OGL 498 Pro-Seminar II

Discussion Topic #5

Career and Life Orientation Index

And
Purpose & Mission Statement
Prompt #1: Follow the instructions for the Career and Life Orientation Index in
your textbook. What was your average score and what category (from highly
organizational to highly protean did you fall into? Based on what you have read
about the organizational versus protean career models (review Chapter 1 / Our
Career and Work-Life Model / page 11), do you feel that the instrument accurately
captured your orientation? Why or why not? Please provide an example or two
from your own life.

I found this assessment to be very interesting as I would have guessed from what I
read in Chapter 1 that I would have been more middle of the road between protean
and organizational. My results in taking the Career and Life Orientation Index
painted a much different picture. My average score was 4.6 which put me in the
highly protean category. While most of my life I have been dedicated to the
organizations I have worked for, I am recently realizing that todays world is very
different from that of our parents and grandparents. Loyalty between an
organization and employee nowadays only goes as far as its benefits each. The
concept of spending ones working life at a single organization is very much a thing
of the past. In recognizing this, I have realized that I must adapt to this new normal
or my family and I will be the ones who will pay the price. I have become very
focused on work-life balance and have adopted the perspective that if my career is
not servicing my family and their needs, including my quality time with them, then
it is counter productive to its intended purpose. To some, success is measured in
title and wealth. I have realized that, to me, both of these things mean nothing
when you review your life to see what has defined you. It is the time and memories
that I have and will create with my family and friends along with the impact I am
able to make on the lives of others that is what I have found to be most important. I
believe the instrument very accurately captured my orientation, even though at first
it came as a bit of a surprise.

Prompt #2: As you review the hypothesized career and life facets, (self direction /
organizational orientation / values expression / whole-life balance / family focus /
community involvement), comment on your scores / priorities there. Which of these
are most important to you? Which are least important to you? What implications
does this have on your career choices? (Make some connections to your selfassessments).
The scores for this portion of the assessment followed suit to the other selfassessments I have taken throughout this course. My scores revealed that my focus
is primarily on Family with an average score of 30, Whole life balance with an
average score of 4, and Community Involvement with a score of 4. This is a trend I
have seen in each of the other self-assessments. The only difference I noticed is
that my sense of faith was not part of this assessment. I probably could interpret
the Value Expression category as an extension of my faith. I scored a 3.9 in this
category, so it as relatively high as well. My score on self direction of a 3.5 was a
little bit surprising as I thought I would have scored higher. Comparatively speaking,
I did not score low in this category, just not as high as some of the other categories.
Organizational Orientation was by far my lowest score (2.4) which after completing
step one of this exercise did not come as much of s surprise. Again, prior to taking
this assessment, I would have definitely believed I was much more inclined to being
high on the organizational spectrum, but I find it very telling that I my score did not
reflect this. I believe this will be very valuable to know moving forward with my
career choices.

Prompt #3 Set-Up:
Prior to attempting Prompt #3, be sure to carefully review the Formulating a
Personal Purpose and Mission Statement (included with the Discussion Topic 5
instructions), and that you have also carefully reviewed the Good to Great
Connections PowerPoint presentation under the Week 5 Lectures / Presentations /
PPT's / Clips content area.

Prompt #3: Please provide your own Personal Purpose Statement and Mission
Statement here.
Personal Purpose Statement
To be the cornerstone upon which a life full of spiritual richness, undeniable
security, and a joy from the simple pleasures of life for my family is built upon.
Mission Statement
I will strive to be the spiritual leader of my family and make Jesus Christ my number
one priority in all aspects of life.
I will provide a secure and joyful life for my wife and children to enjoy.
I will wake up everyday with the goal of being the very best version of myself,
regardless of the situation or outside influences.
I will pursue my dreams and desires without reservation.
I will not allow the fear of failure or of the unknown to come between my family and
the life they deserve to have.
I will relentlessly search to find my deepest passions in life and encourage my
family to do so as well.
I will continually be intentional in spending quality time with my wife and making
our relationship my second priority next to my faith. This will also result in a stable
environment for my children to grow up in.
I will pursue a career that is not only fulfilling to me and provides well for my family,
but also makes a difference in the lives of others.
I will make physical fitness and a healthy diet a priority in my life so that I may
enjoy time with my family for years to come.
I will expand my circle of friends and work hard to allow others into my life.

I will try to prevent times when I feel as though I am a burden rather than the
provider.
I will enjoy my work by finding employment where I can use my hands and tools to
construct projects.
I will find enjoyment in my personal life through spending quality time with my
family.
I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as researching,
analyzing, building, listening, counseling.
I can do anything I set my mind to. I will build a company that rehabilitates houses
for single mothers in order to provide a more stable and happy environment for
their family.
My life's journey is to provide a life for my family that they will look back on with
nothing but loving and joyful memories.
I will be a person who lives life with his integrity and moral character as his
compass.

I used a combination of reviewing my thematic analysis, doing some seep soul

searching, and FranklinCoveys personal mission statement builder. Each of these
steps for me were equally beneficial in coming up with my mission statement. I
found different inspiration and insight from each source, which together I felt
provided a comprehensive overview of what I find important and want to focus on in
life. I learned that a mission statement sounds easy in theory, but can actually be
fairly complex once I started digging into it. I found very valuable insight into what
is truly important to me and what I want to make a priority to focus on in my life. I
think if I were to fallow this mission statement closely, I would be very satisfied with
the way I lead my life.