Personal SWOT Analysis.

Personal SWOT Analysis.
SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique for identifying Strengths and Weaknesses, and for examining the Opportunities and Threats you face.
 
Used in a personal context, it helps you develop your career in a way that takes best advantage of your talents, abilities and opportunities.
 
What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that with a little thought, it can help you uncover opportunities that you are well placed to take advantage of. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise catch you unawares.
 
More than this, by looking at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to distinguish yourself from your peers, developing the specialized talents and abilities needed to accelerate your career.
How to use the tool:
To carry out a SWOT Analysis, print out our free worksheet, and write down answers to the following questions:

Strengths:
"    What advantages (for example, skills, education or connections) do you have that others don't have?
"    What do you do better than anyone else?
"    What personal resources do you have access to?
"    What do other people (and your boss in particular) see as your strengths?
Consider this from your own perspective, and from the point of view of the people around you. And don't be modest, be as objective as you can. If you are having any difficulty with this, try writing down a list of your characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths!
 
In looking at your strengths, think about them in relation to the people around you - for example, if you're a great mathematician and the people around you are great at math, then this is not likely to be a strength in your current role, it is likely to be a necessity.
 
Weaknesses:
"    What could you improve?
"    What should you avoid?
"    What things are the people around you likely to see as weaknesses?
Again, consider this from a personal and external basis: Do other people perceive weaknesses that you do not see? Do co-workers consistently out-perform you in key areas? It is best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.
 
     Opportunities:
"    Where are the good opportunities facing you?
"    What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
Useful opportunities can come from such things as:
"    Changes in technology, markets and your company on both a broad and narrow scale;
"    Changes in government policy related to your field;
"    Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc.; or
"    Local Events
A useful approach to looking at opportunities is also to look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities.
 
Alternatively, look at your weaknesses and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them.
Threats:
"    What obstacles do you face?
"    What are the people around you doing?
"    Is your job (or the demand for the things you do) changing?
"    Is changing technology threatening your position?
"    Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten you?
Carrying out this analysis will often be illuminating - both in terms of pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting problems into perspective.

Key points:
A SWOT matrix is a framework for analyzing your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats you face. This helps you to focus on your strengths, minimize weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available.


This topic was covered during the in-service training at NIHFW.
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Dr Marwah

Basic Guidelines to Problem Solving and Decision Making

Much of what managers and supervisors do is solve problems and make decisions. New managers and supervisors, in particular, often make solve problems and decisions by reacting to them. They are "under the gun", stressed and very short for time. Consequently, when they encounter a new problem or decision they must make, they react with a decision that seemed to work before. It's easy with this approach to get stuck in a circle of solving the same problem over and over again. Therefore, as a new manager or supervisor, get used to an organized approach to problem solving and decision making. Not all problems can be solved and decisions made by the following, rather rational approach. However, the following basic guidelines will get you started. Don't be intimidated by the length of the list of guidelines. After you've practiced them a few times, they'll become second nature to you -- enough that you can deepen and enrich them to suit your own needs and nature.
(Note that it might be more your nature to view a "problem" as an "opportunity". Therefore, you might substitute "problem" for "opportunity" in the following guidelines.)
1. Define the problem
This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is. Instead, seek to understand more about why you think there's a problem.
Defining the problem: (with input from yourself and others)
Ask yourself and others, the following questions:
a. What can you see that causes you to think there's a problem?
b. Where is it happening?
c. How is it happening?
d. When is it happening?
e. With whom is it happening? (HINT: Don't jump to "Who is causing the problem?" When we're stressed, blaming is often one of our first reactions. To be an effective manager, you need to address issues more than people.)
f. Why is it happening?
g. Write down a five-sentence description of the problem in terms of "The following should be happening, but isn't ..." or "The following is happening and should be: ..." As much as possible, be specific in your description, including what is happening, where, how, with whom and why. (It may be helpful at this point to use a variety of research methods. Also see .
Defining complex problems:
a. If the problem still seems overwhelming, break it down by repeating steps a-f until you have descriptions of several related problems.
Verifying your understanding of the problems:
a. It helps a great deal to verify your problem analysis for conferring with a peer or someone else.
Prioritize the problems:
a. If you discover that you are looking at several related problems, then prioritize which ones you should address first.
b. Note the difference between "important" and "urgent" problems. Often, what we consider to be important problems to consider are really just urgent problems. Important problems deserve more attention. For example, if you're continually answering "urgent" phone calls, then you've probably got a more "important" problem and that's to design a system that screens and prioritizes your phone calls.
Understand your role in the problem:
a. Your role in the problem can greatly influence how you perceive the role of others. For example, if you're very stressed out, it'll probably look like others are, too, or, you may resort too quickly to blaming and reprimanding others. Or, you are feel very guilty about your role in the problem, you may ignore the accountabilities of others.
2. Look at potential causes for the problem
a. It's amazing how much you don't know about what you don't know. Therefore, in this phase, it's critical to get input from other people who notice the problem and who are effected by it.
b. It's often useful to collect input from other individuals one at a time (at least at first). Otherwise, people tend to be inhibited about offering their impressions of the real causes of problems.
c. Write down what your opinions and what you've heard from others.
d. Regarding what you think might be performance problems associated with an employee, it's often useful to seek advice from a peer or your supervisor in order to verify your impression of the problem.
e.Write down a description of the cause of the problem and in terms of what is happening, where, when, how, with whom and why.
3. Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem
a. At this point, it's useful to keep others involved (unless you're facing a personal and/or employee performance problem). Brainstorm for solutions to the problem. Very simply put, brainstorming is collecting as many ideas as possible, then screening them to find the best idea. It's critical when collecting the ideas to not pass any judgment on the ideas -- just write them down as you hear them. (A wonderful set of skills used to identify the underlying cause of issues is Systems Thinking.)
4. Select an approach to resolve the problem
When selecting the best approach, consider:
a. Which approach is the most likely to solve the problem for the long term?
b. Which approach is the most realistic to accomplish for now? Do you have the resources? Are they affordable? Do you have enough time to implement the approach?
c. What is the extent of risk associated with each alternative?
(The nature of this step, in particular, in the problem solving process is why problem solving and decision making are highly integrated.)
5. Plan the implementation of the best alternative (this is your action plan)
a. Carefully consider "What will the situation look like when the problem is solved?"
b. What steps should be taken to implement the best alternative to solving the problem? What systems or processes should be changed in your organization, for example, a new policy or procedure? Don't resort to solutions where someone is "just going to try harder".
c. How will you know if the steps are being followed or not? (these are your indicators of the success of your plan)
d. What resources will you need in terms of people, money and facilities?
e. How much time will you need to implement the solution? Write a schedule that includes the start and stop times, and when you expect to see certain indicators of success.
f. Who will primarily be responsible for ensuring implementation of the plan?
g. Write down the answers to the above questions and consider this as your action plan.
h. Communicate the plan to those who will involved in implementing it and, at least, to your immediate supervisor.
(An important aspect of this step in the problem-solving process is continually observation and feedback.)
6. Monitor implementation of the plan
Monitor the indicators of success:
a. Are you seeing what you would expect from the indicators?
b. Will the plan be done according to schedule?
c. If the plan is not being followed as expected, then consider: Was the plan realistic? Are there sufficient resources to accomplish the plan on schedule? Should more priority be placed on various aspects of the plan? Should the plan be changed?
7. Verify if the problem has been resolved or not
One of the best ways to verify if a problem has been solved or not is to resume normal operations in the organization. Still, you should consider:
a. What changes should be made to avoid this type of problem in the future? Consider changes to policies and procedures, training, etc.
b. Lastly, consider "What did you learn from this problem solving?" Consider new knowledge, understanding and/or skills.
c. Consider writing a brief memo that highlights the success of the problem solving effort, and what you learned as a result. Share it with your supervisor, peers and subordinates.

This topic was covered during the in-service training pro gramme at NIHFW.
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Dr Marwah

Problem-solving skills

A 15 year old girl returns home after school in a quiet beach-side village on the south coast of NSW, Australia. The house is empty - she is distraught and in great anguish because her boyfriend has just broken off their relationship. She gets her father's shotgun, loads it, puts the muzzle in her mouth and pulls the trigger.

A tragic waste of life - she did not realise that a solution could be found to her emotional distress.

Problem-solving skills can be developed and they are essential for the resolution of many stressful experiences.

It is irrational to assume that every problem can be solved. However, solutions, or compromises, can be found for most problems if the time is taken to examine them logically, creatively and thoroughly. Many people simply do not take the time to explore all the options. A quick-fix mentality makes problem-solving difficult because the deeper issues are rarely confronted.

The following problem-solving technique invites you to approach the problem through a series of questions. If you are serious about solving a problem then you will.take the time to make a written response to these questions. Writing helps to clarify thoughts and it also gives you a permanent record of your ideas and solutions to which you can return from time to time for reassurance and clarification.

1.    What is the real problem to be solved?

It is very important that the problem should be fully and adequately defined. The underlying hidden issues should also be explored so that they can be sensitively dealt with in the context of the more obvious problem features. If the problem is not carefully identified then it is extremely difficult to find satisfactory solutions. (Sometimes actually identifying the problem is the key to its solution.) Therefore define the stressor or stress reactions within a full context. Ask are there any underlying issues that also need to be addressed?

2.    What is the ideal solution?

Try to define what you would consider to be the ideal solution. Many alternative solutions may emerge in the process. In fact it is helpful to have as many alternatives as possible. This process may be time consuming and sometime exhausting but it is absolutely necessary.

3.    What options do I have?

Apply action possibilities to the goals set in Step 2. Some goals may have to be eliminated because they are unrealistic. Others may have to be modified. Some can be achieved. Be specific in defining the possible solutions. Try to be creative when considering options. Develop some really crazy ones just to get your mind stimulated. Mix and match various ideas just to see where they lead. All the historic problem solvers from Archimedes to Einstein have been noted for their feats of bringing to bear, on difficult problems, concepts and principles from apparently disparate fields of knowledge.

4.    What might happen if I put these options into practice?

Consider the consequences of taking certain steps. Imagine and consider how others might respond if they faced a similar situation. Make realistic assessments and do not avoid painful answers. Write down the consequences and face them no matter how difficult that might be in the first instance. It is possible to make considerable progress once reality is confronted. Strength can be drawn from reality. Evaluate the pros and cons. Rehearse strategies and behaviours by means of creative imagination.

5.    What is my decision?

This is often the most difficult step of all. Consult with others; discuss the options facing you; draw on good advice. Having considered all the alternatives then make a decision. Don't waffle or procrastinate. This will only aggravate the problem rather than solving it.
6.    Now Do It!

Apply action to the problem. Set up an action timetable and take the first steps. Keep things moving. Try out the most acceptable and feasible solution. Apply the necessary resources.

7.    Did It Work?

Re-examine the original problem in light of the attempt at problem solving. View any possible failures or disappointments as needed feedback to begin the problem-solving process once again.


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Dr Marwah