Assessments are all about mapping personal and professional success but when Kristin Sherry wanted more and the answers weren’t there – she wrote her own. YouMap®️ reveals the four pillars of career fit: strengths, values, preferred skills and interests.
Strength Finders, Myers-Briggs, Disc, Enneagram – there are more assessments than you can name and I cannot scroll through Instagram without seeing something about one of these. But knowing what to do with the results is where most people get overwhelmed. I know I did. I took Strength Finders about 14 years ago, read the results and promptly put the report on a shelf. Kristin Sherry used her strengths to chart a course toward an assessment that not only offered insight into who we are but also give us an action plan on how to use the results.
But this conversation isn’t about the assessment or how she did it, it is about WHY Kristin did it.
Focus on the positive
Kristin grew up with assessments, taking her first one when she at 19. As she took more and more, and started using them in her career, she noticed many of the results focused on the negatives – don’t do this, this is not a good fit, avoid doing this – and assessments were developed to help weed out the undesirables in the military.
We shouldn’t spend the majority of our lives focused on the negatives or our weaknesses. How can we play to our strengths instead? The behaviors that get rewarded get repeated is advice Kristin’s mother gave her frequently through life.
Kristin noticed that some people really hated being put in a box, and resented the negative language included in many (most) assessments. And as she was noticing these things, she also noticed she was starting to make assumptions about people based on the result of the assessment she would have them do as their coach.
Enter YouMap®️
When she realized what she was looking for didn’t exist, she developed her own assessment. Soon her clients were showing their results to their friends, and Kristin’s phone started ringing. Human resource managers and recruiters wanted to know who they could use the same assessment to get results for their teams.
The rest is history – and we talk more about the development path of YouMap®️ as well as the books that have come as a result of the work.
About Kristin A. Sherry
Kristin A. Sherry is a bestselling and award-winning author, globally recognized career expert, and creator of the YouMap®️ profile which won 2020 Career Innovator Award from Career Directors International.
She is a speaker, trainer, and author of the international bestseller, YouMap, and a 2020 Pencraft award-winner in business books for Your Team Loves Mondays…. Right? She is the managing partner of YouMap, LLC, which certifies coaches, career services, and HR professionals as YouMap coaches and facilitators.
Kristin has been a guest on Wharton Business Radio, a DisruptHR speaker, and a contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine.
Her award-winning children’s book, You’ve Got Gifts! released in November 2020 and self-development book, Maximize 365, released in February 2021.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- YouMap®️: take the assessment, find the books, and learn more about becoming a certified coach
- Follow or connect with Kristin on Linked In
- Know your strengths, a purposeful conversation with Arica Ohloff
PS… if you enjoy the show, please rate it on Apple podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher, and write a short review. Reviews help more people like you find the show!
If you don’t know how to leave a review, I’ve included the instructions below!
How to rate and leave a review for a podcast
Apple podcasts
- On your iOS mobile device, launch the Apple podcasts app.
- Tap the search tab in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Enter the name of the podcast you want to rate or review.
- Tap the Reviews tab, then tap
- Write a Review at the bottom of the screen.
Stitcher
- Go to The Pursuit of Purpose on Stitcher
- Scroll down until you see Write a Review under “load more episodes”
- Write a review or leave a rating
Listen to The Pursuit of Purpose on these podcast players:
- Google: http://bit.ly/POPonGoogle
- Spotify: http://bit.ly/POPonSpotify
- iHeartRadio: http://bit.ly/POPoniHeartRadio
- Stitcher: http://bit.ly/POPonStitcher
- Apple: http://bit.ly/POPonApple
How to rate and leave a review for a podcast
Apple podcasts
- On your iOS mobile device, launch the Apple podcasts app.
- Tap the search tab in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Enter the name of the podcast you want to rate or review.
- Tap the Reviews tab, then tap
- Write a Review at the bottom of the screen.
Stitcher
- Go to The Pursuit of Purpose on Stitcher
- Scroll down until you see Write a Review under “load more episodes”
- Write a review or leave a rating
