Mind Mapping in HR: how it helps to unlock your career”

Challenge

Due to my role as HR partner I’m used to solve operational tasks that are mostly  clear, having obvious steps to adhere to or having best practice to benchmark. I  support business functions in regular HR processes or search best solutions for HR  related issues that business may have.

Things have changed when we launched a program aimed at finding HiPo (high  potential employees) and identifying talent pool among HQ middle management.  We’ve gone through the first and most clear steps – criteria elaboration,  assessment, results alignment and communication.

Now we face, in my opinion, the most challenging part of the process - support  business in search for answers to the questions related to their competences,  expertise and career development. It becomes even more challenging due to  constantly changing business environment, rapid technological progress – all these  factors leading to emergence of new approaches, competencies, roles, and even  professions. Thus, my further task is to help “create” career paths, promote out-of- box approach to development.

Selection

In Week 3 we talked much about using mind maps as a means to kickstart  creativity in search of “What if?”. To my mind, this one of the most difficult  questions in design thinking approach “path” – either you challenge yourself with  this question and “open the door” - boost further brainstorming and reveal new  approach, or you stick to accustomed and familiar best-practice “room” and kill  any new idea that might have been born today.

Mind mapping enables to visualize “ideas’ paths” and discuss different ways and  steps to solve a problem. In our course we learnt how we can use this tool in one of  more broad ways – developing ideas based on various data gathered and involving  feedback from different groups/parties. In terms of my task, this tool suits best and  is applicable for each scenario: for those employees who have exact vision of their  further career steps and for those who are stuck in their current position and role.

Application

We will create a mind map and discuss alternative steps to create career planning,  revealing the direction the career to take, the job skills and knowledge required.

Below are the steps that I’m going to follow with each participant:

- Knowing who you are (“what is”): once one have thought about where he is

at now and where he wants to be, he can work on getting to know his skills,  interests and values, considering what is important/valuable;

- Understanding alternatives where you might undertake (“what if”): which

ways are most probable and which aren’t but he is curious in following  them, then - what skills and knowledge it requires, what deters him from  learning it, what are risks&opportunities;

- Developing further actions: comparing options (with no personal judgment

from my side), narrowing down choices and thinking about what suits best  at this point in time/in x years. This kind of thinking helps break down big  picture career strategy and plan it into manageable pieces.

In this exercise my goal is not to fix on paper a career plan, but discuss and  show perspectives, alternative ways of cross-functional development and  horizontal promotions. Such a broad picture of various alternatives, I’m  sure, will result in interesting people decisions that will occur.

(example visualization)

Insight

As I was listening to mind mapping technique, it stroke my mind that I do often  use this approach – in a so-called “dot-voting” exercise during hr trainings:  participants are given a strip of dots that they can use to vote for an idea discussed  by sticking  a dot on the corresponding note.

The advantage of such an approach allows people to equally express their views  without argument, as well as practice this approach in larger groups where  discussions aren’t practical or efficient. Also such approach helps to make any  voting neutral: the status of the participant’s position does not matter, each point of  view is valuable and taken into account.

Approach

I will definitely use mind mapping approach in various ways and tasks: in order to  help me see how ideas are linked, to brainstorm ideas or even to take notes.

I’m sure that this is also a great tool in coaching: to reveal alternative ways, to  open things up, to see patterns and ideas emerge, to gain new insights and  perspectives.

