In the process of sharing about the IdeaCamp Davao with new friends, their reactions and their testimonies prompted me to pigeon hole certain skills/competencies that I think I personally need. I was fortunate enough to be around people like Mark and the Ideacamp Davao team to bounce out of this world Ideas and still be accepted. In the terms of the renowned artist Kublai Millan people like us who dare to dream and still work the daily grind are people with "sayad". Unconventional, quirky, artistic, ingenious in our own simple way.
This list is not exhaustive, my wife and my children will have a whole booklet full of other skills that need more work... that's posted on a different blog. :) Feel free to add.
*Managing Ambiguity. “Managing ambiguity is that tension between rushing to the clear, the concrete, and managing this ambiguous fuzzy area in the middle. And managing ambiguity is something we have to teach. Because we have to counter the story of a single linear solution.”
* Agency and Responsibility. “We have to be able to take responsibility and know what that means. Being an effective agent means being able to approach one’s environment, social or physical, with a confidence that one actually will be able to deal with it.” Always ask what's their expectations are. Level off early and often to know that we are still on the same page. The Filipino culture is strange that way, if things are not going so well, few will confront you and take the time to coach you- I think this is because of the inherent Asian custom of non-confrontational management. In a fast phased work environment, this just doesn't fly.
* Finding and Sustaining Community. “Managing community is partly about that multitasking of connecting and interacting. It’s also, of course, about maintaining community, about maintaining links with people, making sure you do remember your best friend’s birthday, that you don’t forget that your grandmother is by herself this weekend, and of course recognizing also that one is part of a larger community, not just one’s own private little world.” My wife is very good at this. She remembers to send text messages to friends and family on their birthdays, I've noticed Face Book is really good at helping me do this.
* Managing Emotion. “Really it’s about getting away from the idea that emotion and reason are separate… Teaching young people to manage reason and emotion and not to flip to one or the other is an important part of our education process.”This took a while for me to manage- as a Karateka, my Sensie commented that I was a passionate fighter in the kumite, However I needed to control the emotions and explode at the right moment- timing is essential, practice is vital.
* Managing Technological Change. “When we have a new tool, we first use it for what we are already doing, just doing it a bit better. But gradually, the new tool changes the way we do things. It changes our social practices.”Managing performance meant constant information sharing,as BPO manager I noticed email and chat threads were a lot easier than side by side coaching- however nothing beats a heart to heart talk and a daily walk about just to make sure your supervisors and their agents feel the love.
That's all I have for you folks ... I hope to see you on September 12 at MTS Whistle TOP for IdeaCampDavao 2.
