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n this chapter I have outlined some points to ponder and the
Seven Habits of High-Octane Parents for implementation of the ideas found in
this book.
Please
use this step-by-step guide to help you implement the ideas you have read
about. As you begin to implement the ideas with your young children or test the
older children, remember to read the profiles from the tests and reread this
section often when evaluating where you are at any one time. At the end of the
book I have included resources to help you gain access to tests online and
descriptions of the tests, the differences between them and how to read the
profiles in general.
What
We Are Made For
The benefits of understanding a child’s design include built-in
motivation to achieve, personal focus, personal significance, self confidence,
and a since of direction and meaning in the child’s life. These benefits
are understood in the context of training up a child “in the way he should
go” (Proverbs 22:6).
People are a combination of
personalities, talents and strengths, and behavioral traits all driven
by their individual passion in life. Parents are not always equipped to provide
a high level of guidance to their children. Parents often lack the training to
raise High-Octane children, providing High-Octane fuel for them to operate will
fill in the gap.
The Gallup Clifton StrengthsFinder® , the Meyers-Briggs
Type Indicator®, and the DISC Classic Profile®
assessments can be utilized so parents can start getting a feel for how to
develop the high-octane fuel they need for their children.
Through observation and interaction, parents can see how children are
unique and wonderful gifts from God. Through techniques laid out in this book
you can see how He put them together exactly as He wanted; and how we have the
privilege and responsibility to contribute to the development of our children
while teaching them “the way they should go.”
This is our mandate as parents to see that we have an understanding of
how God made them, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as
well.
It is
important to understand what potholes parents can help a child avoid, where the
bumps are, and what turns in the road need to be avoided. It is important to
use the right tool for the job.
There
are three assessments including the Meyers-Briggs Type
Indicator®, the DiSC Classic Profile®, and the
Gallup Clifton StrengthsFinder® assessment.
A
child’s passion, personality profile, strengths, and behavioral traits
work together to provide the blueprint needed as parents set expectations and
begin to establish a vision in the heart of a child. It is this vision that
will motivate the child to achieve great things in life.
 Passion
is important to watch in a child because it is a compass and when you factor in
personality and strengths you will get a more complete picture. Passion
provides direction, traits provide context, and values connect the child to the
outside world. Avoid the super hero trap by setting realistic expectations as
you establish a vision in the heart of you children.
Paint
a vision in the heart of your children. A vision of what he or she can
accomplish, of what he or she can become, a mission empowering vision. Children need a vision with an eternal
perspective in mind, a perspective that takes into account how God designed
them, so that just like King David they can accomplish God’s purpose in
their lives in their generation.
Values
are magnetic, remember the dot-to-dot paradigm, it will help you spot the
“dots” (knowledge about the child) in young children as you develop
parenting skills; and how to keep in mind his or her values, which serve as an
instrument panel as you paint a vision in the heart of your child.
It is
important to understand the relationship between knowledge, understanding and
wisdom and how parents should beware of the world’s definition of success
and failure, how each child is an individual with specific gifts and how their
specific gifts make up there personal profile. As parents we should be focusing
on and observing strengths, not weaknesses (with exception of character flaws)
for guidance; and getting our children engaged in areas of their strengths,
values, and passions. This is the key to early High-Octane
development.
Identify
talents, personality traits and leadership style through observation in younger
years by observation and interaction to discover you’re your child thinks
about, what he or she does, what he or she loves because what your child talks
about and participates in help you to understand their profile earlier in life,
and refined through testing as early as age sixteen.
The
type of school, field of study, and extracurricular activities should all
consider your child’s profile and how it will prepare him or her to live
the life God has planned for him or her. Parents should get involved in what
their kids love, including their hobbies.
Students
naturally do well in classes their profile says they are strong in; motivation
is stimulated by vision; if a child has a well-developed picture of what they
will become, it will help motivate them in subjects and tasks they are not so
well prepared for. Paint word pictures of what your child can become; take him
or her to events where he or she can meet people that might be the type of
person he or she wants to be like. Talk to him or her often about what they
like and do not like.
Success in life is measured by our fulfillment of
God’s purpose in our lives at three levels, fellowship with Him, righteous
living, and living the life He created us to live. Success in life is about God
fulfilling His purpose in us and it is not always measured in dollars, but in
the joy life lived on purpose brings. Success is not always measured in grades,
but in overall completion of required results.
If a
child (or adult for that matter) lives within the scope of their profile, he or
she will be happier in general than a child who is not. If there has been a
clear vision developed in the mind and heart, the general direction a child
pursues will always tend toward what their God given bent is.
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Habits
to Develop:
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- Observe
and engage, celebrate differences
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- Watch
for personality and passion
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- Develop
your child’s vision and values
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- Develop
your child’s knowledge, understanding and wisdom
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- Identify
talents, personality traits and leadership style early on
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- Develop
your Childs “profile” or “blueprint” so they might do
God’s will in their lives
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- Understand
God’s purpose for your Childs life by understanding how they have been
designed
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List activities you plan to get your child involved in to
further develop their strengths and talents.
You
can find the information you need to take each of the three tests by going to
www.high-octane-living.com.
Click Get Your Profile
from the menu on the left of the page. You will find the resources you need to
complete your profile. The passion worksheet is in chapter eight of the
book.
There are three psychometric assessments, which can assist you in
building a profile of how God has designed you and your child. Each test paints
another part of the whole picture. Careful study of each of the traits within
the assessments will assist you in spotting tendencies in yourselves and your
younger children. The three assessments are the Gallup Clifton
StrengthsFinder®, the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, and the
DiSC Classic Profile®.
The Clifton
StrengthsFinder® assessment, designed and developed by
The Gallup Organization, is an online Internet
assessment that identifies
five talents or strengths a person has from a comprehensive list of thirty-four
possibilities. The five talents or strengths point out where we are more
effective, and where our strengths lie. The more people who understand their
talents and strengths, the better able they are to leverage them for top
performance.
According to
this assessment, all people can be classified using four criteria:
Extroversion – Introversion
Sensing – Intuition
Thinking – Feeling
Judging – Perceiving
The first criterion, Extroversion – Introversion, defines how
people express themselves. Extroverts express themselves mainly in the external
world while the introvert finds his or her source of energy mainly in the
internal world. The second criterion, Sensing – Intuition, defines the
method of information perception by a person. Sensing means that a person
believes mainly information he or she receives directly from the external
world. Intuition means that a person believes mainly information he receives
from the internal or imaginative world. The third criterion, Thinking –
Feeling, defines how the person processes information. Thinking means a person
makes a decision mainly through logic. Feeling means that, as a rule, he or she
makes a decision based on emotion. The fourth criterion, Judging –
Perceiving, defines how a person implements the information he or she has
processed. Judging is defined how a person organizes all his life events and
acts strictly according to his plans. Perceiving means that he is inclined to
improvise and seek alternatives.
The DiSC Classic Profile® evaluates behavioral traits, or
how people respond to the world around them. The DiSC Classic Profile®
provides an insight into an individual style that is more than adequate
to predict the likely trends of their behavior in the future. These traits
or styles of behavior are divided into the following four
dimensions:
Dominance (D) is the DiSC Classic Profile®
factor that relates to control, power, and assertiveness.
Influence (I) relates to an individual’s approach to
social situations, and their style of communication.
Steadiness (S) is the factor of patience, persistence,
and thoughtfulness.
Compliance (C) describes a person’s approach to
structure and organization.
The
differences between the tests may seem subtle at first, especially between the
DiSC Classic Profile®, and the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator®, but they are very different in how they are
administered, and what they are attempting to achieve.
The DiSC Classic Profile® describes behavior based on how people view
themselves in their various environments.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® describes how people approach their environment
intellectually, and attitudinally, and how they process information.
The Clifton StrengthsFinder® assessment evaluates what
talents (intellectual ability) and strengths (an asset of special worth or
utility) a person is gifted with.
It helps us understand what we are good at instead of how we
behave.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, will assist you
in planning for growth or
change by helping you develop self-awareness. The test is intended to give you the
information you need for getting along with others
more effectively, and identify the
source of relationship problems (through
skilled counseling) by highlighting
innate tendencies,
preferences, and motivations.
There are sixteen types of personality possibilities based on four pairs
of letters.
I do not endorse this
list of websites for their accuracy or but I believe you will find them
useful.
http://www.high-octane-living.com
http://www.high-octane-living.blogspot.com
http://www.strengthsfinder.com
http://gmj.gallup.com
http://www.inscapepublishing.com
http://www.socionics.com
http://www.oneishy.com
http://www.typelogic.com
http://www.personalitypage.com
http://www.keirsey.com
Now, Discover Your Strengths, Donald O. Clifton
Discover Your Sales Strengths, Donald O. Clifton
The 4 Dimensional Manager, Julie
Straw,
Alison
Brown Cerier
The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership, John Maxwell
Developing The Leader Within You, John Maxwell
Love For A Lifetime, James Dobson
Love And Respect, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Living Your Strengths, Albert
L. Winseman,
Donald
O. Clifton,
Curt
Liesveld
First, Break All The Rules, Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman
The One Thing You Need To Know, Marcus Buckingham
Go
to http://www.high-octane-living.com/books.htm
to purchase them.
For more information on the differences
between DiSC and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® see
http://www.inscapepublishing.com/pdf/PPSMBO-231.pdf
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