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- There are choices! Making choices: a gifted case report
There are choices! Making choices: a gifted case report
- By Noks Nauta
- Published 11/13/2009
- High Ability - gifted/talented , Achievement / Vocation
Noks Nauta
Noks Nauta is an occupational health physician and a psychologist in Delft. She works as a freelance trainer and teacher, amongst others, in the field of the gifted. www.noksnauta.nl
By Arnolda P. Nauta, Sieuwke Ronner and Bernard Groeneveld
This article is a translation and adaptation of a chapter from the Dutch book for gifted adults 'Ongeleide projectielen op koers (Unguided missiles on course) by Noks Nauta and Sieuwke Ronner. Harcourt, 2007, ISBN 978 90 265 1799 0.
The authors of this article are currently working on a translation and adaptation of this book.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to ms A.P. (Noks) Nauta, Timorstraat 31, 2612 EH Delft, The Netherlands, #31 15 2125034, info@noksnauta.nl
Other authors: Sieuwke Ronner: info@meriones.nl Bernard (Benno) Groeneveld: b138233@yahoo.com
Abstract
In this article we present the story of a young university-educated woman who struggles with making choices in her career and in her life. In this case report we provide background information on gifted people at work (what jobs and companies are appropriate for highly gifted, how to deal with interpersonal problems, how to apply for a job, how to talk about the conditions in which you perform best) and how psychological processes like irrational thoughts, the process of making choices and dealing with emotions work out in the highly gifted.
Our conclusion is that learning to make choices can give gifted people the joy of living and the joy of working!
Keyword: gifted adults, adults making choices, career counseling, university-educated
Authors
Arnolda P. (Noks) Nauta is an occupational physician and organizational psychologist. Nauta helps professionals, such as physicians and psychologists, expand their expertise in the field of gifted people. She writes articles, makes presentations and organizes workshops about and for gifted adults. She has been a member of Mensa the Netherlands since 2000.
Sieuwke Ronner is a clinical psychologist and organization expert. Since 2002 she works as a self-employed coach, trainer and management consultant. She supports organizations in change processes and advises employers and employees on work related problems. One of her specializations is handling stress-related problems on the work floor. Also, over the last years she started to support, counsel and coach highly gifted individuals regarding to work related situations. She frequently publishes articles about her expertise.
Bernard (Benno) Groeneveld is a Dutch-American journalist and translator.
There are choices
Decision-making processes can be difficult for gifted people.
We present a profile of a young and gifted woman and her decision-making processes as she makes the transition from her life as a student/adolescent to a working adult.
Life transitions often force a person to make difficult choices, and the gifted frequently face challenges in making career and lifestyle choices. How does that happen? And how can we counsel gifted people in making such important choices?
Where appropriate, we refer in the text to the literature we presented here in the introduction This case is a composite of parts of real cases, Kitty herself is not a real person.
Kitty's case: Youth and school
When Kitty den Hollander graduated from university with a major in mathematics at the age of 22, she faced a number of important choices in her life.
The youngest of three children, Kitty showed evidence of her giftedness at an early age. Her sister Sandra, five years older and her brother Bob, one year older, were also smart.
But Kitty was always different. When her brother Bob learned to read, Kitty immediately joined him and they soon became real pals in everything, leaving her sister Sandra sometimes feeling shut out.
With a five-year age difference, this seldom led to serious problems, but it did cause a strain in their relationship, which is evident even today.
Kitty did well in school, until seventh grade, when she began to experience academic and social problems; she retreated into herself and for a long time didn't like going to school.
Her teacher recognized in Kitty the characteristics of a highly intelligent person and sought confirmation through the school advisory service.
Kitty was tested and it turned out she was indeed highly intelligent.
The school psychologist offered Kitty's teachers and parents practical tips to support her development.
For example, Kitty was given the opportunity to read at her level in a higher grade.
She also received extra assignments in the school library where she helped to modernize the system used to loan books.
Kitty responded well to these arrangements and went to school with pleasure again. She made more friends and started music lessons, quickly showing a real talent for the violin.
Playing allowed Kitty to release her energy. She soon joined a youth orchestra and later became an orchestra leader.
Characteristics of high intelligence
Recognizing that a high IQ alone was insufficient to define gifted people, a group of experts (people who are themselves gifted and work with the gifted) in the Netherlands conducted a research project in 2006/2007 to determine what the term gifted means.
The Delphi method was used for this research. This research generated a theoretical model that resulted in the following definition based on commonly shared characteristics:
A gifted individual is a quick and clever thinker, who is able to deal with complex matters. Autonomous, curious and passionate. A sensitive and emotionally rich person, living intensely. He or she enjoys being creative. (Kooijman-van Thiel, et al, 2008)
The above-mentioned Delphi research paid much attention to the characteristics of gifted. The following characteristics are the most eye-catching from the list:
At home, Kitty s parents allowed her the freedom to pursue her interests, but they were a bit controlling. Kitty did well in sciences in high school, so her parents pushed her to study mathematics, but she herself was more interested in attending a school of music.
Her parents insisted, even going so far as identifying their preference of both the university and sorority they felt would best fit Kitty. Wanting to please her parents, she gave in to their request. Kitty began to study theoretical mathematics and commuted between her hometown and the nearby university so that she could live at home.
During her studies, Kitty felt increasingly uncertain and sometimes even slightly depressed. She started fighting with her mother. She wanted to go to parties at night in her university town, but her parents thought that would be dangerous. As a result she had little contact with her fellow students.
Kitty finished her degree within the expected time and continued playing in the orchestra, greatly enjoying it. She found a series of summer jobs. But problems emerged during her jobs because she often spoke up and interfered in things she thought didn t go well. Neither her colleagues nor management appreciated her advice, and this often resulted in conflicts.
Interpersonal problems in the work environment
Gifted people can appear to be know-it-alls in their work environment. Supervisors and colleagues often feel threatened by their critical analyses. Gifted people are often unaware of the effects of their quick and sharp analyses and their capacity to see through complex situations.
So interpersonal problems arise between gifted employees and their work environment.
In a table in an earlier article Nauta & Corten (2002) showed how such a mismatch can arise based on different interpretations of the interactions between the gifted and the work environment.
[See article Giftedness in the work environment, By Noks Nauta, Sieuwke Ronner]
Exposing these differences creates more understanding between both parties.
Kitty's case: Choosing a job
After graduation, Kitty started looking for a fulltime job. She saw an ad for a job as a graduate assistant to work on a dissertation that complemented her thesis, a very theoretical subject in numerical mathematics. Her parents were very enthusiastic; they thought it a good way to start her career.
Kitty herself was not really happy, though. She had nightmares, waking up in a sweat, feeling as if she were suffocating.
She wondered whether this job was what she wanted -- or was it her parents choice?
Kitty discussed her dilemma with one of her girlfriends, who studied psychology and saw how she struggled. Her friend advised her to postpone making the decision for a while, because this was truly an important moment in her life and to ask for help.
Her girlfriend had recently heard about a special workshop that helped smart people make good life choices and work on their careers. She thought that this was what Kitty needed.
Kitty's case: The career adventure
Kitty started looking for jobs on the Internet, but found nothing of interest. She did find a notice about career counseling for gifted people, a career adventure, aimed at very intelligent people who had not learned how to make choices based on their feelings. That adventure appealed to her.
She learned that the program involved spending a day in nature and completing several assignments, with a follow-up meeting three weeks later. She hesitated, thinking it sounded vague and that she was too young for that approach. However, Kitty knew that she had to do something and finally decided to register. Her parents were not willing to pay for it, but Kitty decided it would be worth it.
After the event, she did not think she got everything possible out of it. At her request, she met with one of the counselors of the program.
Kitty:
"I was sent into the woods with a number of other people with a rather vague assignment. I looked around and did not really know what I had to do. I asked Harry what he thought; he wasn't too sure either. I really didn't see the use of it at that point, but I thought that wouldn't be nice for my counselors and the others.
So I decided to do the assignment as well as I could. I was afraid that otherwise I would create all kinds of confusion and that the others would find me a boring whiner. It was only after the whole thing was over that I questioned what I had done, out there in the woods. I had only been working on things that others expected of me and I wanted to be liked.
But I didn't do what I really wanted to do. I was really shocked by that. That's what I always had done up to that point: not doing what I wanted... Even in choosing my field of study .... So I did not get everything available out of it. I Thought: Can I have a do-over?
This article is a translation and adaptation of a chapter from the Dutch book for gifted adults 'Ongeleide projectielen op koers (Unguided missiles on course) by Noks Nauta and Sieuwke Ronner. Harcourt, 2007, ISBN 978 90 265 1799 0.
The authors of this article are currently working on a translation and adaptation of this book.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to ms A.P. (Noks) Nauta, Timorstraat 31, 2612 EH Delft, The Netherlands, #31 15 2125034, info@noksnauta.nl
Other authors: Sieuwke Ronner: info@meriones.nl Bernard (Benno) Groeneveld: b138233@yahoo.com
Abstract
In this article we present the story of a young university-educated woman who struggles with making choices in her career and in her life. In this case report we provide background information on gifted people at work (what jobs and companies are appropriate for highly gifted, how to deal with interpersonal problems, how to apply for a job, how to talk about the conditions in which you perform best) and how psychological processes like irrational thoughts, the process of making choices and dealing with emotions work out in the highly gifted.
Our conclusion is that learning to make choices can give gifted people the joy of living and the joy of working!
Keyword: gifted adults, adults making choices, career counseling, university-educated
Authors
Arnolda P. (Noks) Nauta is an occupational physician and organizational psychologist. Nauta helps professionals, such as physicians and psychologists, expand their expertise in the field of gifted people. She writes articles, makes presentations and organizes workshops about and for gifted adults. She has been a member of Mensa the Netherlands since 2000.
Sieuwke Ronner is a clinical psychologist and organization expert. Since 2002 she works as a self-employed coach, trainer and management consultant. She supports organizations in change processes and advises employers and employees on work related problems. One of her specializations is handling stress-related problems on the work floor. Also, over the last years she started to support, counsel and coach highly gifted individuals regarding to work related situations. She frequently publishes articles about her expertise.
Bernard (Benno) Groeneveld is a Dutch-American journalist and translator.
There are choices
Decision-making processes can be difficult for gifted people.
We present a profile of a young and gifted woman and her decision-making processes as she makes the transition from her life as a student/adolescent to a working adult.
Life transitions often force a person to make difficult choices, and the gifted frequently face challenges in making career and lifestyle choices. How does that happen? And how can we counsel gifted people in making such important choices?
Where appropriate, we refer in the text to the literature we presented here in the introduction This case is a composite of parts of real cases, Kitty herself is not a real person.
Kitty's case: Youth and school
When Kitty den Hollander graduated from university with a major in mathematics at the age of 22, she faced a number of important choices in her life.
The youngest of three children, Kitty showed evidence of her giftedness at an early age. Her sister Sandra, five years older and her brother Bob, one year older, were also smart.
But Kitty was always different. When her brother Bob learned to read, Kitty immediately joined him and they soon became real pals in everything, leaving her sister Sandra sometimes feeling shut out.
With a five-year age difference, this seldom led to serious problems, but it did cause a strain in their relationship, which is evident even today.
Kitty did well in school, until seventh grade, when she began to experience academic and social problems; she retreated into herself and for a long time didn't like going to school. Her teacher recognized in Kitty the characteristics of a highly intelligent person and sought confirmation through the school advisory service.
Kitty was tested and it turned out she was indeed highly intelligent.
The school psychologist offered Kitty's teachers and parents practical tips to support her development.
For example, Kitty was given the opportunity to read at her level in a higher grade.
She also received extra assignments in the school library where she helped to modernize the system used to loan books.
Kitty responded well to these arrangements and went to school with pleasure again. She made more friends and started music lessons, quickly showing a real talent for the violin.
Playing allowed Kitty to release her energy. She soon joined a youth orchestra and later became an orchestra leader.
Characteristics of high intelligence
Recognizing that a high IQ alone was insufficient to define gifted people, a group of experts (people who are themselves gifted and work with the gifted) in the Netherlands conducted a research project in 2006/2007 to determine what the term gifted means.
The Delphi method was used for this research. This research generated a theoretical model that resulted in the following definition based on commonly shared characteristics:
A gifted individual is a quick and clever thinker, who is able to deal with complex matters. Autonomous, curious and passionate. A sensitive and emotionally rich person, living intensely. He or she enjoys being creative. (Kooijman-van Thiel, et al, 2008)
The above-mentioned Delphi research paid much attention to the characteristics of gifted. The following characteristics are the most eye-catching from the list:
- highly intelligent (thinking);
- autonomous (being);
- many-facetted emotional life (feeling);
- passionate and curious (wanting);
- highly sensitive (perceiving);
- creation-directed (doing);
- sparkling original, quick, intense and complex (interplay)
At home, Kitty s parents allowed her the freedom to pursue her interests, but they were a bit controlling. Kitty did well in sciences in high school, so her parents pushed her to study mathematics, but she herself was more interested in attending a school of music.
Her parents insisted, even going so far as identifying their preference of both the university and sorority they felt would best fit Kitty. Wanting to please her parents, she gave in to their request. Kitty began to study theoretical mathematics and commuted between her hometown and the nearby university so that she could live at home.
During her studies, Kitty felt increasingly uncertain and sometimes even slightly depressed. She started fighting with her mother. She wanted to go to parties at night in her university town, but her parents thought that would be dangerous. As a result she had little contact with her fellow students.
Kitty finished her degree within the expected time and continued playing in the orchestra, greatly enjoying it. She found a series of summer jobs. But problems emerged during her jobs because she often spoke up and interfered in things she thought didn t go well. Neither her colleagues nor management appreciated her advice, and this often resulted in conflicts.
Interpersonal problems in the work environment
Gifted people can appear to be know-it-alls in their work environment. Supervisors and colleagues often feel threatened by their critical analyses. Gifted people are often unaware of the effects of their quick and sharp analyses and their capacity to see through complex situations.
So interpersonal problems arise between gifted employees and their work environment.
In a table in an earlier article Nauta & Corten (2002) showed how such a mismatch can arise based on different interpretations of the interactions between the gifted and the work environment.
[See article Giftedness in the work environment, By Noks Nauta, Sieuwke Ronner]
Exposing these differences creates more understanding between both parties.
Kitty's case: Choosing a job
After graduation, Kitty started looking for a fulltime job. She saw an ad for a job as a graduate assistant to work on a dissertation that complemented her thesis, a very theoretical subject in numerical mathematics. Her parents were very enthusiastic; they thought it a good way to start her career.
Kitty herself was not really happy, though. She had nightmares, waking up in a sweat, feeling as if she were suffocating.
She wondered whether this job was what she wanted -- or was it her parents choice?
Kitty discussed her dilemma with one of her girlfriends, who studied psychology and saw how she struggled. Her friend advised her to postpone making the decision for a while, because this was truly an important moment in her life and to ask for help.
Her girlfriend had recently heard about a special workshop that helped smart people make good life choices and work on their careers. She thought that this was what Kitty needed.
Kitty's case: The career adventure
Kitty started looking for jobs on the Internet, but found nothing of interest. She did find a notice about career counseling for gifted people, a career adventure, aimed at very intelligent people who had not learned how to make choices based on their feelings. That adventure appealed to her.
She learned that the program involved spending a day in nature and completing several assignments, with a follow-up meeting three weeks later. She hesitated, thinking it sounded vague and that she was too young for that approach. However, Kitty knew that she had to do something and finally decided to register. Her parents were not willing to pay for it, but Kitty decided it would be worth it.
After the event, she did not think she got everything possible out of it. At her request, she met with one of the counselors of the program.
Kitty:
"I was sent into the woods with a number of other people with a rather vague assignment. I looked around and did not really know what I had to do. I asked Harry what he thought; he wasn't too sure either. I really didn't see the use of it at that point, but I thought that wouldn't be nice for my counselors and the others.
So I decided to do the assignment as well as I could. I was afraid that otherwise I would create all kinds of confusion and that the others would find me a boring whiner. It was only after the whole thing was over that I questioned what I had done, out there in the woods. I had only been working on things that others expected of me and I wanted to be liked.
But I didn't do what I really wanted to do. I was really shocked by that. That's what I always had done up to that point: not doing what I wanted... Even in choosing my field of study .... So I did not get everything available out of it. I Thought: Can I have a do-over?