The Modern Manager 171: Tap Into the Power of Sparketypes with Jonathan Fields
Do you ever wonder why some people love a complex challenge while others find it exhausting? Or maybe you’ve discovered that certain activities put you into a state of flow in which you’re completely immersed and lose track of time. When we understand the motivations and activities that we are innately wired for, we are able to use that information to design our lives in ways that make us more fulfilled and productive. This “DNA-level wiring” is called your Sparketype.
Today’s guest is Jonathan Fields. Jonathan hosts one of the top-ranked podcasts in the world, Good Life Project®, where he shares powerful stories, conversations, and resources, on a mission to help listeners live more meaningful and inspired lives. The podcast has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Apple’s iconic annual product event and more. Jonathan is also the founder and CEO of Spark Endeavors, a research initiative focused on helping individuals and organizations reclaim work as a source of purpose, energy, meaning, and possibility. His book, SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work That Makes You Come Alive was just released and the book delivers an important message in a time when many people are emerging from the pandemic and seeking out new work that will both challenge and fulfill them.
Jonathan and I talk about what the various Sparketypes are and how knowing yours, or your team members, can help make work, and life, more fulfilling.
Members of the Modern Manager get my guide to talking about Sparketypes with your team. Get it when you join at www.themodernmanager.com/join.
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Read the related blog article: The 10 Sparketypes That Every Manager Needs to Support
KEEP UP WITH JONATHAN
Website: https://sparketype.com/ and https://www.jonathanfields.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathanfields
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanfields1/
Book: https://sparketype.com/book/#order
Key Takeaways:
- “Sparketypes” are the “DNA-level drivers” of action that set us on fire by most deeply fulfilling and energizing us. There are ten different Sparkatypes.
- A Maven gets super excited to learn just for learning’s sake.
- A Maker loves manifesting ideas physically, digitally, or experientially.
- A Scientist is thrilled to puzzle over a difficult, burning problem.
- An Essentialist strives to create elegant order from chaos.
- A Performer wants to animate and energize every opportunity.
- A Warrior thrives on gathering people and leading them from Point A to Point B.
- A Sage loves to awaken insights in other people.
- An Advisor gets pumped by mentoring others and helping them grow.
- An Advocate is animated by standing up for ideas, individuals, or communities.
- A Nurturer lives to elevate and take care of others.
- When we are doing activities in alignment with our Sparketype, we experience meaning, purpose, flow, energy, and actualization.
- Your Sparketype does not determine what job you should have. Instead, it can help you identify tasks or activities within any role that tap into your innate drivers.
- We can use hobbies or side hustles as a way to energize us from our Sparkatypes. This is often refueling and will help us get our other work done.
- When we work from our Sparkatype, we act differently and people respond to us differently.
- Anyone can succeed in their roles more by capitalizing on their specific strengths.
- Successful leaders can have any of the Sparkatypes, not just Warrior or Advisor.
Additional Resources:
- Take the free Sparketype Assessment: https://sparketype.com/sparketest/