There are various concepts of opportunity; and beginning with his ancestry in Latin: opportunitas…. What does "in front of the port" mean? we can identify an implicit condition of "advance"; as a person who pays attention to what really surrounds him, leaving aside fears and resistance to change; who looks forward and listens; who not only observes from afar but listens, captures, interprets, analyzes and draws correct conclusions in order to take advantage of these opportunities.
And along this line, some authors define opportunity as: "the convenience of a context and the influence of an appropriate space or period of time to achieve a purpose"
Or also as… “all circumstances in which there is the possibility of achieving some type of action of foreseeable improvement and positive results”.
It is very evident that a sense of anticipation, decision and energy is needed to look for the opportunities; ceasing to assume victimizing positions of waiting for "that they fall from the sky". Because in most cases there is no background or complete clarity of information, or certainty that it will really work for us.
Every human being has strengths that, well managed, will make it easier for him to counteract his weaknesses and, above all, take advantage of the opportunities that are there for everyone; But sometimes the routine, transitory states of low self-esteem, urgent problems, and even the influence of a toxic advisor, prevent us from seeing them. To the extent that people are better prepared, with a broad command of multidisciplinary competencies, they will have greater possibilities of taking advantage of opportunities.
The same is true of organizations; and in this age of knowledge, it will be advisable to prioritize more and more an innovative management of intelligent leadership, characterized by adequate interaction with the environment; that facilitates anticipating the moments, circumstances, stages, currents and people that could provide us with beneficial opportunities.
And although we will have to decide quickly because perhaps they would not appear again; There is no doubt that the possession of intelligent leadership competencies differentiates the decisions made in the organizational and personal spheres.
Despite the limited time available to decide, the competent mind and the habit of group analysis exercise automatically apply as unconditional reflections to consider analytical options in record time, on the possible scope of the risk and the relationship between its cost and benefits; which makes the "knowing, and the certainty of wanting and being able" more forceful to take advantage of them in time.
Through multiple creative and participatory strategies; promoting genuine organizational communication and teamwork, the synergy of opening and taking advantage of opportunities will be developed; that they will be facilitated to the extent that our talents have, as mentioned above, the appropriate skills; awareness of the need for change, individual and professional commitment to get involved in the processes, pride, a sense of belonging, and satisfaction with achievement; both leaders and followers, for their contribution to their use.
Modern organizations are proactive and develop intelligent leadership styles, where in addition to prioritizing attention to the human being, that is, to talent, they anticipate changes; implementing a distinctive and proactive strategic direction; that allows them to interact competitively with their environment; face risks, with the least possible impact and with the greatest use of opportunities to achieve success.
In this sense, it is worth bearing in mind that given the possible risks of the decision, we must consider the costs, not only economic and material, that it implies; but also the human costs in several senses: that is to say, in the availability of those involved with the competences and values necessary to support the decision. And more importantly, in the possible affectation to their emotional intelligence, when they are not taken into account, as well as the possible impact on their personal satisfaction and the work environment.
Successful companies consciously and evolutionarily develop skills of their human talent, related to flexibility and openness to change; ability to identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as threats and opportunities; training to interpret information and design scenarios; alternatives, as well as being able to decide to abandon an opportunity when the integral cost is greater than the possible benefits.
Although to some extent, intelligent leaders develop an intuition based on their experience, which generally works; mastering and using tools such as situational and causal analysis, SWOT, the Cross Impact Matrix, the design of scenarios and strategies prior to decision-making, actions for planned change, etc. by leaders and followers, it will increase the effectiveness of their decisions in taking advantage of opportunities.
Even the most cautious or the hypercritical and super analysts, although they do not decide to take advantage of the opportunity the first time; You will benefit by implementing these preliminary analysis recommendations. And as they well say that "having information is having power", investigating the data related to said opportunity will increase their informative power on trends, opinion leaders, positive experiences of the competition; knowledge and skills that are seen as essential in certain contexts, key success factors, and specific circumstances; which will allow them to face the next opportunities with greater vigor and possibilities.
If you are reading this, it is because you are already real or potential talent!
Become sensitive to your life mission, constantly prepare yourself, believe that you can and surrender with passion and intelligence to take advantage of the opportunities to achieve it !!!
Differentiate yourself from the average, not because you are better, but because you are more dedicated! Enjoy challenges when they give you opportunities to grow.
Intelligently take advantage of opportunities and contribute something to the continuous improvement of your performance and that of your organization.
What will be difficult? Sure…..but, I promise it will be worth it !!!!!
Happy results !!!
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