How conducting a role analysis helps you identify patterns and change

Having read a lot of self-help books, I prefer those that include written exercises. They encourage me to reflect on my current state of mind, unearth insights and then make a plan for the future. My quest: How can I do better and feel better about myself?

To be successful at self-coaching and effective at self-help, however, you have to establish a baseline.

In research, a baseline can be achieved with the help of data. In project management, it is created with the help of key performance indicators (KPIs) and called slightly differently: a performance measurement baseline. Establishing a baseline for self-coaching is a bit less straightforward. You cannot fill in data or create personality KPIs. You are aiming for a basic understanding of yourself and how you show up every day.

There are various tools that can contribute to creating and solidifying such a baseline. One of my favorite ones is role analysis.

Role analysis is very easy to use, it is intuitive. When I first applied it, my biggest insight was: I don’t pause often enough to engage in this type of self-evaluation.

“Know thyself” is attributed to various Greek philosophers and poets, including to Socrates, the Phemonoe, or Chilon and Thales. Role analysis helps you accelerate this process.

This is how it works: You ask yourself which roles you held at age 6, 16, 26, 36 and so on. You take stock. I did so as part of a change management & coaching executive degree program at business school INSEAD.

What were the roles I held at various ages:

• At age 6, I was a pre-school student. I was a very shy child. I was an introvert. To summarise, I held the roles of student, friend, daughter, sister, introvert.

• At age 16, I was a High School student who excelled academically. On top of that, I was a class representative, had a take charge attitude and was very much involved in my class’ social activities. A member of Amnesty International and a nature conversation club, I was constantly on the go. I wore many hats: student, class representative, community activist, friend, sister, daughter.

• At age 26, I completed my graduate studies in Political Science and International Relations. I worked part-time for an international policy foundation, applied for jobs with prestigious international organizations and dreamt of a future working for the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank. I also supported my boyfriend; helped him finalize his degree and generate an income. My roles were: student, part-time freelancer, event organizer, founder of an institute, girlfriend, sister, daughter, friend.

• At age 36, I worked as a senior management consultant for Deutsche Bank. My life was dedicated to my job. My friends and I once jokingly referred to me as “the Jeanne d’Arc” of the bank. My boss had nominated me a social activities’ master of ceremony (MC), hence I also organized get-togethers for my colleagues. I even baked cupcakes and brought them to work. Again, I wore many hats: management consultant, friend, daughter, sister, chief social activity organizer, baker.

• … I haven’t turned 46 years yet, but remain curious as to the result. So far, at age 45, I work as a management consultant, an entrepreneur, a workshop host. I am also a friend, a sister, a daughter / caretaker, an aunt, a MasterMind member, and a person that uses her network to connect professionals from different parts of the world.

Do you recognize a pattern? I do.

Except for when I was 6 years old and a shy kid, I was always a go getter. You can add to this the role of “project manager” and “caretaker”.

For example, I took care of my boyfriend when I was 26 years old. At age 36, I baked cupcakes for my colleagues. At 45, I help my aging mother. While deep down, I may have been aware of this, carrying out a role analysis and sharing my insights with my peers helped me solidify this insight. What is more, doing a role analysis continues to give me a choice. Do I want to be a master of ceremony for social activities for my colleagues like I was at age 36? Most likely, not. It never was a role I enjoyed. Role analysis helps me take a look at these roles and evaluate whether I want to continue fulfilling them.

I can also dig deeper and assess whether this role comes naturally to me or whether it emerged as part of societal and family-of-origin expectations.

It creates a stronger degree of clarity. How am I and who do I want to be? Do these roles serve me?

If you want to give this a try yourself, I suggest setting aside 30 minutes for active reflecting. Use a sheet of paper or an excel file. It is useful to follow up by sharing your insights with a friend or peer. Ensure it is a person that can ask probing questions. You can also take turns with this friend / peer and review her / his insights the next time.

Engaging in role analysis is one of several self-coaching tools, including ‘the wheel of life’ or “six thinking hats’. Role analysis can also serve as a first step in a more complex assessment, the organizational role analysis (ORA). The ORA assessment helps you better understand your own perceptions of a (professional) role, how this might impact you, and whether and to which extent you can alter the dynamic. Dr. Susan Long and colleagues have published extensively about this.

In my view, the beauty of role analysis is based on its simplicity, the fact that anyone can engage with it. All it takes is some time to reflect, a notebook and peers who are willing to listen and ask you questions.

Sources:

CEO Magazine (no author): “Self-coaching: The life-changing leadership skill to master in 2022”. Published on 30 May 2022. Link.

Oldham Council (no author): “Self-coaching tool pack”. Published online. Link.

Peter Landau: “How to create a performance-measurement baseline for your projects”. Published on 07 September 2022. Link.

Dorothy E. Siminovitch and Ann M. Van Eron: “The power of presence and intentional use of self: Coaching for awareness, choice and change”. Published in International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, 2008. Do not distributed or printed without permission by IJCO. Link.

Susan Long, John Newton, Burkard Sievers: “Coaching in depth. The organizational role analysis approach” (book). Routledge website. Link.