Lifestyle discovery means taking an honest look at your strengths, talents, values and daily habits so that you can make better choices about your work and the rest of your life. BOTI no longer runs a stand-alone Lifestyle & Career Discovery course. Its workplace essentials and personal effectiveness courses cover the same ground: strengths, goals, habits and confidence at work.
BOTI runs nearly 400 practical courses at your offices anywhere in South Africa, live online or at a BOTI venue - QCTO-accredited and a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor.
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Introduction: Lifestyle & Career Discovery Training Course
A lifestyle and career discovery workshop is a self-development session built around guided questions about your life and career. Delegates answer these questions honestly, and the answers show where their real strengths and potential lie. The aim is practical. Each person leaves with a clearer view of what they do well, what energises them and what holds them back, along with strategies they can apply at work and at home.
Most people never sit down to ask these questions. They take on roles because a vacancy opened up, or they keep doing work that drains them because it is familiar. A structured discovery process gives individuals and their managers a shared language for talent, motivation and growth.
Outline: Lifestyle & Career Discovery Training Course
A lifestyle and career discovery process usually covers four areas:
- Understanding strengths and talents
- Understanding why focusing only on fixing weaknesses holds people back
- Profiling the individual based on their talents
- Covering the myths that prevent development
Understanding strengths and talents
A talent is a natural pattern of thinking, feeling or behaving, such as noticing detail, building rapport quickly or staying calm under pressure. A strength is a talent that has been developed through practice and knowledge until it produces consistent results. Discovery work helps people name their talents in plain words and link them to tasks they already do well.
Why fixing weaknesses is not enough
Weaknesses still need attention when they block performance. A manager who cannot give feedback, for example, has to learn how. However, people tend to grow fastest in areas where they already have some natural ability. A sound development plan manages weaknesses to an acceptable level and invests most of the effort in strengths.
Profiling the individual
Profiling pulls the answers together into a simple picture of the person: their main talents, what motivates them, the work conditions that suit them and the roles where they are likely to contribute most. For a team leader, putting these profiles side by side helps when allocating work and planning development.
Myths that prevent development
Common myths include “it is too late to change direction”, “my personality is fixed”, “successful people are good at everything” and “development only happens on formal courses”. Challenging these beliefs is often the first step towards real change.
How to run your own lifestyle and career discovery
You can start the process on your own or with your manager. The following steps keep it practical:
- List your peak moments. Write down three or four times at work or in your personal life when you felt fully engaged and did excellent work. Note what you were doing and why it went well.
- Look for patterns. Compare the moments. Repeated themes, such as solving problems, helping people or organising details, point to your talents.
- Ask for feedback. Ask two or three colleagues, friends or family members what they rely on you for. Others often see strengths that we take for granted.
- Check your values. Decide what matters most to you, for example security, learning, family time, service or recognition. Career choices that clash with core values rarely last.
- Review your lifestyle. Look at sleep, health, finances, relationships and how you spend your time. Career growth is hard when the rest of life is out of balance.
- Set a small number of goals. Choose one or two goals for the next 90 days that use your strengths, and agree how you will measure progress.
- Build habits, not just plans. Turn each goal into a weekly habit you can keep, and review it regularly.
BOTI courses that cover lifestyle and career discovery today
The following BOTI courses build the skills a discovery workshop aims for:
- Personal Mastery: Goals, Habits and a Growth Mindset (3-hour online masterclass) covers self-awareness, goal setting, habit building and a growth mindset.
- Goal Setting and Getting Things Done (1 day) turns insight into clear goals and follow-through.
- Personal Branding Course (1 day) helps delegates present their strengths clearly to managers, colleagues and clients.
- Assertiveness and Self-Confidence Course (1 day) builds the confidence to act on what delegates have discovered about themselves.
- 10 Soft Skills You Need (1 day) covers the core personal and interpersonal skills employers look for.
- Coaching and Mentoring Course (2 days) is for managers who want to guide their team members through this kind of development conversation.
Recommended Prior Experience and Knowledge: Lifestyle & Career Discovery Training Course
This type of development suits:
- Employees who want to find strategies they can apply to reach their full potential at work and in their personal lives
- People at a career crossroads, returning to work or moving into a new role
- Team leaders and managers who want to understand and use the talents in their teams
No prior experience or knowledge is needed.
Book or Request a Quote
BOTI runs these courses for groups at your offices, at its venue, or online. Use the button to view the personal effectiveness courses and request a quote:
Or browse all our courses, run at your offices, online or at a BOTI venue:
BOTI also offers the Professional Presentations Course.
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Frequently asked questions
What is lifestyle discovery?
Lifestyle discovery is an honest review of your strengths, talents, values and daily habits, used to make better decisions about your career and personal life. It usually combines guided questions, feedback from others and a short set of goals.
Does BOTI run a Lifestyle and Career Discovery course?
BOTI no longer runs a stand-alone Lifestyle and Career Discovery course. The closest BOTI options are Personal Mastery: Goals, Habits and a Growth Mindset, Goal Setting and Getting Things Done, the Personal Branding Course and the Assertiveness and Self-Confidence Course.
Should I focus on my strengths or my weaknesses?
Manage weaknesses that block your performance, but put most of your development effort into your strengths. People usually grow fastest in areas where they already have natural ability.
Can this training be run for a whole team?
Yes. BOTI runs its personal effectiveness courses for groups in-house at your premises, at its venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online, so a team can work through goals and strengths together.
If you want to turn self-discovery into clear goals and lasting habits, start with Personal Mastery: Goals, Habits and a Growth Mindset. Training runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online. Call BOTI on 011 882 8853 or email [email protected], or request a quote. This course is not accredited. It is delivered as a professional skills programme, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
