Learning and Talent Development Paths

What Is Empathy And Why Is It Important?

https://youtu.be/t2NuplQ-JyA What is empathy? Empathy can become a strength that enables us to go beyond our perspectives, acknowledge the struggles of others, and treat them with appreciation and respect. Above is a short presentation that answers this question. However, the real challenge is to be empathic while maintaining our equilibrium to be able to help people. Empathy is an interdisciplinary concept that is still being defined and debated by scientists from neurobiology, psychology, philosophy, sociology etc. The neurosciences study empathic responses and are making efforts to identify the neural mechanisms and brain networks involved in empathy. Researchers say that we begin to show this skill since infancy and it allows us to relate to others consider their feelings, and motivate us to help. Some companies are initiating training programs on active listening and perspective-taking so they can develop their teams' empathetic responses. Personal trait, skill, emotion or a virtue From a career development point of view, researchers have identified empathy as a core component of emotional intelligence and as a predictor of success in many professions and there are two types of empathy: cognitive and emotional. Most of the studies agree that empathy allows us a more profound understanding and authentic connection with the life experiences and emotions of others. Whether, we see it as a personal trait, a skill, an emotion or a virtue, we can agree that empathy encourages compassion while maintaining calm and control of emotional reactions. Self-reflection and the genuine desire to understand others can reinforce this ability. Taking time to examine our own thoughts and behaviours objectively might be a learning path to be more empathic. Learning to better read and understand people's states of mind, picking up their subtle emotions, and balancing a proper balanced response is a pathway of both emotional resilience and kindness.

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February 27, 2024

What Is Empathy?

Skills / Talent Development

Talent Development And Yes, You Can!

There are many views on what is talent and lately, this concept is everywhere. Having talent or talents means different things for businesses, which is why there are a lot of ambiguities about it. Industries leaders have different views on talent depending on their needs. For most of them, talent is either a characteristic of people or a synonym for people. What is or isn't talent? Talent can also be about high potential or an inclusive approach where all employees are talented. If all employees are talents before we recruit talents, we need to answer a question. What exactly can we classify as talent? The answer gets complicated and we need criteria to decide what talent is or is not. Almost everyone has an inner hidden talent waiting to be unravelled. However, having talent is just the tip of the iceberg because cultivating it requires support and constant effort. Yes, you can! The real obstacle is to say, yes you can and step out of your comfort zone. With a bit of courage, support from peers and a fair amount of discipline the growth path can begin. Hidden potential can be discovered step by step. We, the people, are ruled by inner faiths and beliefs and we stumble and fall as low as our faith let us. And because we are governed by our faiths and beliefs, we reach as high as our set of unconscious limits let us. The path to personal and professional growth is available to everyone as long as there is an interest in pursuing it. Some of the talents we possess are innate, but some can be learned. Whether our paths are successful or not, depends on surpassing the obstacles we encounter along the way. But, most of all it will depend on the resilience we prove in following the chosen growth path. Helping people to believe in their potential and achieve their objectives is a good way to engage their creativity and capacity to innovate in the organizational environment. Encouraging this optimistic attitude is almost mandatory if, we are committed to pursuing a positive organisational culture. Support and encouragement are vital for people precisely because the belief in their success is proportional to their efforts and persistence to surpass challenges. Talent as outstanding performance Obviously, both companies and people can reach higher levels of performance by developing new competencies. There is another problem to tackle, talent assessment, do we have it or not, can it be learned or improved? Talent can be an inborn ability, high potential, mastery, organizational fit, competencies, or capabilities. It can be all these things together, but in the end, both we and the employers are aiming for an outstanding performance. Inborn talent or not, adopting a positive yes-you-can mindset in which skills can be acquired, allows us to grow the untapped potential within. By nurturing a continuous learning environment, where challenges are viewed as opportunities to expand capabilities rather than a lack of performance, employers can optimize the competencies…

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February 16, 2024

Course / Learning / Skills / Video

How To Effectively Answer Behaviour-Based Questions

https://youtu.be/HwTk4mMdjSk How to answer behaviour-based questions Mastering behavioural questions is a lifelong communication skill for job interviews. This is a small learning session on how to effectively answer behaviours-based questions. A behaviour-oriented job interview is developed around the minimum employment selection criteria. During the job interviews, candidates' past behaviours are assessed through behavioural-based questions. The interviewers intend to understand if the hiring criteria are met by the short-listed candidates. How To Answer Behaviour-Based Questions The recruiters or hiring managers are asking for concrete examples and illustrations of work behaviours, and technical or soft skills. Employers that are using these types of questions are interested in anticipating candidates' future professional performance. Behaviour-based questions demand specific, detailed and clear responses. Questions might be structured based on critical tasks that require a certain set of working behaviours. Generally, interviewers are pursuing behaviours like being adaptive, collaborative or willing to learn and are trying to be consistent with the organization’ declared values. Higher behavioural predictability and lower risk of Failure One of the reasons to favour these behavioural-based questions is because the answers can be matched with similar organisational behaviours. Also, these questions are focused more on individual choices and adaptation to the work environment. Still, even if behavioural-based questions offer a more concrete modality for assessing or comparing behaviours interviewers’ subjectivity is not ruled out. Previous work experience is greatly appreciated because it can ensure some degree of technical or behavioural competence. From the interviewer's point of view is a reassuring fact that candidates are describing accepted behaviours. They are more likely to repeat these behaviours if they are hired and that is why hiring success predictability is higher and the risk of failure is lower. Behaviour-based questions focus on our past actions and how we conduct ourselves in working situations to predict how we might perform in future situations. We can always stay positive, learn from each experience, and identify areas for continuous improvement.

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February 1, 2024