. “It’s also a place where we can bring together different organizational and developmental thinking to help move people to action.” In the book, Swift, founder of Anthrome Insight , draws on current research and provocative interviews with business and academic leaders to help readers understand how to be amazing in a working world seemingly designed to make us feel incompetent. Each chapter in Effective delivers actionable approaches, enabling readers to improve their daily work life immediately with a paradigm-shifting framework for thriving rather than merely coping in modern professional environments. The book serves professionals at every level of seniority, from e...

How To Harness Your Experiential Intelligence

“Experiential Intelligence provides a new lens from which to view what makes you, you—and what makes your team and organization unique,” says Soren Kaplan , author of the book, Experiential Intelligence . Kaplan explains that over 100 years ago, we established IQ (Intelligence Quotient) to predict success. Then we explored Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the theory of multiple intelligences, and mindsets that broaden the definition of smarts. “Today, Experiential Intelligence ( XQ ) expands our understanding of what's needed to thrive in a disruptive world. While you can't change the past, your unique experiences and stories contain hidden strengths and untapped potential for the future,” explains Kaplan. Experiential Intelligence is the combination of mindsets, abilities, and know-how gained from your unique life experiences that empowers you to achieve your goals. It allows you to get in touch with the accumulated wisdom and talents you have gained over time through your ...

The Fundamentals Of Market Engineering

“Most companies don’t fail because their product is substandard. They fail because the market doesn’t understand, care, or believe in what they’re selling,” explains Bruce Cleveland , author of the new book, Market Engineering . He adds that this dilemma is “because somewhere between the product development and the customer, the story got lost, the positioning drifted, or their category was defined by somebody else and the market went to another company.” That means, every year, startups and enterprises pour millions into building world-class products--only to watch them disappear into obscurity. In the book, Silicon Valley veteran Cleveland reveals the discipline behind market-dominating companies like Salesforce, Marketo, and C3 AI. Drawing on decades of experience as an operator, investor, and board member, Cleveland demonstrates how leaders can apply the same rigor to markets that they bring to products. You'll discover how to: Compel markets to come to you instead of c...

The Do's And Don'ts Of Effective Listening

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman 's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who is an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

How To Lead With Deep Purpose

Having conducted extensive field research, Ranjay Gulati , author of the book, Deep Purpose , The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies , reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. “My interviews with well over 200 executives across 18 firms revealed the secrets of these companies—not the usual facile frameworks, but new ways of thinking about business that allow leaders and companies to operate with heightened passion, urgency, and clarity,” shares Gulati. “I call this, deep purpose .” Furthermore, Gulati explains that most leaders think of purpose functionally or instrumentally, regarding it as a tool they can wield. On the other hand, deep purpose leaders think of it as something more fundamental; an existential statement that expresses the firm’s very reason for being. These leaders project it faithfully out onto the world. “Rethinking the nature of purpose should prompt you in turn to re-imagine ...

How to Be a Leader – 9 Principles from Dale Carnegie

Today, I welcome thought-leader Nathan Magnuson as guest blogger... Nathan writes : This is it, your first day in a formal leadership role. You’ve worked hard as an individual contributor at one or possibly several organizations. Now management has finally seen fit to promote you into a position as one of their own: a supervisor. You don’t care if your new team is only one person or ten, you’re just excited that now – finally – you will be in charge! Unfortunately the euphoria is short-lived. Almost immediately, you are not only overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a team, but you quickly find that your team members are not as experienced or adroit as you. Some aren’t even as committed. You find yourself having to repeat yourself, send their work back for corrections, and staying late to fill the gap. If something doesn’t change soon, you might just run yourself into the ground. How did something that looked so easy ...

Discover How Ken Blanchard Changed The Way The World Leads

I would be hard pressed to find a leader, someone who studies leadership, or an aspiring leader who during the past 43 years hasn’t read the iconic and business classic The One Minute Manager (1982) or the updated new addition, The New One Minute Manager (2015). For decades, these two books, both co-authored by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson , have helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives. Now, in Chapter 9 of the new biography of Ken Blanchard, you’ll discover the story behind the idea and ultimate launch of the original The One Minute Manager . Chapter 9 is in the insightful and intimate biography, Catch People Doing Things Right , authored by Martha C. Lawrence . In it and through extensive access to personal papers, letters, and interviews spanning six decades, she reveals how Blanchard became a leadership guru and bestselling author of more than 70 books. Lawrence shares insights and intimate details about Blanchar...

How To Overcome Four Common Challenges To Become A Better Communicator

“Raising your game as a communicator is one of the best ways to make a difference in the world, but it takes courage to open up to others and invite others to open up to you” says Michelle D. Gladieux , author of the new book, Communicate With Courage: Taking Risks To Overcome The Four Hidden Challenges . Gladieux explains that those four hidden challenges and sneaky obstacles that can keep you from becoming the best communicator you can be are: Hiding —Fear of exposing your supposed weaknesses. Defining —Putting too much stock into assumptions and being quick to judge. Rationalizing —Using “being realistic” to shield yourself from taking chances, engaging in conflict, or doing other scary but potentially rewarding actions. Settling —Stopping at “good enough” instead of aiming for something better in your interactions. According to Gladieux, these challenges all have something in common. They require taking risks—to reveal yourself, question your beliefs,...

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog