The animated film, AntZ, is a brilliant metaphor for how we "HumanZ" live. It reminds us that we are a "species" too. Imagine for a moment what it's like to be an ant. A small patch of grass appears as a forest stretching out as far as you can see. Your world seems large and complex, and you spend most of your life trying to get a sense of how it all works. Just like us humanz, antz are probably hanging out at coffee shops, pondering the meaning of it all. Since humans are hovering high above the ant's whole world, we can get a sense of how life is organized for them. As you know, we humanz are not all that different from antz when it comes to being overwhelmed by the vastness of the world. Questions such as, "What else is out there? What kinds of work am I best at?" are common topics of conversation today. In a way, you might say we are too close to see how we "operate" as a species. Without a big picture perspective, it's hard to see how each of us fits into a larger whole.

To get your bearings, it's important to remember that we humanz are from this world. We are animals too, albeit, very brilliant ones. And our brilliance, a highly adaptable species, gets us in trouble. We can ignore our inborn ability and still survive. More often than not, we find ourselves in situations that don't fit our innate aptitude. Since we get paid for our work, even though it may not fit, we'll tough it out. The conventional "work is supposed to suck" attitude often tricks people into adapting to a poor fitting career. Being mediocre at your work won't likely put you in the poor house, but just "surviving" is certainly a stressful way to live. Playing this clever trick on Mother Nature only works in the human kingdom. If animals tried to do anything other than use their inborn proclivity, they would become extinct.

Life would be simple if we were really like the antz. Everything would be pre-programmed into our DNA. Some ants are born to be workers and others to be soldiers; they just do what they do, by instinct. HumanZ, however, have some choices to make. At same time, we are not a blank slate; each of us has certain inborn proclivities, talents and abilities, and a unique personality. Although our destiny is not hardwired, our innate abilities inform us in making life choices that will maximize our potential.

Our science, arts, business, and government "institutions" each impact society in different ways, yet the tasks performed in each arena are not uncommon. Human beings, and how we organize ourselves into a civilization, are not as complicated as we first appear. Although the federal government estimates there are over 10,000 different careers, the tasks and activities or "functions" humans perform across the gamut are quite similar. For example, the function of "brainstorming creative ideas" helps scientists make breakthroughs, artists with originality, and entrepreneurs in inventing the next new product. Once you know how to use your strongest inborn abilities, you'll be able to decide what functions come naturally, then choose the right institution to perform them in. Information technologists, Audio Speaker Designers, Chiropractors, and Furniture Craftsman--four very different occupations, yet each uses a similar set of innate aptitudes. I know IT professionals who design high-end audio speakers as a hobby, and chiropractors that design and build their own office furniture. We'll discuss this in more detail in Part 2 of this article. Let's now begin to explore a few inborn aptitudes that shape each of us uniquely.

On the other end of the continuum are Maestro's, e.g., Bill Gates, who switched his role at Microsoft from CEO, to a technical lead as chief software architect. Maestros are happier mastering a body of knowledge, often feeling "unnatural" in business leadership roles. They are on their own wavelength, where each of them is like an island unto themselves. Maestros perform at their best in expert roles, such as consultants and scientists; lawyers, doctors, and counselors in private practice; artists and actors; inventors and designers; lead technologists; poets and playwrights; and college professors. Their strength is delving into the subject matter, while they often feel awkward at political savvy. Rather than supervise and oversee other's performance, Maestro's are geared to perform a specialty. When in general leadership positions, they often have trouble delegating and can come across as perfectionists. In short, they are not tribal enough to perform naturally in administrative roles--they have to "fake" an interest in orchestrating people. For example, in the recent presidential election, it was clear George W. Bush was the true Tribal, while Al Gore (a true Maestro) came across as an academic pretending to be tribal.

On the whole, about 75% of the American population is Tribal, while 25% are Maestros. If you sense that you embody both tribal and maestro tendencies, then you might like to operate as an expert "within a tribe," such as do many technical project leaders that wear more than one hat. In Part 2 of this article, we'll explore more inborn aptitudes and how to combine them into daily work functions.