The question presented as the headline to this column was raised recently in the context of excelling in the business world, however it can similarly be asked in the realm of news media.
Dan Miller, the author of the highly-acclaimed job and career book, 48 Days to the Work You Love, fields weekly questions and offers advice gained from years working in the personal development and career growth field. He took the following question recently on his highly-regarded online radio show.
“Can a naturally shy person, who might not fit the profile for your typical leader, truly lead from a loving and caring attitude? I sometimes feel like I’m not the business owner potential because I don’t have that corporate America attitude. I want to help others and I think I can be a great leader, but I don’t have such a dominant personality.”
In a world where business owners and leaders are often portrayed as obnoxious, forceful brutes, a la Cornelius Vanderbilt or Biff Tannen, this question is a common one. Popular culture and media often amplify this caricature, and many feel that you have to be a strong willed, outgoing personality to succeed in business, or similarly in media.
Miller began his answer by referring to the DISC personality profile system, which many companies and organizations utilize to analyze their employees and teams.
D – Dominant, forceful
I – Influencing, outgoing
S – Steady, even-tempered
C – Compliant, analytical
“You can be that person, absolutely,” Miller told his audience, “The question is not do you have to remake how God has made you in order to be successful. No, the question is, can you shape your business so it fits what you know about yourself?”
For decades, Miller has focused on self-knowledge and introspection as the foundation of any job or career decision. He has helped thousands, if not millions, by coaching job-seekers to find the perfect career. His analogies are tailored for employees and entrepreneurs, but the same correlations can be carried over to the media world.
If one is an introvert, perhaps an S or C on the DISC profile, he may not want to build a career as a dominant business owner. In media, Alex Jones, Bill O’Reilly or Dave Ramsey might fit that personality style. It doesn’t infer a positive or negative about their style, but simply that their personalities are naturally more forceful and outwardly opinionated than others. Meanwhile, examples of S or C type personalities would be, perhaps, Stuart Varney, Brett Baier and Dan Miller, himself.
“That’s why we promote the profile so much, so you know about yourself,” Miller said. “Once you know about yourself, then you know exactly how to focus the business that you want to have.”
In other words, start with your personality profile, traits and skills and work outward from there. Build the business, or media career, that fits you, rather than the other way around.
“Knowing what you know about yourself, now you are 80% there,” Miller concluded. “Because now you know how to shape a business, how to find a business, that does fit you.”
Dan Miller’s wisdom provides an interesting way to take his advice, transfer it across industries, and analyze the foundation of a media career.
Rick Schultz is a former Sports Director for WFUV Radio at Fordham University. He has coached and mentored hundreds of Sports Broadcasting students at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, Marist College and privately. His media career experiences include working for the Hudson Valley Renegades, Army Sports at West Point, The Norwich Navigators, 1340/1390 ESPN Radio in Poughkeepsie, NY, Time Warner Cable TV, Scorephone NY, Metro Networks, NBC Sports, ABC Sports, Cumulus Media, Pamal Broadcasting and WATR. He has also authored a number of books including “A Renegade Championship Summer” and “Untold Tales From The Bush Leagues”. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @RickSchultzNY.
