Walk Your Way to Solving Your Most Complex Challenges

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Complex Challenges|Walk Your Way to Solving Your Most Complex ChallengesImagine an oil industry executive having a long, relaxed, open conversation with an environmental activist. Or a police chief casually chatting with a community leader. Or, within a company, a sales manager strolling and talking with the head of project development. What new ideas—ones that could potentially solve their most difficult challenges—might such encounters produce?

I had the opportunity to see the fruits of such an approach in 1998 in a lakeside town in the highlands of Guatemala. It was here that Hugo Beteta, a foundation executive, and Otilia Lux de Coti, an indigenous human rights campaigner, went for a walk.

They were an unlikely pair. Their country had been mired in a genocidal civil war in which the Guatemalan army had murdered hundreds of thousands of indigenous people, and Hugo and Otilia came from two worlds that were almost completely separated—politically, socially, and culturally.

But in 1996, the government and the rebels signed a peace treaty to end the war. On the day Hugo and Otilia took their walk, I was facilitating a leadership workshop on how to implement the peace accords, and I’d invited the participants to choose a partner who was most different from them and go for a 45-minute stroll outside the hotel.

I was sitting in the meeting room waiting for the participants to return when Hugo entered, looking stunned. He was almost staggering, and I asked him what had happened. “Otilia told me a story about her high school graduation that really shook me up. She’d received the highest grades of any graduating student and was given the honor of carrying the national flag onto the stage, but the school wouldn’t allow her to wear her traditional ethnic clothing to the ceremony. So, she was forced to choose between having her accomplishment recognized and offending her family and betraying herself,” he said. “I hadn’t grasped how we Guatemalans have built everyday mechanisms for perpetuating the racism and inequality that produced the genocide.”

Hugo wasn’t the only workshop team member to report gaining a deeper understanding of the situation in Guatemala as a result of the stories shared during the walking exercise. These shifts in perspective helped the group make progress.

Over the years that followed, the participants took many significant actions, separately and together, to build a better future for their country, including greater indigenous inclusion. Hugo, by the way, became minister of finance, and Otilia was appointed minister of culture.

A simple yet powerful exercise

I’ve used this paired walk exercise in many multi-stakeholder workshops around the world. It’s so simple, and yet it’s one of the exercises that participants say has the biggest impact on their understanding of their situation and their relationships with others. Why is this ordinary activity so fruitful?

On one level, the walk is effective because of its mechanics. Two people who want to connect move forward side by side, look at the world together, and talk casually, without any papers or other distractions. The walk offers people an opportunity to connect on a human level, as equals, and share their perspectives.

This experience can produce profound changes. Almost everyone who has gone on these walks over the years says that, like Hugo, they were surprised and affected to see the world through the eyes of their partners, with whom they expected to have nothing in common.

Lucila Servitje, a Catholic theologian who participated in this activity at another workshop I facilitated, offers a deeper explanation for why it’s effective. She suggests that the walk and the informal sharing of stories has an impact because they involve mutual acceptance, and this feeling of being accepted is what enables us to change our thinking and actions.

The sequence here—first, we’re accepted, and then we reconsider our position—is the opposite of the traditional Catholic confession, where, first, we confess, and then we’re forgiven. The walk, she says, is like God’s grace: love we receive that we don’t have to earn.

Creating a different space in the workplace

Pairing walking and talking is equally effective at work. In a typical workplace, people often feel unheard and judged and therefore act defensively. This makes it hard for them to change their thinking or behavior, even when they need to. The paired walk is an example of how to create a different kind of space, within which people can relax enough to see what they’re doing with fresh eyes and decide what they might want to do differently.

Even if you don’t send your employees on paired walks, you can apply the same principles in other ways by doing the following things:

Create opportunities for personal connection. Some teams can be effective in doing routine work as long as their relationships are professional or collegial. But teams that are doing tough work, or teams that include members with differences in perspectives and personalities, need to know enough about each other’s lives to be able to understand and empathize with one another even when they disagree.

At my firm, our in-person and virtual meetings always include time for sharing personal news and feelings. Enabling voluntary personal sharing helps diverse teams work together through their differences.

Require responsibility. Leaders of teams that are undertaking complex tasks have to go beyond telling people what to do. Leaders need their followers to take responsibility for what they’re doing and be self-reflective enough to learn and change. You can’t force someone to choose voluntarily, so managers must expect team members to make choices and take responsibility for the consequences of those choices.

Practice radical acceptance. When people are afraid that their colleagues, supervisors, or clients might think badly of them if they acknowledge their own shortcomings, it’s hard for them to be open enough to learn and make wiser choices. So it’s crucial for leaders to communicate radical acceptance. But don’t communicate this if you don’t mean it. Anyone can tell if you’re only pretending to care about them.

At work and beyond, most people want to be able to connect respectfully with others, to learn, and to make their own choices about how to deal with the situation they’re in. This is why the simple exercise of walking and talking is a potent tool for personal and systemic transformation.


About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Adam KahaneADAM KAHANE is director of Reos Partners, an organization that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than 50 countries with teams of leaders from business, government, and civil society, and his methods have been praised by Nobel Peace Prize–winners Nelson Mandela and Juan Manuel Santos. He is the author of five books, including his newest release, Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together. Learn more at adamkahane.com.

Have you Been Bullied at Work? Here Are Practical Ways to Achieve Career Success

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Bullied at work|Have you Been Bullied at Work? Here Are Practical Ways to Achieve Career SuccessIt’s no secret that bullying happens in the workplace. It is a pervasive problem that affects millions of people each year. While bullying has been traditionally thought of as an issue for children, recent research from the Workplace Bullying Institute finds that one-third of adults have been bullied at work.

When you’re bullied at work, you feel powerless, ashamed, and defeated. It’s been proven that this is a leading cause of mental health issues. But it doesn’t have to be like this! You can figure out the root of the problem and find practical ways to help you achieve success. Here are seven practical ways to help you achieve career success.

1. Seek counseling

When you’ve been bullied, it’s common to feel depressed, anxious, and stressed. Counseling can help you deal with these emotions and learn how to cope. Counseling can also help you develop a plan to deal with the bullies in your life.

2. Seek legal help

If the bullying is severe or it affects your work performance, it’s important to seek legal help. An employment law attorney can help protect you from further abuse and ensure that you’re treated in the workplace. You don’t have to deal with bullying on your own.

3. Set boundaries

When someone is bullying you, they are crossing your boundaries. It’s important to set boundaries for yourself and others in order to protect yourself from further abuse. Setting boundaries can also help you communicate your needs and wants to others, which will help you achieve success in the workplace.

4. Practice positive self-talk

When you’re bullied at work, it’s easy to tell yourself that everything is your fault and that you aren’t good enough. This type of thinking does nothing but keep you in a negative mindset. Instead, practice speaking positively about yourself and focusing on your strengths instead of your weaknesses. When you feel better about yourself, it’ll be easier to achieve career success.

5. Start a gratitude journal

Take time each evening to write down three things from the day that made you happy or grateful. Then list these things every night before bed until it becomes a habit. This can help you focus on the positive aspects of your day and reduce stress and anxiety.

6. Connect with others

When you’re feeling down, it’s important to connect with others who will support you and make you feel better. Talk to your friends, family, or a therapist about your experiences and the challenges you’re facing. When you have someone to talk to, it’ll be easier for you to deal with the bullies in your life.

7. Get organized

One of the best ways to achieve success is to become more organized. When you’re organized, you know what you need to do and when you need to do it. This can help reduce stress and anxiety in your life.

Conclusion

If you are being bullied at work, it is important to know that this behavior is not just a harmless joke. Bullying can have serious consequences for your career and health. It’s therefore important you take heed of signs you’re not being treated fairly at work and apply the above tips so that you can achieve success in your profession without fear or worry.

Tips to Help You With House Maintenance

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |House Maintenance|Tips to Help You With House MaintenanceA home maintenance program is essential for preserving any home, much like a regular health checkup. Preventing malfunctions and keeping your house in peak condition will be easier if you regularly inspect your exterior and exterior systems. In addition, it’s essential to keep track of your home’s upkeep so that you don’t end up causing unnecessary or preventable damages.

The following basic practices will effortlessly help in maintaining your house;

Get Rid of the Dust

Dust may be found everywhere, no matter where you reside. Dust accumulation generally occurs in areas that you don’t check daily, and it may significantly reduce the lifetime of essential equipment such as refrigerators, dryers, and other similar items. Maintaining a regular dust cleaning and filter spare schedule will keep you healthy and save unnecessary expenditure in the long run.

Shut Up Loud Drawer or Cabinet Hinges

When cabinet or drawer hinges begin to squeak, you may use a lubricant such as WD-40 to spray into the center of the hinge to calm it down and make it more silent. However, if it doesn’t work, try hammering the hinge pin up approximately halfway and applying some lubricant to the pin, such as 3-in-1 oil, to make it more flexible.

Lastly, tap it back down and then slide the hinges back and forth a few times, and the squeak should have gone away completely. However, suppose the sound persists and locking drawer slides, consider those with high-quality and heavy-duty durability.

Smooth Out Sticky Windows

It is highly frustrating to open a window only to find that it stutters, skips, and slams shut. So instead, spray a little silicone grease on the piece of cloth and then gently coat the guides if you notice any resistance while trying to open a stuck window. No matter what the material, this method will work.

Restore Faucet Flow

At some point, faucets’ flow may be lowered or even begin to disperse water unevenly. Because of the development of sand or additional mineral patches, a mesh screen at the tip of the faucet becomes jammed. Sticky tape the aerator and then rotate it off to prevent damage. For approximately an hour, immerse the debris in vinegar to remove it. Reassemble it after a thorough cleaning.

Vacuum Your Floor Regularly

Dust, hair dander, and grime may be removed from your home by vacuuming your floors on a weekly or biweekly basis. In addition, carpet, hardwood, or any other kind of flooring should be cleaned regularly to prolong its life and enhance the air quality in your house.

Schedule Services for Pest Control

Infested basements and walls might be a more outstanding issue than you would imagine. It’s important to keep bees, wasps, mosquitos, and even spiders out of your home since they pose a health concern. If raccoons are a problem in your community, you might face serious consequences. Make sure that rubbish is not within easy reach.

Conclusion

Maintaining your house through the posted tips means that you won’t have to deal with creaking drawers, doors, or the mess that comes with a leaking roof, hence making life a lot simpler.

7 Steps for a Killer Business Intelligence Resume

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Business Intelligence|7 Steps for a Killer Business Intelligence ResumeTechnology is leaping every moment, and businesses are getting smarter by acquiring new technical measures. Business owners are continuously hiring business analysts who can transform their decision-making by using advanced technical measures.

According to a recent study by Zippia, more than 104,208 professionals are currently employed as business intelligence analysts in the United States.

Considering the market competition, these numbers are not expected to face a downfall anytime soon. Hence, if you are considering business intelligence as a career option, you will see numerous job opportunities in your professional journey.

To be prepared for future endeavors, all you need is an upgraded skill set along with a well-versed business intelligence resume. You can leverage any online platform like Udemy or Coursera to upgrade your business intelligence analysis skills.

In terms of resume building, you can follow these below-given steps that will help you in building a killer business intelligence resume:

Outline Your Resume

You can outline your resume in the most suitable format per your experience and professional journey. Out of the plethora of resume formats available online, we have chosen three exemplary resume formats that you can use to start your resume building process:

  • Chronological Resume Format
  • Combination Resume Format
  • Functional Resume Format

The functional resume format is only suitable for people having a career gap in their professional journey. All the other business intelligence aspirants and professionals can use either a reverse-chronological or combination resume format to build a killer business intelligence resume.

Showcase Key Skills in Separate Section

Skills in your resume enhance its quality and effectiveness. Hence, it will be better to make a separate section for your key and technical skills.

You can use bullet points to showcase your skills and highlight them in the resume to get the recruiter’s undivided attention.

Use Bullet Points to Mention Professional Details

Recruiters these days do not spend much time on a resume as they have numerous applications piled up for one job opportunity. Hence, we recommend you use one-liner bullet points while mentioning the professional experience in your resume.

Moreover, we also advise you to address cause-effect relationships while crafting the professional experience bullet points in your resume.

Highlight Important Metrics & Keywords

Numerous companies these days use ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to filter out unsuitable resumes. Hence, we advise you to use industry-specific keywords in your resume to parse through the ATS without any hurdle.

Furthermore, you can also highlight these keywords and other essential information to clear the recruiter screening round.

Endorse Your Educational Qualifications

Educational qualifications will play a vital role in portraying your eligible image in front of the recruiter. You can make a separate section to showcase the educational qualifications in the resume. Here are some details that you can mention while framing this section:

  • Name of Degree
  • Name of Institution
  • Location of Institution
  • Grades Obtained
  • Enrollment & Graduation Dates

Add Your Certifications

Adding certifications to your resume will provide you bonus points in the recruitment process. Certifications will also help you beat your competitors and increase your shortlisting chances. You can follow the below-given format while mentioning the certification details in your resume:

Certificate Name | Name of Issuer | Date of Completion

Write an Easy to Read Resume Summary

As its name suggests, a resume summary comprises a brief of your entire resume. It highlights essential information, and recruiters also read it for a few seconds. Hence, we advise you to use easy-to-read language while writing your resume summary.

Key Takeaways

Take a look at the key takeaways of this blog:

  • Outline your resume in a suitable format according to your professional journey
  • Showcase your skills in a separate section to highlight them appropriately
  • Use one-liner bullet points to mention your professional details
  • Highlight profile-centric keywords and the essential information to get through the ATS
  • Endorse your educational qualifications to showcase your academic background
  • Add your certifications to get bonus points during the recruitment process
  • Write an engaging summary to hook the recruiter and highly the essential information of your resume

These guidelines will help you build a killer business intelligence resume. Wishing you the best of luck in your upcoming job searching process. May you get the job you desire.

Are You Getting Distracted From The Work That Matters Most?

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Distracted from work|Are You Getting Distracted From The Work That Matters Most?As a business owner, especially that of a fledgling company, you have to get used to wearing a lot of hats. Manager, salesperson, marketer, visionary, and more. However, it’s easy to get so used to performing a wide series of tasks that you can get pulled away from your core business. When that happens, the foundation that supports the whole can start to crumble. Here, we’re going to look at ways of making sure that doesn’t happen.

Know and set out your core tasks

The first thing you have to make sure that you do is set your focus in the right place. You might have plenty of responsibilities to fulfill and jobs that need to be done, but how many of them should truly fall to you? With the help of tools like a priority matrix, you can set out all the tasks that you need to accomplish and order them by urgency and importance. That way you can always make sure that your attention is going where it’s needed.

Automate what you need to

There might be work that you want to ensure is completed, but to do it manually, yourself, would simply take more time than it should. There are all kinds of automated software that you can use to take care of several tasks in the business, with accounting software being some of the most helpful and widespread. Of course, even automated tasks need a guiding hand, but they can at least take some of the load off your shoulders.

Don’t let the busywork distract

There is other work that’s important but doesn’t need all your time and energy to take care of, even if it can’t be automated. For basic admin work and dealing with emails and other communications while you’re busy, a virtual assistant can be very helpful indeed. Just be mindful that, if you’re using freelancers, you be careful as to what access you give them to what resources.

Know when you need the experts

You might be able to do the work of a virtual assistant just fine on your own, but you need them because you want to free up your time. There are other tasks that are more complex, however, and can pull you entirely away from your core business if you focus on them. Tech work, for instance, can be entrusted to an IT support company. Similarly, you should rely on HR experts to take care of crafting HR policies and running payroll, just as you should have lawyers working on contracts. Don’t try to do it all yourself if you don’t have the necessary expertise.

Look at expanding your team

Of course, outsourcing is not always the answer. If you find that you reliably have needs that you’re not able to meet in your own business and the cost of outsourcing would simply run too high, then you need to think about what job roles you can create and start finding new hires.

Your core business needs your attention (and no one else’s) to make sure that it’s run right. Other parts of what you’re currently doing might not have the same need. Be sure to keep that in mind with the tips above.