OGL 498 Pro-Seminar II Discussion Topic #5

Career and Life Orientation Index

And

Purpose & Mission Statement

Preparation:

Before going any further in this assignment, be sure you have actively read and reviewed all of
the materials in the Week Five Readings content area, as well as viewed any relevant
information under Week 5 Lectures / Presentations / PPTs / Clips

Formatting Instructions:

Please sure to copy/paste the prompts (and not all the set-up information) into your discussion
topic thread, and then respond meaningfully to the prompts. (Remember, sometimes its better
to do this offline, and then create a thread to paste your entire discussion topic entry directly
into.)

Some Tips for Doing Well on Discussion Topics:

Many times, each of these prompts have more than one question be sure to read each
prompt carefully, and respond to all aspects of each prompt. Short answers (two or three
sentences) are generally NOT acceptable. Remember, more is better in terms of thoughtful
engagement and writing. Also be sure to meaningfully connect with the readings (as well as
any other course content that may be applicable). Each discussion topic prompt warrants
several well-constructed paragraphs of content if you hope to earn a high score!

Again, be sure your writing shows evidence of having read all of the assigned chapters from
your textbook (and other assigned readings and presentations, as applicable) as discussion
topic threads that dont convey engagement or integration of all assigned readings / content do
not score as well as those that do.

Also, remember for all written submissions, be sure it is well written, easy to understand, free
of spelling and grammar errors and that you follow the formatting instructions (and include
the prompts / questions prior to your responses). Please just include / paste in the specific
questions / prompts into your response not all of the set up information.

There are three prompts associated with this discussion topic.

Prompt #1 / 2 Set-Up:

Prior to attempting Prompt #1 / Prompt #2 of this discussion topic, be sure you have read all of
the assigned readings for the week and viewed the summary slides under the Lectures /
Presentations link. Also review the instructions for the Career and Life Orientation Index
(pages 99-101 in your textbook).

The Career and Life Orientation Index is intended to tell you how protean you are (vs.
Organizational) in the way you look at your career. It will also tell you what anchor you cling
tothat is, what is the thing you hold most dear in managing your career? This could include:

1. Self direction: you being in charge

2. Organizational orientation: identifying with and playing out your career with a
particular organization

3. Values expression: having the opportunity to let your values drive your career goals

4. Whole-life balance: a focus on the whole person is important

5. Family focus: driving force is time with family

6. Community involvement: driving force is giving to the community

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.

After taking the index, I ranked highly protean with the score 131. I would have to agree with
my average score of 4.15. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family I saw the importance of a
balanced and flexible lifestyle. Growing up I have experienced working for other organizations
and could not imagine staying there. I would much rather risk it on my own and build myself up
then attempt to work my way up a corporate ladder. I have always dreamed of owning my own
business so that the power is in my hands to decide how to spend my time. I This index has
tells me that while I am a hard worker and value my career as a business owner, my self-
expression of values and need for community involvement is strong. I enjoy having the choice
to work long hours or decide to take the day off. Even though I am single and have no children,
the family that I do have is large part of who I am. I need to have time to spend with my family
in order for me to be happy in my life. Part of my need to be involved with the community
stems from my family values and teachings. I was raised from a young age to celebrate being
Romanian and thus got extremely involved with the Romanian community here is AZ. I was
President of my Youth Group/Traditional Dance group for 6 years. Being part of any community
gives me a sense of belonging. Since then I have moved on to participating in other
communities that pertain to my industry. I found it quite interesting that I scored the way I did
because I didnt see community involvement being ranked highly protean.

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 self-assessments).

I scored extremely protean in community involvement, along with value expression and self-
direction. Building my business and brand I understand how these would be important to me
and my career. I am not to concerned with money, but focus more on making an impact. In
order for me to be happy in life I have to feel like I am working for something and not a certain
monetary value. I believe what type of brand will make an impact on young women that want
to get reach their goals in life. I enjoy leadership positions and always find myself guiding
individuals and/ or a project of sorts. Based on my scores, I believe that it proves that I am
highly driven in making a name for myself, by myself. Family is deeply important to me and
having time for them does rank highly in my life, but building myself up is priority. I believe that
if I do what I love and inspire others to do the same then I will live a comfortable life and my
future family will benefit from it. My lowest score was in Organizational Orientation and I would
have to agree with the results. When I envision the future I dont see myself working for an
organization not do I see myself limiting myself to one business. I have always been known to
have my hands in several different projects at a time and I dont see that changing. I have
goals the pertain to reaching a large broad audience in different industries.
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.

Also, please reflect on the process you used to develop your purpose and mission statements.
Explain what you learned from the mission statement development process and any approach,
strategy, or tool(s) specifically, that helped you craft your own statement.

Personal Purpose Statement: To cultivate and grow a community that inspires confidence and
empowerment through knowledge, self-love, and passion.

Mission Statement: To continuously seek out knowledge, better myself in my personal and
professional life, and strive to empower others through example by obtaining my passions and
goals in life.

I kept both my purpose and mission statement simple and short. I wanted to keep them both
simple and short because they are honest and right to the point. In general, I enjoy the details
of anything and everything but in this case I thought it was important to be able to be able to
recite continuously. I Have always felt as if my journey here is to inspire others to reach their
goals. I have always been driven by being a good leader and guiding others to greatness. In
order for all of us to reach our fullest potential we must first be confident in ourselves and our
talents. I dont believe that our weaknesses make us weak but in fact they make us stronger.
Not only is there the ability to grow but if we understand our strengths and how to use them,
there is nothing stopping anyone from reaching their goals. I realize that I could never inspire
others if I wasnt confident in myself and an open book regardless of my failures in life. I hope
to become a public figure that is known for leadership skills and empowering others.