Ability to analyze information. Simple ways to improve your analytical skills
In everyday life - both in work and in personal affairs - we often encounter difficulties. Some situations can be easy to cope with. Others can quickly pull the rug out from under their feet. The brain can become fixated on solving individual problems for quite a long time. This is where analytical thinking comes in handy. The primary goals of analyzing any situation are to find out the root of the problem, predict its impact on everyday reality, and develop a strategy aimed at solving it.
So, in general, analytical thinking is the ability to imagine a given situation, consider it from different angles and break it down into smaller components. How to develop analytical thinking? Let's look at a few methods to do this.
- Of course, the first step in developing analytical skills will be direct work on the development of logic. This could be anything from chess and solving puzzles to solving problems from a seventh grade algebra textbook. Various tasks for the development of logic can be found in special publications and on the Internet.
- The second step is to ensure that you practice regularly. You need to understand that in developing the ability to think analytically there can be no concessions or easy ways. Especially for those who, from their youth, consider themselves “humanitarians.” Solving logic problems is like training a muscle. Classes must be carried out in doses, but regularly. In addition to the fact that with constant practice of mathematics or chess you will increasingly develop analytical skills, you will find that these activities also develop willpower. After all, forcing yourself to rack your brain over yet another task when there is no direct need for it is not an activity for lazy people. Therefore, in addition to analytical thinking, the “muscle” of will will also be developed.
- Third, provide a variety of cognitive loads. Scientists conducted the following experiment. Adults who had never held Tetris in their hands were given the task of playing this game. After some time, the number of neural connections increased in the areas of the brain responsible for performing mental operations associated with the game.
This happened at a time when the subjects showed significant progress in their ability to play. But after this, there was no increase in neural connections. People continued to play the slot machine, no worse than they had done before. However, they were no longer making any progress. The development of their analytical abilities within the framework of this game stopped at this point.
There can be only one conclusion: in order to develop the ability to analyze a situation, you need to constantly supply your brain with new tasks. At the same time, they must bear a more or less serious load for thinking, since it is impossible to develop an analytical mind by training the brain to act automatically.
There will always be several pros and cons to a given strategy for solving a problem. To understand which approach will be most effective, it is necessary to evaluate the “weight” of each of them, the degree and depth of its effectiveness. And also during the analysis of the situation, it may turn out that its components may fall into one of the categories - “important” or “urgent”. In this case, it is worth working with each of them separately. One way or another, having developed the ability to think analytically, solving various problems will happen faster and more successfully.
Published in issue 24 June 2010 in the magazine CORPORATE UNIVERSITIES
industrial university teacher REMI .
ANALYTICAL SKILLS: ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
Analytical skills: How to assess a person’s potential and propensity for analysis? The value of an analytical approach in business. In what situations is it necessary and possible to develop analytical skills to solve practical problems? Methodological approach and tools for developing analytical competencies. We evaluate the result of development. The place and role of analytical abilities among other types of thinking. Side effects of too high a level of development of analytical skills - harmony above all.
Before revealing the topic of developing analytical skills, let’s outline what is included in the set of analytical competencies. Developed analytical skills are a balance of analytical and synthetic thinking activity; it would be more correct to talk about analytical-synthetic activity.
Analytical skills include the following basic components:
- ability divide and differentiate a set of information (objects, data) into component parts, according to any significant characteristics or categories;
- ability to find are common essential features of particular phenomena are the skill of abstraction/generalization and classification.
The first and second basic aspects presuppose the presence of both an analytical function - to separate, differentiate, and a synthetic one - to find common features.
3. the ability to see significant relationships between objects and phenomena: mutual influence, cause-and-effect relationships, etc.;4. skill of comparison, evaluation and monitoring;
5. ability to structure and organize information;
6. the ability to think and present your ideas consistently, logically and draw conclusions.
In business practice, the level of development of analytical skills allows you to competently make decisions, taking into account a set of significant factors, find a way out of difficult situations, set priorities, investigate and evaluate the situation, classify events, facts, plan and build a system of judgments and arguments, correctly using the concepts that is a necessary aspect of communication. Analytical skills are largely conventional and play an essential role in people's ability to understand each other. In this regard, other components of analytical activity are also important.
7. the skill of identifying factors and priorities that are significant and sufficient for decision-making and the ability to neglect less significant ones;
8. the ability to think systematically, taking into account the totality of significant factors, to organize information along hierarchical logical levels;
9. skill in formulating hypotheses, ability to work with facts and assumptions, understand the difference between them;
10. the skill of searching and creating algorithms (solving problems, operations), the ability to apply them or adapt them to new situations;
11. critical thinking - the ability to question accepted and established judgments and arguments, change the initial hypothesis, formulate questions that allow you to supplement or revise the situation.
It was already said above that it is more correct to talk about balanced analytical-synthetic activity. If the type of thinking is dominated by the ability to synthesize, combine and the ability to find similarities and generalize, a person will strive to generate holistic solutions without a detailed preliminary analysis of the situation. If the analytical function prevails, then difficulties will arise when you need to choose one solution option from the available ones or propose your own holistic solution.
Analytical skills are formed at a certain stage of speech development, when a system of concepts and categories is mastered and an understanding of the patterns and relationships in the world of objects and phenomena develops.
The predominance of the analytical or synthetic component of intelligence, as well as the targeted development of analytical skills, or, conversely, a creative, holistic intuitive approach in childhood determines the style and methods of reasoning and problem solving in an adult. However, the development of analytical skills is possible in adulthood.
Assessment of the level of development of analytical skills
Well-built and developed analytical skills will manifest themselves in speech in most cases as follows:
1. clarity and, as a rule, good articulation of speech;
2. the sequence of construction of speech messages and the logic of presentation. Completeness of phrases;
3. accuracy of use of the concepts of categories and definitions;
4. structured speech, the presence of a plan and stages of narration;
5. identification and ability to explain patterns and cause-and-effect relationships;
6. the presence of generalizations and conclusions;
7. the ability to adhere to logic and the subject of discussion, and return to it;
8. the ability to build an argument based on objective facts and sources, and not on a subjective opinion or understanding of the issue;
9. skill and tendency to ask specific, clarifying and clarifying questions;
10. the presence of logical connectives: in case, in order to, provided, etc.;
11. use of enumeration and numerals to organize thoughts;
12. summarizing what was said, the presence of inferences and conclusions;
13. good pace of solving cases and problems.
However, the absence or incomplete list of these signs in speech is not yet a reason to draw a conclusion about the absence or weak expression of analytical skills. You can check their level of development by giving a person the opportunity to solve a problem in writing, take a test, work on a case, or write an essay on a given topic.
Some intelligence tests are well suited for assessing the level of development of analytical skills, for example, the Amthauer or Wechsler test, Raven matrices, etc. The only condition for the use of such tests is that a specialist qualified as a psychologist must conduct the test and interpret its results.
It will be faster and easier to develop and improve analytical skills in those people who show good results in both oral and written tests. It is more difficult for those who demonstrate them mainly when performing written versions of tasks, and it is very difficult if, based on the results of both written and oral tasks, the demonstrated basic level of analytical skills is low.
Stages of developing analytical skills
If we consider our own development of analytical skills in adults for applying them in business practice, we can distinguish several stages:
I. familiarity with the tools and methods of the analytical approach;
II. Application of tools and methods of the analytical approach for “simple” situations:
- written format. Application of tools and methods to simple situations, to solving relatively simple problems without taking into account the time factor
- written format. Application of tools and methods to simple situations, to solving simple problems taking into account the time factor (solution with limited time “for speed”)
- oral format. Application of tools and methods to simple situations in group work, discussion or individual analysis of a problem;
- oral format. Applying tools and techniques to simple role-play situations;
- written format. Application of tools and methods to complex situations, to solving complex problems without taking into account the time factor;
- written format. Application of tools and methods to complex situations, to solving complex problems taking into account the time factor (solution with limited time “for speed”);
- oral format. Application of tools and methods to complex situations in group work, discussion or oral individual analysis of the problem
- oral format. Applying tools and techniques to complex role-play situations;
- business simulation format under limited time conditions.
Let's look at each stage in a little more detail.
I. Introduction to the tools and methods of the analytical approach.
At this stage, we actually get acquainted with the tools that will improve the result obtained at the testing stage;
II. Using tools to solve simple problems.
The formation of a skill goes from simple to complex, so you need to start with simple tasks. At this stage it is important that the student masters the instrument. However, it is worth avoiding too simple tasks and situations, implying that any human actions and skills are formed and function in a rather complex external environment. At the same time, in paragraphs II-IV stress factors are sequentially added that affect the quality of the skill. This is the emergence of the factor of oral communication and group work, as well as the factor of time constraints.
III. Using tools to solve complex problems.
In this case, the complexity of the relationships and the number of conditions in the problem is implied;
IV. Forming the habit of applying the skill in everyday practice. The difficulty of applying acquired new skills and knowledge in an adult is due to the large number of accumulated skills and strategies in previous experience. It takes time to get used to using new strategies in daily practice and to learn to control the use of old ways of solving problems.
Methods and tools for developing analytical skills.
If we were talking about the development of such skills in children, then we could recommend all sorts of tasks to find patterns, similarities and differences, solve logical problems, etc.
However, not always An adult can be easily motivated to develop abilities with the help of puzzles that are not related to his practical activities.
Therefore, in most cases, to develop analytical skills, it is advisable to use those tools that already exist in the relevant application area. For example, if we take such an essential skill as decision making, then the practice of applying an analytical structured approach to decision making will precisely train the skill of a consistent analytical approach when solving problem situations.
Example 1: Decision making. Analytical structured approach.
1. Symptom detection
2. Detecting the problem
3. Collection and analysis of information on the problem
4. Setting a goal
5. Definition success criteria
6. Accumulation of information, generation of options
7. Evaluation of options - choice of options - making decisions
Essential in this analytical approach to solving a problem will be the formation of the simplest, basic skill, namely the ability to build a symptom-problem-goal chain. Oddly enough, there are often situations where students equate symptoms and problems, which can lead to incorrect or incomplete goal formulation. Often, the consequence of the lack of skill in an analytical approach to a problem is an incorrect generalization of random, situational or unimportant phenomena.
An example of a good and fairly simple tool for developing an analytical approach can be the practice of using matrices to analyze situations. For example, Eisenhower matrices for thinking about priorities, urgency and importance, SWOT matrices for analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), risk assessment matrix, Boston matrix, Johari Windows, etc.
Example 2. Matrix.
Eisenhower Matrix
A more complex analysis tool is the use of various typologies to classify phenomena and events. For example, analysis and classification of roles in a team according to M. Belbin.
Example 3 Typology
Let's consider what the stages of work on mastering the skills of analyzing roles in a team might look like:
I. Introduction to Tools and Techniques involves familiarization with 8 team roles according to M. Belbin and signs of behavior corresponding to each role;
II. Using tools for simple situations. At this stage, students read passages describing situations and people's behavior, and determine what behavior and construction of speech statements are typical for each role. First, this may be an analysis of text descriptions, and at the end of this stage - an analysis of video recordings of various types of behavior and dialogues;
III. Using tools for difficult situations. In terms of typology, this could be a written analysis of a case where characters interact with each other and exchange remarks during a brainstorming or production meeting. The task can be complicated by asking participants to analyze the production situation in order to identify deficiencies in certain team roles and develop recommendations. Students can be asked to take part in role-playing or play out skits using the behavior characteristic of a particular team role, as well as being an observer and analyzing the roles of others.
IV. Forming the habit of applying the skill in everyday practice. A good option for strengthening the skill of analyzing and classifying roles using typology would be to analyze the composition of the real team in which the student works or which he leads; developing hypotheses about the existence or deficiency of roles, as well as recommendations for changes and a step-by-step plan for implementing these changes.
One of the tools for assessing the level of development of analytical skills can be a business game or business simulation, which may require the use of not one, but several tools to situations of varying levels of complexity, containing many factors that will have to be taken into account to develop the optimal option solutions. Both a business game, a business simulation, and solving complex cases also assume that participants work under time constraints. It should be taken into account that for the correct application of such an assessment it is necessary to carry it out twice: before mastering the analysis tools and after. Frequent practical use and mastery of analytical tools disciplines analytical thinking and teaches it to be used in other completely new situations.
Questions as a tool for developing analytical skills.
Enough simple tool questions to develop analytical skills in business practice. The ability to ask a question is both an independent skill and a tool for developing analytical skills. When a manager or trainer asks a question to an employee or training participant, he thereby encourages him to think about the situation or problem in more depth and detail, taking into account various aspects. If an employee or student is constantly in conditions that constantly encourage him to rethink what is happening with the help of questions, then sooner or later this leads to the fact that he begins to ask questions to himself, thinking through current work issues.
Communication trainings include blocks devoted to the ability to formulate questions. Trainings that develop skills in analyzing a situation, the ability to make decisions, and systematically approach emerging problems necessarily include a block devoted to the ability to ask questions, but not as a factor in effective communication, but as a tool that develops an analytical approach.
To develop an analytical approach, it is necessary to study and be able to apply the main types of questions: open, alternative probing and closed.
Balance of analytical, holistic and intuitive approach.
However, excessive development of analytical skills can inhibit other equally important aspects of thinking, such as an intuitive approach, the ability to see a problem and situation holistically or in a non-trivial way. Analytical skills are generally more conventional than intuition, imaginative thinking and creativity. Therefore, when developing the skill of an analytical approach, one should remember the need to develop other components of thinking. The modern information and communication environment is constantly becoming more complex, the level of uncertainty in the relationships between factors influencing the quality of decisions made is increasing, and the requirements for the speed of decision-making are extremely high. In such situations, combining an analytical approach with intuition and the ability to see holistically and find non-trivial solutions will provide the best results.
Very often, many people, having any skill, do not use it for its intended purpose and refuse to develop it. Regardless of whether it is an innate gift or an acquired one, it needs to be developed. This is especially true for thinking, which allows us to achieve global goals and reach heights without spending a lot of energy. In this article we will talk about how to develop analytical thinking.
This happened back in school days. Then I was good friends with Vitya, with whom we lived not far from each other, and therefore often spent time together. Vitya was a great guy, but he focused too much attention on all sorts of little things. He could analyze this or that situation for a long time. Once Vitya lied to his mother that he wrote the test himself, although he copied it from me. Naturally, he was punished for this, but my friend was not at all upset. He began to think about how the situation would have turned out if he had acted differently. And although the past could not be returned, Vitya constantly came up with other options for the development of events that had long passed.
At first it seemed to me a waste of time, but soon Vitya made me change my views. Considering all his previous mistakes, my friend finally learned to predict the future, so he often knew in advance the result of one or another action. He learned to plan as usefully as possible not only the day, but the whole week, anticipating many events. This is how what seemed stupid to me helped Victor develop an analytical mind.
Analytical thinking - what is it and what is it used for?
Analytical thinking is what allows each of us to logically investigate and collect the information received into a single whole. It manifests itself in a person’s ability to carefully study a problem, task or any situation, analyze and highlight positive and negative aspects.
To make it clearer, let us give an example - the hero of the famous detective story, Sherlock Holmes. He fits the description of a person with analytical skills like no other. Holmes masterfully used all the capabilities of his own consciousness, which allowed him to capture any little details, analyze the situation and find connections between reasons.
People prone to analytical thinking can easily process a large block of data, rationally dividing it into several parts and examining them sequentially. This also requires well-developed logical thinking.
However, despite the closeness, it is not entirely correct to put an equal sign between analytical and logical thinking. Let's take a quick look at the main difference between the two. Analytical thinking is responsible for careful consideration and study of acquired material, comparison with existing data, while logical thinking is based on searching and establishing connections between causes and phenomena.
With the help of analytical thinking, we can better perceive information and remember it for a long time in order to reproduce it or apply it in practice in the future.
Analytical thinking consists of two main processes:
- formal – it is characterized by analysis, combining information into a common block, drawing logical conclusions, consolidating new material in memory;
- creative – based on the search for new knowledge and information. It differs from the formal one in the ability to perceive the intangible world, so this process requires the active use of intuition.
So, the goal of analytical thinking is a constant and thorough study of issues and problems, focusing on small details.
Advantages of being an analytical thinker
Analytical thinking develops the following skills:
- quick search for main and secondary;
- successfully solving any problems, be it a domestic situation or problems at work;
- searching for the positive and negative sides of current events;
- determining your own capabilities and limitations;
- analysis of the ongoing problem and the experience gained after solving it;
- summarizing reasonable final results;
- making decisions based on statistical data;
- drawing up an effective daily plan based on realistic goals;
- competent division of the activity process into reasonable stages;
- forecasting.
The development of analytical thinking will benefit a person in many areas of life from everyday to professional. Thanks to it, we better remember and assimilate information. During training, analytical competence will allow us to better understand and remember the material in order to subsequently reproduce the information without problems.
This skill is highly valued by many employers. In any company, the ability to quickly find an acceptable way out of a difficult situation will be an advantage. If you have already graduated from school, university, or are not working, this type of thinking is worth developing at least to analyze past experience, successes, failures and planning for the future.
14 exercises that will help you train your analytical mind
When you think about how to develop analytical thinking, various logic games will probably come to mind. And it is right. However, it’s worth supplementing them with a few more exercises that you might not be aware of.
There are 14 effective exercises for developing analytical thinking:
- Logic problems - this exercise is perfect for those who have a weak side in logic. You should start with simple analytical thinking tasks, gradually increasing the level.
- Mathematical examples – it is advisable to give preference to complex examples in which variables are present.
- Crossword puzzles - when you can solve them without problems, try to come up with your own. It's not easy, but it develops your thinking very well.
- Puzzles - puzzles, rebuses or a Rubik's cube are suitable.
- Chess is perfect for those who love doubles games.
- Reading books - don’t just read, but think about the plot, the actions of the characters. Reflect on why they did what they did, what other option was there.
- Analysis of everyday situations - develop a critical attitude towards everything, show doubt in relation to incoming information, look for new facts and check them yourself. Pay attention to small details, look for connections between objects that are not immediately apparent;
- Gain new knowledge every day - choose one topic that interests you and look for something new on it.
- Look for alternatives - when solving a problem, do not choose one solution, look further. Analyze the situation and think about what might have slipped through the cracks that could have helped you get a different result.
- Take part in discussions - talk with friends about various topics. Share your opinion, provide arguments and practice consistently expressing your own thoughts.
- Find out more about the things and phenomena around you - when you see something ordinary, think about how it works. The answer should not be given easily, go into detail to get a comprehensive answer.
- Create a Mind Map – A mind map is a way of visualizing your thought process. The essence of the exercise is simple - take a key thought and place it in the center. Then add elements related in meaning or significance to it. You can come up with associations for each element. At the end you should have a picture of your thought process. You don’t have to do this in your head; draw on paper or a computer.
- Keep records - write down your goals, methods for achieving them and results in a diary. If you failed to achieve the goal, analyze the situation, identifying the main errors.
- Model situations - come up with a problem situation yourself and try to resolve it.
Mainly, the development of analytical thinking is based on three main tasks:
- Learn more new things;
- Learn from the experiences of others;
- Put your knowledge into practice.
How often should you exercise?
Try to do exercises to develop brain activity at least once a day. They do not require a lot of time or effort. Create your own schedule to make it easier to stick to your regular workout routine. Each time, set yourself tasks that are more and more difficult. Soon you will not even notice how you will develop analytical thinking.
Special exercises will help you successfully and effectively develop analytical competence and systematize your personal life, achieving success in various areas. Follow some tips to help you master these skills faster:
- try to always see patterns in everything;
- create useful habits for the development of brain activity;
- analyze constantly;
- look for cause-and-effect relationships;
- Before you say or do something, try to predict where it will lead;
- Learn from your own or others’ mistakes so that you don’t repeat them in the future.
As a conclusion
Analytical thinking is one of the many keys to success that is so easy to obtain. Exercises for developing analytical thinking are available to absolutely everyone. With their help, you will not only develop your own consciousness, but also have fun.
Now, the question of how to develop analytical thinking will not confuse you, because there are various and interesting exercises. Continue to develop further, develop an analytical mindset. In addition, I would like to recommend training your thinking in general. You can learn about other exercises for developing consciousness on this website. Read articles, learn new things and hurry to put your knowledge into practice.
If the chosen profession corresponds to the mentality, a person reaches unprecedented heights in his career, it is easier for him to achieve goals, and his merits become more significant.
- Humanitarian. Before making a decision, a person first imagines everything and tries to feel it. Here, the emotional way predominates in understanding the world around us. When studying any phenomenon, an individual passes everything through himself. Those with a humanitarian mindset are more theorists than practitioners.
- Synthetic is a universal mindset. People usually have good abilities to comprehend both mathematical and human sciences. The advantage may go in one direction, in which case it is necessary to pass a special aptitude test.
- Analytic mind. It is characterized by continuous mental work of the brain. Gives the ability to connect links into logical chains of the thought process and reason correctly.
Let's take a closer look at the latter.
Analytical mindset - what does it mean?
Analytical skills are the art of thinking logically and correctly expressing your ideas. A person with this type of thinking is able to collect all the facts, analyze them and lay out a chain from them leading to the correct conclusion, leading to the most accurate conclusion.
Analytical mindset - what is it? This is not just the ability to reason and express your opinion - you need to build a logical conclusion. Usually, a reflective person reacts emotionally to any twists of fate, using intuition, which does not obey logic. Emotions are different from logical scientific knowledge. An individual whose thoughts have a strong emotional coloring and is succumbing to instincts cannot arrange facts in the right direction without error. This is illogical thinking, hence the disparity of opinions about the same event.
No, this does not mean that people with analytical thinking are not susceptible to emotions and instinctive behavior. Their brains are designed in such a way that when making decisions, processing and analyzing facts, they do not use emotions and intuition. And yet, an analytical mindset - what does it mean?
Let's reveal the essence of the term
In simple words, it is a natural gift, but it can be developed. Just first you need to decide whether you need it. As a rule, an analytical mindset is necessary for people who are engaged in science, writing, medicine, various investigations, lawyers, accountants, political scientists, and so on. The product of their labor will be examined by other people, so the result must be flawless and error-free.
Thus, we have lifted the curtain on the question of what an analytical mindset means. Let's say you decide to develop these abilities, let's figure out how to do it. Or maybe they already exist? How to recognize them?
Analytical mindset - what does it mean and how to define it?
There are many tests. But you shouldn’t hope that there will be a 100% result, because, having a mathematical mind, you will successfully complete tasks with puzzles, but gaps in your knowledge of the Russian language will give a disappointing assessment of the level of your analytical abilities. There are no universal tests. It is better to seek help from a specialist who will help you understand this issue step by step.
Try to determine their presence using a simple practical exercise. It is necessary to take any text and try to break it into fragments, grasp the idea, recognize the intent of each part, and learn something new for yourself. If any difficulties arise during the training, analytical skills need to be developed.
How to do it?
In simple words, you need to train your brain. The left hemisphere is our logic and analytical abilities. Therefore, in order to strengthen it, you need to work on increasing the load on the right side of the body. These are physical exercises and, of course, solving various problems.
The right hemisphere is our emotions, intuition. Responsible for fantasy. And in order to develop this part, you need to include all thought processes when performing tasks.
You need to work every day. There are exercises that will help you build, trace and compare your thought process with the way of thinking of another person.
- After listening to your opponent’s opinion, which does not coincide with yours, try to mentally share his point of view and arrange events in such a way that the logical chain leads to conclusions similar to his conclusions. This way you can identify the rough edges in his presentation of the position, and perhaps you will find mistakes in your own.
- Analyze any situation. Come up with many options for getting out of it, several possible favorable solutions.
- Read novels and detective stories, where halfway through, try to figure out the criminal.
- Solve logical and mathematical problems, puzzles, puzzles, and crosswords. It's entertaining, exciting and useful.
- Watch educational TV programs, videos on the Internet on geography, history, and some scientific channels. Listen to political debates. Follow the dialogue, how the speech is structured, what arguments are given.
- Play chess, checkers, billiards.
A trained analytical mind is like a natural thought process in which you don’t have to strain your brain. There is no trace of any intellectual load. Then you can consider that you have acquired this unique gift.
What else will help in developing analytical skills?
There are a lot of special trainings that help with this. It offers models of situations from which you need to find a way out and propose a solution. And based on the answer, his behavior is corrected; the specialist works to develop thinking. The classes are interesting and relaxed.
Improvisation role-playing games are successfully practiced. There is no time to think about the decision. You need to describe your thoughts momentarily. After which a collective analysis is carried out.
If you can’t attend trainings, you can invite a friend with analytical thinking to visit and do the same exercise with him.
You can practice on your own in complete silence. It is necessary to project some situation in your thoughts and come up with ways out of it. After which you need to analyze your thought process and the actions performed in your imagination. You can practice with friends.
So, we have understood the concept of “analytical mindset” and what it means. Forgetful individuals who find it difficult to concentrate and complete a task need to develop their memory and improve mental activity.
How can we improve it? Expert advice:
- A healthy, full sleep is necessary, at least seven hours, and under heavy loads, you need to set aside time for rest during the day.
- You should not start the work process immediately after eating; a short break is necessary.
- Instead of a cup of coffee, it is better to do morning exercises. This is a charge of vivacity and energy.
- "Reminder". This exercise will allow you to use all types of memory if you constantly remember and scroll in your head, and also speak out loud, for example, a plan of affairs for the day.
Ability to analyze
In their resumes, all applicants indicate various skills and achievements, as well as personal characteristics. A popular point is having an analytical mind or analytical abilities. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes that these are two slightly different concepts. Fundamental differences:
Analytical abilities are the tendency to identify cause-and-effect relationships and establish a logical chain between various elements of information.
An analytical mindset is a feature of the human psyche. It makes it possible to demonstrate or develop perceptive abilities environment. That is, those with an analytical mindset tend to analyze ongoing processes; most often these are people of technical professions.
Of course, you need to realize that there are abilities:
If we look at analytical skills from this perspective, it becomes obvious that all people are analytical. At the same time, a developed right hemisphere of the brain makes a person a humanitarian or a creative person. But the left gives an innate ability to be an analyst; such people are said to have an analytical mindset. Here you need to realize that every person can develop abilities for any activity.
For which specialists are analytical skills important?
To get a more complete answer to this question, just look at the requirements for candidates for various positions on the website bidbi.ru. Almost every company wants to see an employee with mental flexibility, organization, and analytical skills. This is most valued in professions such as:
Analysts or auditors;
Software specialists.
HR managers say that having analytical skills is indispensable for people who work with large amounts of information every day. Their role is to predict, analyze, and work through various situations. This mindset usually involves working with piles of paper documents (reports, summaries, invoices) or computer programs. Analysts have much less contact with clients.
Is it possible to build a career without such abilities?
Absolutely yes. For managers at various levels, self-improvement should be something familiar and mandatory. Absolutely everyone can develop analytical skills. The main thing is the pursuit of your goal, the presence of ambition and the readiness to learn.
Before developing any abilities, you need to check their availability. The best way to discover an analytical mind is a test. There are quite a lot of them on various Internet resources or in books. To develop analytical abilities, it is enough to try to establish cause-and-effect relationships of any action you perform. Ask yourself questions often:
“Why did I make this decision?”
“What are the consequences of my choice?”
“Could you have done it differently?”
“Did my decision have a positive impact on the work of the department, team, or company?”
Try to analyze your actions and actions. Over time, this will become a habit, and you will stop noticing how successfully you demonstrate your analytical abilities.
You can also attend various trainings from specialists in the field of psychology. Such actions will not be in vain, the result will be noticeable from the first lessons.
Should such personal qualities be included in a resume?
In fact, an experienced recruiter will immediately notice that this is a resume of a person with an analytical mind. In such a document, everything will be orderly and to the point, without unnecessary information that is in no way relevant. You need to directly report this only if this item is indicated in the requirements for a candidate for the position. If not, then the applicant must make the decision himself.
How to check whether a candidate for a position has analytical skills?
First of all, you should carefully review your resume. As mentioned above, it will be filled out clearly and structuredly, without errors, typos and other unnecessary details.
Assessment. A common practice during which the applicant is asked to solve a certain situation related to his future activities. While answering, the recruiter must monitor how the candidate builds a logical chain and whether he is confused in his actions, thoughts, and words. A person with an analytical mind will solve the problem, as they say, by putting everything “into order.”
Tests. Good, but not always effective way. For verification, various tests are used to check the level of intelligence, highlighting an extra object or word in a logical chain, and so on. However, this method does not provide a guaranteed result. You cannot do without additional questions, because the applicant simply will not be able to demonstrate his skills to the fullest.
Psycholinguistic analysis. The recruiter asks a question and carefully monitors the applicant’s speech. The answer must contain a complete sequence of actions, others possible options solutions to the problem, conclusion.
Communication skills without analysis
You can often come across the opinion that personal qualities such as communication and analytical skills are incompatible. This is true to some extent. After all, analysts will not immediately say what they think. They initially form the answer in their heads, and only then voice it. Quite the opposite is the case with sociable people.
For companies, it is important that an applicant has both qualities. What should those who lack communication skills do? The answer is obvious - develop them. Rhetoric or public speaking courses will help a specialist develop such abilities. It is important to understand here that “learning” to speak as an analyst is much easier than becoming a creative person. These are exactly the opposite qualities. Good luck!
- Next:Ability to work in a team
- Previous:Loyalty
More in this category
Report a violation
HTML code (website, blog):
Paid services
- There is no information yet
New
All rights reserved!
All logos and trademarks on the BIDBI.ru website are the property of their owners.
Using BIDBI or submitting advertisements on the site constitutes acceptance of the terms of use
Analytic skills
Analytical abilities are the ability to analyze various life phenomena, not freely, but strictly using logical methods, abstracting from small, insignificant details. Often, people endowed with talents do not use them at all in their real lives, while less talented, but more persistent people, as a rule, achieve success. Analytical abilities are also a kind of talent, and it can be developed by giving yourself food for thought.
How to test your analytical skills?
In order to test how capable you are of independent analysis, often all you need to do is take an analytical ability test - any of those that you can find on the Internet. You can test yourself in an easier way.
IN ordinary life When analyzing reality, a person needs to consider all the circumstances in parts, separately from each other, compare the options, their pros and cons, and only after that make a general conclusion. You can test yourself by taking any educational text and working with it for a minute.
The main technique for understanding educational text is the ability to ask questions about it. If your analytical skills are at a high level, then you can easily: break the text into semantic parts, formulate its general main idea and gain some new knowledge from it. If you managed to do this easily, then you have mastered analytical activities, and if difficulties arise, then this area is worth developing.
How to develop analytical skills?
Now you can easily choose one of the training centers where they are ready to teach you not only analytical skills, but also success, entrepreneurial art and self-acceptance. At such a training, you will most likely be offered tasks for analytical skills, and in the form of a situation to which you need to quickly respond. Training in this way is interesting, easy and gives excellent results.
However, such a center cannot be found in every locality. You can independently come up with various controversial situations and find ways out of them, as well as imagine how they are likely to develop further. This is best done in pairs with a like-minded person, the effect will be better and it will be more interesting to do.
In addition, you can take a very simple route and solve logical problems, which also contribute well to the development of analytical skills. For example:
- Five diggers dig a 5 m ditch in 5 hours. How many diggers will it take to dig 100 m of a ditch in 100 hours? (ANSWER: the same amount).
- People who came to one village were often surprised by the local fool. When given a choice between a 50-cent coin and a five-dollar bill, he always chose the coin, even though it was worth ten times less than the bill. Why did he never choose a bill? (ANSWER: they would stop giving him money).
By solving problems regularly, you will easily develop the desired personality quality.
Copying information is permitted only with a direct and indexed link to the source
Analytical skills and ways to develop them
What are analytical skills? When we consider that a person has an analytical mind, this implies that his reasoning is logical and structured. This kind of thinking allows you to collect all the facts received, analyze them, build a clear sequential chain and draw conclusions that in most cases will be correct. Thus, analytical skills are the talent to think logically.
Are analytical skills a gift of nature or the result of training?
Experienced teachers will say with confidence that the peculiarities of thinking appear in early childhood. Some kids enjoy composing fairy tales and fables, while others fall into a stupor when they hear the task of drawing a fantastic animal. At school, exact sciences (algebra, physics) are easy for an analyst, but in a literature lesson the teacher may be extremely dissatisfied with such a student. Analytical skills are the ability to calculate connections between objects and phenomena (even if they are not obvious), differentiate important and minor details, apply methods of deduction (from the general to the particular) and induction (vice versa, from the particular to the general).
Employers and HR specialists value the analytical mindset of job seekers. If a person has developed analytical skills, it is guaranteed that this will help him in the profession of a marketer, logistician, economist, IT specialist, etc. Of course, an analytical mind is a genetic feature of each individual person. But the skills of constructing a logical thought chain and analyzing any situation can and should be developed.
How to develop an analytical mind
To learn to think logically, constant training is necessary. Just as our body constantly requires physical activity, our brain needs “tasks.” You can use the training methods below. In any case, even if you practice for a few minutes every day, there is a chance to train your brain and develop the necessary skills.
Many people ask what results can be achieved, will a typical humanist be able to become a person with amazing analytical thinking? First of all, two factors need to be taken into account:
- level of skill development before the start of classes;
- potential (maximum level), which is determined by genetic characteristics.
You can’t jump over your head, but everyone can significantly improve logical thinking and reveal their natural potential. So how to develop analytical skills?
Step 1: Take Every Opportunity to Learn
When talking with people who have a different point of view from yours, try to arrange the available facts so that the resulting conclusions are similar to the conclusions of your opponent. Over time, you will learn to find inconsistencies in both your and other people's reasoning and come to the truth.
Analyze everything that happens to you. Imagine different options for the outcome of certain events depending on your action or inaction, imagine several options for the development of the situation.
Step 2. Practice
How to develop an analytical mind with the help of books? Read detective stories! Classic novels about Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Mrs. Marple are ideal for these purposes. Try to figure out the criminal together with the detective, building logical chains. Another fun way to develop analytical skills is to solve daily problems from the Fun Mathematics collections.
Step 3. Build logical chains
Set problems and try to solve them using logic. For example, the task: determine the number of preschool institutions in your city in 20 minutes, provided that you do not know the reliable answer to the question, and also will not use the Internet, reference books and the help of friends to solve this problem. Set problems and try to solve them using logic.
Possible solutions:
- city population;
- percentage of preschool children;
- percentage of children not attending preschool education;
- average number of children in the group;
- average number of groups in kindergarten;
- number of kindergartens in the city.
Standard algorithm for solving any problem
- Set a goal.
- Gather as much information as possible.
- Identify primary connections.
- Anticipate options for the development of events, create a working hypothesis.
- Test your hypothesis.
- Take action.
People with an analytical mindset are distinguished by their ability to solve a large number of logical problems without experiencing much intellectual stress. If building algorithms and establishing connections between objects has become fun for you, rather than hard mental work, consider that you have developed analytical abilities. The video shows some exercises.
Development of analytical skills
What are analytical skills? Is it possible to develop them? How are analytical skills used in solving practical problems? How to improve the efficiency of work that requires an analytical approach? We will consider these questions in this article, the main goal of which is to outline specific steps and identify tools that will help you do your work faster and better, applying and developing your analytical skills.
Let's start by defining the concepts.
Analysis (analytical approach) is:
Isolating and studying the essential parts that have the most noticeable impact on the subject/phenomenon/problem under consideration
Ignoring irrelevant details
Determining the relationships between the identified significant components
Analytical skills - the ability to apply an analytical approach to solve specific problems.
The need to apply analytical skills in such activities as science, education, product and technology development, and strategic planning is probably beyond any doubt. Are these skills needed, for example, for a marketing specialist or a customer service manager?
Let's look at this example.
The customer service department receives a complaint from customer “A”:
“We ordered 20 packages of product “X”, but only 15 were delivered to us.”
The department manager checks order and shipment information and determines whether the product is in stock. Yes, that’s right - an order for 20 packages, 15 were delivered, the product is in stock. The manager apologizes to the client and agrees on the terms of additional delivery. Problem solved.
The customer service department receives a complaint from customer “B”:
“We ordered product ‘X’ and they delivered product ‘Y’.”
The department manager checks order and shipment information. Yes, everything is correct - product “X” was ordered, “Y” was delivered. The manager apologizes to the client and agrees on the terms of additional delivery. Problem solved.
In both cases, the problem was resolved quickly and the client was “more or less” satisfied.
And no analytical skills were required. Right? Correct, but not quite.
The “operative” solution to the problem shown may be effective in the short term. But such an approach, which does not take into account the causes of the problem, turns out to be completely untenable in the long term. With this model of work, our manager will be doomed to constantly correct errors in the supply department. While the use of an analytical approach will help him understand and eliminate the causes of these errors. This will lead to a reduction in the number of complaints and an increase in the quality of service.
Thus, in any type of activity, the use of analytical skills allows you to find solutions to a problem that eliminate the very cause of its occurrence.
Is it possible to develop analytical skills? Yes, just like any other skill.
Of course, there are two factors to consider here:
The person's current level of skill development
The limiting level of skill development (potential), set genetically
The greater the gap between these two levels, the more effective efforts to develop the skill will be.
We will look at two main approaches to developing analytical skills and, accordingly, increasing the effectiveness of analytical activities:
rice. 1. Two approaches to developing analytical skills
The function of exercises can be performed by any professional tasks that you solve using an analytical approach. This could be budgeting, sales analysis, assortment planning.
Of course, formal exercises can also be used to develop analytical skills. For example, one of the exercises we use in training is “Logical Chain”:
Exercise “Logical chain”
Task: determine the quantity secondary schools In your city.
Time to complete - 20 minutes.
You need to create a logical chain, the links of which will be information stored in your memory or data derived from it. You cannot use any additional sources (books, reference books, magazines, the Internet, TV, calling a friend). Moreover, it is better to create not one chain, but several, and compare the resulting estimates.
Possible chain option:
City population
What percentage of the total population are school-age children?
Average number of students per class
Average number of classes in school
Number of schools in the city
And, of course, the classic version of exercises for developing analytical skills is business cases.
As can be seen from Fig. 1, competent use of tools allows you to dramatically enhance your natural abilities and achieve outstanding results.
We will begin our review of tools with the Situation Analysis Algorithm.
Algorithm for analyzing a problem situation:
Goal, performance criteria
Model of the situation: key factors, relationships
Solutions options - Working hypothesis
Hypothesis testing - Information
Let's discuss the elements of the algorithm in more detail.
1 Purpose, performance criteria
Before you start researching a situation, you need to determine what the goal is this study, what result do you want to get. At this stage, it is important not only to formulate a goal, but also to understand what the criteria for its implementation are, to determine with the help of which indicators you can find out how successfully the task is being accomplished.
Company X is engaged in the production and sale of products Y.
The company is on the verge of bankruptcy - the number of clients has decreased, sales volume has decreased, and there are not enough funds in the accounts for current expenses.
The purpose of the analysis: to understand the reasons for the current situation, to determine the actions necessary to bring the company out of the crisis.
Criteria for achieving the goal: the planned steps must provide certain planned indicators for such parameters as:
Movement Money(cash flow)
At this stage, you perform the first operation specified in the definition of the analytical approach - “dividing an object, phenomenon, problem into its component parts.”
For company “X” from our example, the following components can be distinguished:
Now you should move on to collecting information describing the problem situation, structuring it according to the identified areas.
A tool that will be very useful at this stage is the MECE principle.
MECE principle - Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive
(Mutually Exclusive, Jointly Exhaustive - WISI).
This principle requires that the components that you highlight when analyzing a problem satisfy two conditions:
There should be no intersections between the parts (they should be mutually exclusive)
If you put all the parts together, the problem will be described completely (the parts are jointly comprehensive)
3 Situation model: key factors, relationships
The goal of this stage is to create a simplified model of the problem situation and move from the chaos of a huge number of facts with uncertain relationships to a system with a small number of understandable patterns.
From the variety of collected facts, you are required to highlight the most important ones from the point of view of completing the assigned tasks. Key factors are the factors that have the greatest impact on the criteria for achieving the goal (in our example, this is the impact on turnover, profit and cash flow).
4 Solutions options -> Working hypothesis
After building a model of a problem situation, you are ready to begin searching for solutions that will lead to achieving your goal.
For example (for company “X”):
Increased turnover can be achieved by expanding the range, reducing prices, improving product quality, expanding distribution, increasing advertising support, etc.
Each solution option must take into account all the criteria for achieving the goal, that is, in our case, in addition to increasing turnover, the conditions for increasing profits and optimizing cash flow must be met.
From several solution options, the one that best satisfies all the given criteria should be selected as a working hypothesis.
5 Hypothesis testing -> Information
At this stage, you assume that the working hypothesis you have chosen is the optimal solution to improve the situation. How can I check this? You need to start collecting and processing information again to confirm or refute the assumptions on which your chosen solution is based.
If the data you obtained in the previous step matches your expectations, the working hypothesis becomes the result of your analysis - you have identified a set of actions that should lead to achieving the goal. The final test of your recommendations will be putting them into practice and monitoring key parameters (turnover, profit, cash flow).
If the data obtained does not meet your expectations, you should return to step 4 (Solution options -> Working hypothesis), again consider possible options, formulate the next working hypothesis and move further along the algorithm.
Another tool that increases the efficiency of analytical work.
The SWOT analysis technique was proposed by Professor Kenneth Andrews in 1963.
The abbreviation stands for as follows:
The subject of a SWOT analysis can be a company, a working group, a proposed solution, etc.
rice. 2. SWOT analysis factors
Strengths and Weaknesses are internal characteristics of an organization that it can influence.
Internal factors include:
Opportunities and Threats are related to the characteristics of the external environment; the organization cannot directly influence them.
External factors include:
SWOT analysis provides you with a ready-made structure for your research.
In fact, two main operations specified in the definition of the analytical approach have already been performed:
Dividing an object, phenomenon, problem into its component parts
Identification of essential parts that have the most noticeable impact on the subject/phenomenon/problem under consideration
All you need to do is fill the proposed structure with specific data and analyze the resulting model.
A convenient tool for visualizing the entire analysis process and especially the stage of identifying key factors and relationships.
An example of a Logical Tree is shown in Fig. 3.
You start building it from top to bottom, placing the goal of analysis in the topmost rectangle. Accordingly, each next level of the tree consists of directions/actions that contribute to achieving the goal.
rice. 3. Logical tree
The number of levels for each branch of the tree is determined by the level of detail you need. By building a logical tree, you will receive not only a visual model for analysis, but also a ready-made diagram for presenting its results.
In this article, we briefly examined two approaches to developing analytical skills and increasing the effectiveness of analytical activities.
Of course, the tools we talked about are only a small part of what is successfully used in the analysis process.
You can learn more about this topic on the website www.colloquium.ru
Ethan Rasiel, "The McKinsey Method." Moscow, Alpina Business Books, 2005
Most employers highly value candidates' analytical ability, and for some positions, having this quality is a primary requirement. Not everyone is born with an analytical mindset, but everyone has analytical abilities to one degree or another, and, if desired, they can develop them independently.
In the resume column " Personal qualities» applicants quite often indicate the presence of analytical abilities/an analytical mindset. Moreover, they do not always realize what difference exists between these two concepts. Analytical abilities - a person’s tendency to identify significant connections and relationships between various elements of information. An analytical mindset is an ability of the human psyche that allows him to demonstrate and develop the ability to analytically perceive the surrounding reality. Anna Luzina, company HR manager RU-CENTER, believes that analytical abilities presuppose a person’s ability to analyze a specific situation and build a holistic image of it, and for people with an analytical mindset, the process of analysis occurs constantly, which is why they most often have a technical education.
All people are capable of analysis to one degree or another; this is a property of our thinking.
Any ability, innate or acquired, is, first of all, a person’s predisposition to something, certain inclinations. From this point of view, all people are capable of analysis to one degree or another; this is a property of our thinking. But at the same time, not everyone has an analytical mind. Scientists have found that if the right one is dominant of the two hemispheres of the brain, then the emotional sphere predominates in a person, and if the left one is dominant, the analytical one. This is a congenital trait.
According to Pavel Tsypin, HR manager of the agency Vanguard PR, the analytical mindset is a more global and “psychological” phenomenon that characterizes a born scientist, analyst. Analytical abilities are something local, something that almost every person has and differs only in the degree of development. You can talk about low, medium or high analytical abilities, but you either have an analytical mind or you don’t.
“Catch” the recruiter’s attention
You can determine to what extent a person is capable of analysis already at the stage of getting to know his resume. As a rule, people with an analytical mindset can clearly see the structure of their resume, all logical connections are spelled out, there is a certain “order” in the presentation of information, and there is no “extra” information in any section. Everything is directed and sharpened to achieve a single goal - to attract the attention of the recruiter and receive an invitation to an interview.
In the cover letter that is attached to the response to the vacancy, such applicants, having analyzed and correlated the description of the open position and their own competencies, competently present their professional achievements and skills, mentioning in passing their weaknesses. This allows them to stand out from other candidates.
Do you have analytical skills? Prove it!
The process of interviewing applicants in most companies follows this scheme: first, the candidate’s suitability is confirmed minimum requirements vacancies, then clarification of his professional skills and competencies follows. “The analytical mind is very difficult to define, let alone measure. It can be confused with erudition, or it may not be noticed at all due to the applicant’s anxiety,” states Elena Gubanova, business trainer 3R Recruitment Company. During an interview, some specialists may present themselves ineffectively. Therefore, to identify an analytical mindset, recruiters use a number of special tools:
- conducting an assessment
- use of various tests
- psycholinguistic analysis
Candidates are asked to solve a non-standard problem or play out a situational case, and then are asked to explain how they came to the final solution, that is, they conduct a short assessment.
A person can have synthetic thinking - both communication and analytical abilities are well developed.
Tatiana Fedorova, HR Director Moscow School of Management "Skolkovo", asks candidates to solve a typical problem. Based on the answer, you can check several aspects of having an analytical mind or analytical skills. Firstly, what type of data does the applicant choose for analysis, secondly, how does he structure it to obtain a result, and thirdly, what conclusions does he draw based on this information. Ivanova Yulia, recruitment agency consultant "VIZAVI Consult", says: “The most common way to test a candidate’s analytical abilities during an interview is the Case Interview. Case types are standardized. When a candidate answers questions, it is necessary to pay attention to the sequence of construction of phrases, the structure of conclusions and conclusions, and the presence of “stucks”. You can ask the candidate to solve several logical problems, and then ask him to explain the options for solving them. Thus, we will be able to trace the candidate’s logical chain of reasoning, evaluate the vision of the task as a whole, the ability to sort things out, the absence/presence of a holistic vision, and so on.”
Some recruiters use tests in their work to identify the analytical abilities of candidates (for example, the Amthauer test (for intelligence level), highlighting an extra word in a chain, etc.). However, not all employers are inclined to trust the results of test tasks. According to Nadezhda Bobrova, director of the human resources department of an international automobile holding "Atlant-M"(St. Petersburg), firstly, tests cannot give a 100% forecast, secondly, the candidate at the interview is in a state of stress (to one degree or another), therefore, he will not be able to fully demonstrate his abilities, which will be revealed, for example, during an internship.
Maxim Lukichev, executive director of an IT company "Prime Group", says: “The presence of an analytical mind and analytical skills can be tested by asking the candidate to talk about his previous work experience: his previous position and responsibilities can clearly demonstrate the presence of these qualities.” Some recruiters closely monitor the applicant’s speech, the sequence of phrase construction, the structure of conclusions and conclusions, highlighting defining moments of the career path, reaction to “inconvenient” questions, as well as the speed of answers to questions and the pace of speech. Thus, they use psycholinguistic analysis to identify the candidate’s ability to analyze the situation as a whole, set priorities and systematize information.
Communication or analytical skills
There is an opinion that people who are prone to constant analysis suffer from a lack of communication skills, since before expressing their opinion on something, they need some time to build in their minds several options for the possible development of events in order to choose the most, in their opinion, suitable. And conversations with people, especially with clients and partners, require quick reactions and “lively” communication.
Employers highly value applicants' analytical skills.
Pavel Tsypin, like most experts, believes that from a psychological point of view, communication skills and analytical abilities are not mutually exclusive qualities. Communication skills can be developed - it is enough, for example, to take a course in rhetoric. Svetlana Giatsintova, HR director of the company "I-Teco", says: “Of course, a person may have more pronounced either analytical or communication abilities. But this does not mean at all that if you have analytical skills, you lack communication skills. In modern psychology there is a concept - synthetic thinking, which means that a person has highly developed both qualities.” A striking example is marketers who, along with the ability to collect, analyze and process information about the market, need the ability to effectively communicate with the public and clients. Or recruiters, who, on the one hand, must analyze information about the labor market and its individual sectors, and on the other, interview candidates and negotiate with client companies.
According to Nadezhda Bobrova, if a person has good communication skills and knows how to establish positive connections with the external environment, then he often also has analytical abilities, since he knows how to identify and select the necessary and significant (to achieve specific goals) methods of communication. The expert believes that “it is more likely to separate analytics and creativity, since these are polar categories. When thinking outside the box, we can talk about the creativity of the employee. An analytical mindset presupposes the presence of administrative abilities, which is contrary to creativity, and analytical abilities are also present in creative people, but to a lesser extent.”
Who needs analytical skills?
Employers highly value applicants' analytical skills. In many job advertisements, this quality is required along with mental flexibility, attention to detail, a systematic approach to work, observation, and high organization. According to experts, all these qualities are most valued among managers, specialists working in the field of sales, in particular sales development, IT specialists, marketers, economists, analysts, logisticians, and consultants.
Svetlana Giatsintova believes that analytical skills are required, first of all, for specialists working with large volumes of information. These people must be able to collect, structure and analyze data, predict and model various situations, taking into account the influence of various components, and assess their significance for any events. However, intuition plays a very important role, that is, the ability to use accumulated experience.
An analytical mindset involves more communication with computer programs and paper documents than with people. It also happens, however, that a person has worked in client-oriented positions for many years, and then realized that this is not exactly what he wants to do. As well as vice versa.
A career without analytical ability
Most managerial positions require managers to have analytical skills and a penchant for long-term planning. If you want to achieve career heights and take a leadership position, then you simply need to develop them.
However, Pavel Tsypin believes that career growth is possible without pronounced analytical abilities, for example, in the humanitarian field. But, of course, not where they are primary: in top management or in the financial field. In addition, with some effort, you can develop these qualities in yourself - if you have motivation.
Svetlana Giatsintova is of the following opinion: if a specialist does not have analytical skills, but strives for career growth, he should consider positions where the manager is required to be able to take responsibility, quickly make decisions, quickly switch from one task to another, and so on.
As a rule, if you want to achieve career heights and take a leadership position, then you simply need to develop analytical skills.
“Career growth in itself implies professional improvement, which means a conscious need to master new areas and develop new competencies. So why not develop your analytical skills? Of course, you don’t need to sit down to textbooks that are distracted from business. There's simply no time for this. But it’s enough just to accustom yourself to think about the causes and consequences of this or that action or decision every time, says Anastasia Shupletsova, recruitment consultant, recruitment agency Delogys Group. - Even if you do not have a penchant for analytical skills, career growth is still possible; when positioning you, you need to focus on other personal qualities. And it’s unlikely that you will want to engage in strategy and analysis, because we usually like what we do best.”
How to develop analytical skills?
Experts say that if you have enough desire, you can “move mountains.” Developing the ability to analyze incoming information is a completely realistic and achievable goal. On this moment Many training centers offer programs to develop analytical abilities, but it often turns out that life itself becomes the best “teacher” in their development. According to Maxim Lukichev, “to develop the ability to analyze, you need to immerse yourself in various situations and try to find ways out of them.”
Tatiana Menshova, business coach at 3R Recruitment Company, believes: “If a person managed to obtain a financial and economic specialization and began to manage first one and then several parallel business processes, this means that he is actively developing his thinking process. Playing checkers, chess, computer games, mastery of a complex musical instrument, learning a foreign language, especially English, presuppose the presence of analytical thinking and contributes to its development.”
- What documents should an individual entrepreneur have?
- Accounting for individual entrepreneurs - rules and features of independent reporting under different tax regimes Primary documentation for individual entrepreneurs
- Accounting for individual entrepreneurs: features of accounting in individual entrepreneurs?
- How to privatize an apartment, everything about privatization List of documents for privatization of an apartment