You don’t have to be good at or enjoy every skill related to people analytics to be successful in a people analytics career. Different skills can be leveraged and there are many variations in careers, this allows you to focus on a career that aligns best with your strengths and interests. But, only if you have clarity on what your strengths and interests are. In Step 1 you identified existing strengths and in Steps 2 through 4 you completed ‘Self-Discovery’ skill assessments that highlighted many more. So, you’ve already got an inventory of all your awesomeness started. But since we don’t necessarily always enjoy everything we are good at and we don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it, it is worth taking time to consider what you enjoy doing. 

Self-Discovery: Take Inventory of What You’re Good At & What You Enjoy

1. What are Your Strengths? Review all the skills you assessed in the self-discovery activities of this book. Add any you think might be a strength for you to a table (see template) and put a checkmark in a column labeled “Strength.” It doesn’t matter what level of skill you are at; there is no minimum level for something to be a strength. Since some activities or jobs only require a low level of a skill to be successful, something that you are only aware or skilled in, may still be a strength in certain circumstances – a higher level may even be unnecessary. It’s all relative to how the skill will be used. It also doesn’t matter if you are at your desired skill level today. Something can be a strength even if you hope to grow and become stronger in the future. If you are unsure whether something is a skill, pretend a friend asked for help on a project involving that thing. Could you provide them with some useful help or support in any way? If so, go ahead and mark it a strength. Can’t remember where these self-assessment activities happened in this book? You can find them in each step as follows:
   1. Step 1: “Self-Discovery: Identify Your Strengths”
   2. Step 2: “Self-Discovery: People Analytics Translator Skills.” Plus, the data consumer skills of ‘Analytical & Critical Thinking,’ ‘Systems Thinking,’ and ‘Curiosity & Creativity.’
   3. Step 3: “Self-Discovery: Analytical Skills,” “Self-Discovery: Data Visualization Skills,” “Self-Discovery: People Data Management, Governance & Ethics Skills,” and “Self-Discovery: People Analytics Research Skills.” Plus, you should review the “Leveraging Technology” section and determine if there are any specific technologies you are skilled in.
   4. Step 4: “Self-Discovery: People Analytics Community Building Skills”
      • Tip: The next step will ask you to add any skills to this table that you are interested in – even if they are not a strength for you. You may want to complete the first two steps together.
2. Where are Your Passions and What Do You Enjoy? In the table, use a column labeled “Interest & Passion” to checkmark any skills you enjoy or are interested in (see template). Typical ikigai definitions use the word “love” for this category but that can be too strong a word for some people, even “joy” may be a bit too exuberant for some. If that’s you, feel free to think of these as skills you are “drawn to” or “interested in.” Enjoyment and connection to something is personal, so how you choose these will be personal too. When in doubt, mark it as something you might be interested in. Your table should now be filled with skills you are both good at and enjoy. Now, add any skills that you are interested in to the table – even if they are not a strength – and mark them as ones you have an “Interest/Passion” for. You don’t have to be good at something to be interested in it, excited about it, or enjoy it.
3. What Skills Do You Want to Develop? Learning something new can be incredibly rewarding, it can spark a sense of accomplishment, fuel curiosity, and keep you engaged while enabling you to reach your full potential. The process of discovering and mastering new skills can also bring a sense of joy. So, it’s worth identifying the skills that you would like to develop. Look at the list of skills you have already added to your table and place a checkmark in a column labeled “Development” for any skill you would an increased mastery in.
   1. Tip: Don’t add any new skills to the table right now. And, don’t base this off of what you are/aren’t already good at. Base this on what things you want to learn – either because you would enjoy the learning process or because you feel the learning would be valuable to you personally. Finally, don’t be afraid to mark items you are already strong in; building new skills is exciting, but so is mastery and deep specialization. It’s up to you which and how many you choose to mark.

Skill Table Template:

Example: