Finding Your Strengths — Improvement Plan
I left off the last post discussing the need to be receptive to feedback. Following from that is the revelation that feedback can come in many forms.
Another revelation from my early career is that feedback can come in many forms. Written, verbal, what's said and even what's unsaid. Even verbal communication has nuance
With the introduction of 6th Sense Analytics, feedback now comes in another form. You now have access to two very powerful layers of performance data. First, you'll gain access to your own development patterns via Active Time and Flow Time measures. You can use this data to fully understand the nuance of your own development patterns�gaining insight into your strengths and weaknesses.
But that's only half the equation. In order to truly accelerate your impact on the organization, you need to compare yourself against it and the industry. In that way, you can understand the breadth of your gaps and the core strength and competency areas that you bring to the table.
As I said in the beginning of this series, strength amplification and finding opportunities in your work to leverage your strengths effectively should be your prime directive.
How can 6th Sense Analytics help you here? First you can compare yourself against groups within your own organization. While we mask out (intentionally) individual characteristics, you can gain tremendous insight into the dynamics of your teams and organization--looking at how you stack up.
We're also aggregating data from all of our clients. Part of our vision is to create an ever increasing community of shared data that can be analyzed for insights across technologies, organizational models, software development methodologies and even continents. This is truly the sort of community data that will allow for comparison against the industry.
How do you leverage such information?
I can think of some clear steps. First is using it to refine your Personal Improvement Plan. You have one don't you? This is the plan that does the following:
- Assesses generally your specific professional / technical strengths & weaknesses
- It identifies the core requirements for your current position
- It does a gap analysis on your current role versus your strengths�looking to determine if you�re in the right role
- If you're not, then there is an Evolution Required section where you explore the right positions for you that amplify your strengths and a roadmap to make the transition.
Data in your PIP should be gathered from all of your traditional and now 6th Sense Analytics data sources. In the 6SA case, you'll want to gather personal, immediate team and community views towards performance that mirrors your primary focus.
In the next few posts in this series, we'll walk down two conversational scenarios where we interrogate 6th Sense Analytics data for PIP planning and mapping. As in the old Project Management adage -- you get what you plan for�
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