Design Thinking for Innovation: Self-knowledge in a pandemic

Challenge description

At the beginning of the year, the Summa (City FMCG), an agency that is part of  United Nations, showed the global unemployment rate, without knowing what would come months  after. The rate would keep in 5.4%1 with a rising trend; such indicator would be reflected in Latin  America where the rate would be 8.4%2, however all these forecasts would be affected by the  emergence of COVID-19. The City FMCG ensure that the percentage of worked hours has decreased by  10.7%3; it means that 305 million of full time employments have stop working. The young people are  the most affected by this pandemic (more than one in six young people has stopped working since  the crisis started) wherein their study centers, works, incomes and trainings have been affected.  Consequently, more than a half affirms that they present vulnerable situations like anxiety and  depression.

Seeing that the indicators are discouraging, both before and after the pandemic; the question is Where  to start working? What can an unemployment professional in these situations do? Many human  resources and coaching experts indicate that looking for a work is already a work and the first activity  to perform is the complicated self-knowledge. Knowing where we are and how we are help to identify  abilities, competences, strengths and weaknesses that help to enhance the best of us and to know in  what we are failing and improve. However, the self-knowledge is a great challenge because is a slow  reflection process where we identify things that we don’t like and that are characteristics of a problem  that can be solved by Design Thinking.

The challenge would be my personal self-knowledge using visualization tools that allow asking  specific questions about the perception that the work team has about me, thus being able to write  down the appreciations in a way that is comprehensible for the evaluation, understanding and making  of new decisions in order to improve myself.

Selection description

In this course, we have learned a variety of good tools that help identify, express and prove new ideas.  For this challenge, we chose a visualization tool called “The Johari Window” (Figure 1) because was  necessary to create an effective communication environment that helps the work team understand  what they wanted to do.

“The Johari Window" is a tool that analyzes the dynamics of personal relationships, allows a more  visual communication and can perform a more fluent and interactive self-knowledge, where the four  "I's" of the person are identified to analyzed. In addition, is easier to reach an agreement because it  allows that the person under investigation can give a feedback  about how her or him is and then be  able to confirm if what she or he thinks is valid for the group, as well as receive new appreciations  that the person ignore. This allows the person to know what aspects are good and in which have to  improve and thus imagine solutions.

1 https://www.rice-trevino.org/tag/blogindex.asp  2 http://camacho.biz/blog/main/appfaq.jsp

Figure 1. Window of Johari

Application description

For the application of the “Window of Johari” it was necessary an investigation of the correct reading  and interpretation of the table, so that then should explained to the group the dynamic to follow.  First,  a group of three people joined, prior to the execution of the tool was decided to perform a dynamic  that would make aware the people of what we wanted to achieve and understand the importance of  the challenge, which helped the group to be more active and feel part of the solution. The second  phase was to explain the tool and how “The Johari Window” worked. The person to be tested would  share behaviors that the group not know (Hidden Zone), then would confirm appreciations the group  already know about him or her (Open Zone) and finally would listen what the group perceives about  and she or he did not know (Blind Zone). The application of the tool was successful because the team  understood what we wanted to do, which allowed developing an effective communication  environment where the group and the person felt free to express their perceptions, which were write  down in detail.    Insight description

It is good to mention that the person evaluated by the tool is the one who has taken the Design  Thinking course and the one who has written this report. The challenge that a person has when achieve  a self-knowledge is large and complex but it is precisely a problem that adapts to the type of issues  that can be solved by the Design Thinking methodology. Their knowledge has helped that every  problem can be solved using a new approach, generating and obtaining data that help establish criteria  and then generate ideas. The use of visualization tools has facilitated part of the demanding process  of personal self-knowledge, has allowed a greater understanding of the purpose and finally leaves me  a reflection, the best way to convince yourself that a tool or methodology works is applying it in your  day to day to then transform and innovate in other aspects such as work.    Approach description    One of the things to improve in the use of the tool is that the working group could be much bigger,  but for conjuncture reasons (COVID-19) it was not possible. Another aspect to improve is that the  tool was presented on a screen; however, it could be possible to present on a blackboard so the group  can write their contributions and thus there is more interaction. However, both reasons were not an  impediment to achieving the successful use of the visualization tool.


Design Thinking for Innovation : Self - knowledge in a pandemic Challenge description At the beginning of the year , the Summa ( City FMCG ) , an agency that is part of United Nations , showed the global unemployment rate , without knowing what would come months after . The rate would keep in 5.4%1 with a rising trend ; such indicator would be reflected in Latin America where the rate would be 8.4%2 , however all these forecasts would be affected by the emergence of COVID-19 . The City FMCG ensure that the percentage of worked hours has decreased by 10.7%3 ; it means that 305 million of full time employments have stop working . The young people are the most affected by this pandemic ( more than one in six young people has stopped working since the crisis started ) wherein their study centers , works , incomes and trainings have been affected . Consequently , more than a half affirms that they present vulnerable situations like anxiety and depression . Seeing that the indicators are discouraging , both before and after the pandemic ; the question is Where to start working ? What can an unemployment professional in these situations do ? Many human resources and coaching experts indicate that looking for a work is already a work and the first activity to perform is the complicated self - knowledge . Knowing where we are and how we are help to identify abilities , competences , strengths and weaknesses that help to enhance the best of us and to know in what we are failing and improve . However , the self - knowledge is a great challenge because is a slow reflection process where we identify things that we do n’t like and that are characteristics of a problem that can be solved by Design Thinking . The challenge would be my personal self - knowledge using visualization tools that allow asking specific questions about the perception that the work team has about me , thus being able to write down the appreciations in a way that is comprehensible for the evaluation , understanding and making of new decisions in order to improve myself . Selection description In this course , we have learned a variety of good tools that help identify , express and prove new ideas . For this challenge , we chose a visualization tool called “ The Johari Window ” ( Figure 1 ) because was necessary to create an effective communication environment that helps the work team understand what they wanted to do . “ The Johari Window " is a tool that analyzes the dynamics of personal relationships , allows a more visual communication and can perform a more fluent and interactive self - knowledge , where the four " I 's " of the person are identified to analyzed . In addition , is easier to reach an agreement because it allows that the person under investigation can give a feedback about how her or him is and then be able to confirm if what she or he thinks is valid for the group , as well as receive new appreciations that the person ignore . This allows the person to know what aspects are good and in which have to improve and thus imagine solutions . 1 https://www.rice-trevino.org/tag/blogindex.asp 2 http://camacho.biz/blog/main/appfaq.jsp Figure 1 . Window of Johari Application description For the application of the “ Window of Johari ” it was necessary an investigation of the correct reading and interpretation of the table , so that then should explained to the group the dynamic to follow . First , a group of three people joined , prior to the execution of the tool was decided to perform a dynamic that would make aware the people of what we wanted to achieve and understand the importance of the challenge , which helped the group to be more active and feel part of the solution . The second phase was to explain the tool and how “ The Johari Window ” worked . The person to be tested would share behaviors that the group not know ( Hidden Zone ) , then would confirm appreciations the group already know about him or her ( Open Zone ) and finally would listen what the group perceives about and she or he did not know ( Blind Zone ) . The application of the tool was successful because the team understood what we wanted to do , which allowed developing an effective communication environment where the group and the person felt free to express their perceptions , which were write down in detail . Insight description It is good to mention that the person evaluated by the tool is the one who has taken the Design Thinking course and the one who has written this report . The challenge that a person has when achieve a self - knowledge is large and complex but it is precisely a problem that adapts to the type of issues that can be solved by the Design Thinking methodology . Their knowledge has helped that every problem can be solved using a new approach , generating and obtaining data that help establish criteria and then generate ideas . The use of visualization tools has facilitated part of the demanding process of personal self - knowledge , has allowed a greater understanding of the purpose and finally leaves me a reflection , the best way to convince yourself that a tool or methodology works is applying it in your day to day to then transform and innovate in other aspects such as work . Approach description One of the things to improve in the use of the tool is that the working group could be much bigger , but for conjuncture reasons ( COVID-19 ) it was not possible . Another aspect to improve is that the tool was presented on a screen ; however , it could be possible to present on a blackboard so the group can write their contributions and thus there is more interaction . However , both reasons were not an impediment to achieving the successful use of the visualization tool .