Fresh Start Monday #023: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, The Technician. Who do you need right now?

In his book "The E-Myth Revisited," Michael E. Gerber brings up the idea of three different personalities/people within each of us who start a business. I want to apply this concept to your career path regardless of whether you want to start a business or not.

The Entrepreneur

This is the visionary within us. They're future-oriented and the daydreamer. They map out the 5-year plan. They're great at dealing with the unknown and coming up with new creative possibilities.

With that comes a need for change and innovation. The entrepreneur doesn't stay still for long, and their worldview is an abundance of opportunities.

The Manager

This is the planner within us. They create order and structure in our lives. The manager creates systems like to-do lists and handles our calendars to keep us organized.

They stay with the status quo and don't like change. They're the ones that find routines and keep us running smoothly.

The Technician

This is the doer within us. They are great at putting their head down and doing their job—the individual contributor. If you want it done right, do it yourself.

They're the ones on the ground. The worker bee.

The entrepreneur lives in the future, the manager lives in the past, and the technician lives in the present.

We all have these personalities within us. Which character resembles you most strongly?

For me, it's the entrepreneur and technician. I love getting shit done and dreaming big, but I hate processes and feeling constrained within a rigid structure.

When viewing your career path from these personalities, what patterns emerge?

Where are you out of balance? What do you need more of?

When we start our careers, we develop into great technicians. We know what we're doing. We get stuff done. We work hard. Our bosses love us.

But without tapping into our Managers, we might get stuck. Some of us might never want to become managers. But a technician doesn't advance in their career by becoming a greater technician.

By starting to form systems and processes that help others, they can create an impact on a larger scale. Their influence extends beyond only what they touch.

But without our entrepreneurial mind, we don't know where we're going. We do what we're told. But why?

When we feel stuck in our careers, we often refuse to engage the other parts of ourselves. It’s not that we need to become entrepreneurs overnight, or create order in everything we do, but what are the 10 percent shifts in either direction?

If you're a dreamer, how can you take more action? Or create structure?

If you're a technician, what does your ideal career look like? Or what's the roadmap?

If you're a manager, what's the bigger picture? Or how are you getting your hands dirty?

This week I'm asking myself, how can I be organized? How can I make my life easier by introducing more order but retaining flexibility?

What's your question?