Activity: The Roles We Play

1. At work, you might be surprised to find a variety of roles beyond your official title, offering opportunities for personal and professional growth. By actively exploring these roles, you can uncover hidden aspects of your job that align with your interests, values and strengths.

 

 

 

A person wearing multiple hats stacked on their head, with large glasses and a yellow turtleneck, standing against a blue background.

2. One way to explore how suited you might be to a particular job is to identify the roles you would like to play daily and how much time you would want to dedicate to those roles.

Here is a list of roles we play in our day-to-day work life.

  • You could add your own ideas for roles to the list.
  • Consider which of you are most interested in and which ones you want to avoid.
  • Investigator
  • Problem solver
  • Counsellor
  • Artist
  • Social worker
  • Researcher
  • Manager
  • Leader
  • Negotiator
  • Campaigner
  • Strategist
  • Mentor
  • Mediator
  • Salesperson
  • Project manager
  • Financial controller
  • Writer
  • Proof-reader
  • Auditor
  • Chairperson
  • Trouble-shooter
  • Scientist
  • Teacher
  • Presenter
  • Advocate
  • Motivator
  • Life coach
  • Administrator
  • Organiser
  • Adviser
  • Nanny
  • Inventor
  • Decision-maker
  • Risk-analyst
  • Translator
  • Promoter
  • Bearer of bad news
  • Quality controller
  • Designer
  • Entrepreneur

3. Now, think about your ideal job.

  • Pick 5-6 roles from the list above and draw a pie chart to indicate the mix of different roles you would like to have in that job and the proportion of time you would like to spend in each role.

A sheet of paper with a pie chart is placed on a blue surface, surrounded by crumpled paper balls. A marker is next to the paper.

 

4. Next, identify a real job you are considering as a possible career option. See if you can create a similar pie chart for that job.

  • What are the different roles you would have to play in that job?
  • What proportion of your time would you be in each of those roles?
  • Are there any 'hidden' roles within it that align with your goals, values, and strengths?

Adapted from the 'Role Combo' activity, originally developed by the Careers Group at the University of London in 2010.

 

Other ways to keep exploring:

Want to keep thinking about your path? Attend the Know Your Skills workshop or Finding Meaningful Work to identify themes by reflecting on your strengths, interests and values in your past experiences. Build on this exercise by attending events hosted by CxED