#TLDR: In the same vein as #ikigai, #PBJAM provides a focused perspective on evaluating and acting upon individual #capabilities in light of #jobdemands. As # professionals, we all strive to add value to our stakeholders (our team, our managers, our company, and our customers). Many times, #talentdevelopment falls into the trap of focusing on individual weaknesses and working on ways to address them. However, in this process, we lose the opportunity to leverage the strengths of these same individuals. Hence, I have shifted to a different perspective. My assumption for my teams is that we all have certain weaknesses. And this is the reason that I build teams made up of #diverse individuals with different skills and #capabilities. Having accepted that my team members will have certain weaknesses despite the best of the training, my mind is freed to focus on how I can leverage their strengths. This is where I use the framework of matching #capabilities with #jobdemands. These are essentially #venndiagrams where I draw a central circle with #jobdemands and start drawing peripheral circles with individual names and their #capabilities. Such visuals help me to make sure that I am building a balanced team for the job at hand. As I have had very predictable success with my approach, I flipped it over to an individual perspective. This time around, as a professional, I drew a circle with my capabilities (to the best of my knowledge and preferably with help from my trusted peer partners) and matched it with the #jobdemands that I understand (always start with your current role!). I used Red and Green highlighters to mark my weaknesses (Red) and strengths (Green). It helps to separate hard and soft skills. As a co-founder of #PBJAM, it was very helpful to identify that certain skills were beyond my experience/expertise (e.g. logos, color schemes, marketing messaging, customer-centric value propositions). Once you identify where the #gaps are between your #capabilities and #jobdemands, you can start addressing them. A repeating structure helps to make this exercise part of your annual routines. As you can see in the illustration below, I call it the #TDAT loop.
Spend time thinking about your capabilities and job demands and areas you need to work on. Discuss it with your manager, trusted peers (even team members). Agree upon a clear plan of action (without chewing too much at a time) and then execute that plan! In my case, as part of the action plan, I agreed with the need to seek outside help. As execution, I hired an external partner to help with marketing messaging and another one for color schemes. If you are employed in a role, such outsourcing may not be feasible, but there are many avenues to address the #gaps. An effective way is to ask for help from your colleagues. Such a genuine ask goes a long way in establishing your credibility within the organization and also builds a strong network for you. If the #gaps can be addressed with targeted training (e.g. learning how to get a report from your ERP system), then you can arrange for such skill training. If the #gaps are around a soft skill, and you are reading this post, you already are on the right path. As you have experienced, #PBJAM helps you to not only gain #clarity on what exactly needs to be improved/worked on, but also provides you with #confidence in the steps you are taking and #visibility of your progress, not just from your eyes, but from the #feedback of your #stakeholders who matter. If you are reading this post and are not a #PBJAM member, do register (that button in the top right corner!) and try it out. We would love to hear from your personal experiences as you have thought about #capabilities and #jobdemands for yourself and your teams. How do you approach the team setup, how do you address the #gaps, what has worked for you, and what are the roadblocks you face? Let's discuss!
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