By: Stephen Horn
I want to take us on a journey into the BG5 System to understand the Four Career Types. Whether you’re new to the concept of BG5 and Career Types or seeking to understand how your Career Type shapes your professional journey, my goal with this article is to help shed light and provide a framework for the unique strengths, challenges, and potential roles of each career type in the workplace.
1. The Classic/Express Builder
Strengths: Builders are the powerhouse of the workforce, by providing their sustained and consistent energy resource when aligned with the work they love. Their innate drive to respond to work that lights them up makes them excellent at completing tasks and achieving efficiency in projects that resonate with them. They reach exhaustion after a satisfying work day where they rest and recharge.
Challenges: Builders can sometimes find themselves stuck in unfulfilling roles due to their ability to get the job done, even if it doesn’t satisfy them. The key challenge for Builders is learning to listen to their gut response to navigate toward work that truly satisfies them, avoiding burnout and frustration.
Potential Job Roles: Project Manager, Operations Specialist, Team Leader, Sales / Operations Manager
2. The Initiator
Strengths: Initiators are the trailblazers of the business world, inherently designed to “get things started” and “set the ball rolling.” Their independence and innovative spirit spark new ideas and drive swift actions, making them outstanding leaders for new ventures destined to make a significant impact.
Challenges: The challenge for Initiators stems from their strong tendency to act independently, which can sometimes alienate teammates or cause communication breakdowns. To fully harness their potential, Initiators can keep those affected by their actions well-informed. This strategy encourages collaboration and ensures transparency, helping them build stronger, more peaceful working relationships.
Potential Job Roles: Chief Officer, Entrepreneur, Startup Founder, Creative Director
3. The Advisor
Strengths: Advisors excel at organizing, and leading individuals, teams, and systems, thanks to their inherent ability to focus on and see the big picture. They are naturally inclined to guide, advise, and direct, making them invaluable in roles that require insight and leadership when recognized and invited. Advisors can enhance the success of others either one person at a time, or in a small or large group for short periods, by offering unique insights into efficiency and effectiveness.
Challenges: Advisors may struggle with being recognized for their talents, as they do not have the same energy for sustained work as Builders. Their challenge is to wait for the right invitations to contribute, ensuring their guidance is welcomed and recognized. Taking on too much, and working long hours trying to prove their value will only lead to burnout. Doing more won’t get them noticed for the value they offer.
Potential Job Roles: Management Consultant, Manager of a Process/Function (I.e Systems Manager, Business Analyst, Strategic Planner)
4. The Evaluator
Strengths: Evaluators are unique in that they reflect the health of the systems or work environments they are a part of. They best operate as an objective neutral party, a sampling observer to assess the people and the workplace. Over time they are surprised by the clarity and insights into what works or doesn’t for the well-being of their teams and organizations.
Challenges: Being deeply influenced by their environment, Evaluators can find it disappointing and challenging to function in chaotic or negative settings. They need to remain unattached and for the right work environment to feel good for their reflective nature is appreciated and nurtured.
Potential Job Roles: HR Consultant, Organizational Psychologist, Quality Assurance Specialist
Embracing Each Type’s Unique Contribution
In any professional environment, understanding and leveraging the innate strengths of each Career Type leads to more peaceful and surprising outcomes. Each type brings a unique set of skills and perspectives that, when aligned and recognized, and when a part of the right small or large group, can significantly enhance the material success of any organization.
Whether you’re planning your career managing a team, or looking for new opportunities, knowing your BG5 Career Types and your specific traits/qualities, strengths, and ideal work environment is crucial. When we accept and understand these differences, we create a happier and more successful work environment.
If you’re wondering how to use these insights in your job or team, look no further than the BG5 Business Institute. The Instructors and the knowledge they share truly help individuals and businesses succeed by aligning with the true nature of what your job is and letting go of everything else that is not in our job description.
As a 6/2 Emotional Projector, Stephen has 15 years of experience in Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding. With his “Work Smarter” approach, he has successfully developed and implemented efficient hiring strategies in fast-paced, complex high-growth environments within the Healthcare and Bio-Pharmaceutical (Drug Discovery) Industries.
In 2015, Stephen earned a Master of Arts in Sports Management from Kent State University after earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (AACSB Accredited) from Youngstown State University. In 2016, he set out on the open road, leaving his life in Ohio to create a new one 2434 miles away in sunny Los Angeles.
After learning about the Human Design System in 2019, Stephen is enjoying the deconditioning process as he dives deeper to learn the many layers of HD and BG5®. Stephen’s mission in life is to spot and help dissolve old ways of interacting as a community–moving from a reactive place to a responsive one. He wants to help move people from a stale status quo into a place of forgiveness, to help change the story of what’s possible for the world.
