Guidelines for Growth: “Hacks” for Taking the Next Step in Your ... - IIBA … · 2018-04-08 · Guidelines for Growth: “Hacks” for Taking the Next Step in Your Career February

Guidelines for Growth: “Hacks” for Taking the Next Step in Your Career

February 27, 2018

Jonathan Babcock

© 2017 Jabian, LLC | Confidential. Do not redistribute. 2

SESSION GOAL

Everyone comes away with a new perspective, idea or technique for

improving career satisfaction and growth that can be used right away.

Ideas Enthusiasm Possibilities


HAVE A VISION, AND SET OBJECTIVES

Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, “What road do I take?”The cat asked, “Where do you want to go?”“I don’t know,” Alice answered.“Then,” said the cat, “it really doesn't matter, does it?”

- Lewis Carol from Alice in Wonderland


VISION AND OBJECTIVES: BABY STEPS

• Develop a personal mission statement and guiding principles

• Write down 2-3 short-term, SMART objectives, or “baby steps” that align with your personal mission. Once those are done, repeat.

• Ask yourself regularly, “Am I where I want to be?”, “Can I get there from here?”


PATIENCE AND “RIGHT -SIZED” OBJECTIVES

Big changes or improvements are generally the cumulative result of many small wins over time.


PERFECT YOUR CRAFT

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

- Jesse Owens


PERFECTING YOUR CRAFT

• Study. Find a good blog, book, podcast and write down things you could try to get better.

• Seek feedback from peers and leadership and apply it.

• Build out desired skills through stretch assignments, community involvement and volunteering.

• Consider training or certifications to improve your skills.


NURTURE YOUR NETWORK

“A simple hello could lead to a million things.”- Unknown


NURTURE YOUR NETWORK

• Seriously.. Say hello and smile!

• Invite stakeholders and leaders to lunch or

coffee.

• Network with a purpose.

• Offer to help – or just start helping. See “Pay

it Forward with the Five Minute Favor”.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kareanderson/2013/07/17/pay-it-forward-with-the-five-minute-favor/#7a2b08146f5d

“When you have nothing, what’s the first thing you try to do? You try to make a connection and have a

relationship that gives you an opportunity to do something for someone else.”

— Adam Rifkin


FIND AND FILL THE “WHITE SPACES”

“Employers and business leaders need people who can think for themselves – who can take initiative and be the solutions to problems.”

- Steven R. Covey


FIND AND FILL THE “WHITE SPACE”

• Find something you’re passionate about and take responsibility.

• Establish a community of practice, book club, newsletter, or something else that will provide value.

• Volunteer to take on administrative or operational tasks from leadership.

• Suggest/implement small process improvements.


KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER – AND THEIR DESIRED OUTCOMES

“How you think about your customers influences how you respond to them..”

- Marilyn Suttle


KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER

• Treat your project stakeholders and consumers of your work as paying customers whose business you want to earn and keep.

• Shift focus from creating documents to meeting the consumer’s needs; ask “who is waiting on this to do their work, and how will they use it?”

• Focus on making others successful; BAs can’t be successful in a vacuum!


“smart, quick and improved decision-making”.

“Leaders are looking for help navigating the increasingly complex business world and expect timely insights from their business analysis resources that help with decision-making.”

– 2016 IIBA Commissioned Study, “Business Analysis: Positioning for Success”

http://www.iiba.org/Learning-Development/L-D/research-and-study-impact2016.aspx

http://www.iiba.org/Learning-Development/L-D/research-and-study-impact2016.aspx


DEVELOP AN “AGILE” MINDSET

“Agile ... Is an attitude, not a technique with boundaries. An attitude has no boundaries, so we wouldn’t as ‘can I use agile here’, but rather ‘how can I act in the agile way, here?’”

- Alistair Cockburn


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Technology BusinessChanging Change: BABOK3 and the Future of Business Analysts

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http://www.slideshare.net/IIBA-UK/112-kevin-brennan


ADOPT AN AGILE MINDSET

• Become familiar with other solution delivery approaches, and the nuances of how business analysis is perceived and performed.

• Don’t be lazy! Adapt the resumé (map your experience) to the role.

• Don’t embellish, but don’t sell yourself short!


WHAT ARE HIRING MANAGERS OF BUSINESS ANALYSTS LOOKING FOR?

• Candidates that love doing business analysis; passion for the role

• Training, certification, involvement in professional networking groups as evidence of a drive to improve; to invest in oneself

• A sound problem solving approach; comfortable operating outside the confines of “the process” or “the template”

• Willingness to take initiative and ownership

• Facilitators of understanding as opposed to documenters of requirements

• Ability to build and maintain trust-based relationships

• Flexibility and responsiveness to change, and adaptable to different solution delivery models


FIND (AND BE) A MENTOR

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”

- John Crosby


“The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

- Lao Tzu


THAT’S ALL!

Email: [email protected]: @jonbab1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanbabcockBlog: http://PracticalAnalyst.com

Questions? Feedback? Ideas?

mailto:[email protected]

https://twitter.com/jonbab1

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanbabcock

http://practicalanalyst.com/

“You can get a great deal done from almost any position in an organization if you focus on small

wins and you don’t mind others getting the credit.”— Roger Saillant

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

— John Wooden

“Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes

you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of

themselves.”— Dale Carnegie

“Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence —is the key to unlocking our potential.”

— Winston Churchill

“If you hide your spark, bury your ideas, keep your questions and notions from the team, you have

hurt them as badly as if you had stolen a laptop and fenced it on eBay.”

— Seth Godin

Documents

Guidelines for Growth: “Hacks” for Taking the Next Step in Your ... - IIBA … · 2018-04-08 · Guidelines for Growth: “Hacks” for Taking the Next Step in Your Career February