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John Chee Meng Wong et al., Hikikomori Phenomenon in East Asia: Regional Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities for Social Health Agencies, 10 Front Psychiatry 512 (2019)

Abstract

Hikikomori, which originated in Japan, refers to the condition where youths withdraw into the home and do not participate in society for an extended period of time. Recent updates on hikikomori presentation within the region were exchanged at a Hikikomori Round Table and Regional Symposium (HRTRS) discussion late 2017, leading to this perspective paper. Hikikomori presents as an overall homogeneous construct, while diversity in clinical presentation exists across East Asian countries. We examined the various presentations, risk factors, theoretical frameworks, and classification issues about hikikomori. In particular, specific risk factors have emerged to some degree across the region, while some are more locale specific. We propose that hikikomori youths have differential onset and developmental patterns, potentially resulting in heterogeneous presentation. We briefly summarized existing interventions in the East Asian region. Intervention strategies need to be tailored to different subtypes. A multicomponent approach would address complexity, multifactorial onset, and development of the condition. The HRTRS presented to participating countries the opportunity to collectively work toward a more universal definition of the hikikomori condition and explored innovative ways to shape existing service structures. Opportunities for participating countries described pertain to early detection of cases, adoption of assessment tools, and improved intervention services.

Introduction

Youths who experience prolonged social withdrawal and retreat into homebound states have been referred to as hikikomori (Japan), hidden youth (China, Hong Kong, and Singapore), or socially withdrawn youth (South Korea and Hong Kong). They cause significant social and health concerns, with associated intervention complexities and poorly understood psychopathology, inviting controversy among social work agencies and policy makers (1).

At the Hikikomori Round Table and Regional Symposium (HRTRS) hosted by the National University of Singapore in November 2017, researchers and clinicians from Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, and Singapore convened to share findings toward progressive understanding of the phenomenon.

The HRTRS aimed to describe varying cultural and regional presentations of hikikomori, highlight evidence-based interventions to map out a consensus toward clinical definition, and discuss appropriate sociopolitical responses for the East Asian countries represented. Although the condition has been ubiquitously reported globally, including several European countries, India, and the US (2–6), this article focuses on East Asia where the phenomenon is better differentiated and described. The present article aims to overview similarities and differences in identification, intervention, and support strategies to summarize opportunities in the region.

Prevalence

Prevalence estimates are only available for Japan and Hong Kong (7, 8). For Japan, the lifetime prevalence rate of social withdrawal of 6 months or more was 1.2% (based on face-to-face survey), while for Hong Kong, it was 1.9% (based on telephone survey). Some argue that the hikikomori condition is becoming more prevalent. If so, it is not known whether this surge is due to increased awareness, improved identification of cases, or causes such as financial circumstance or increased internet usage. In particular, increased internet usage, online gaming, and consequently, the rise of internet-associated addictions may play an important part in the rising rates of social withdrawal (9). Online food delivery and shopping platforms that provide resources and services to the doorstep may further facilitate social withdrawal and disengagement.

Clinical Presentation

During the HRTRS, a broad definition was used to accommodate regional differences. Hikikomori is a condition where socially withdrawn youths aged 12–30 years isolated at home for 3–6 months or more, may experience distress, impaired daily functioning, or psychiatric comorbidity. This definition implies that not all those with hikikomori are dysfunctional, and not all those with hikikomori perceive themselves as being dysfunctional. Existing assessment tools include screening questionnaires, such as a self-report Hikikomori screening questionnaire (HQ-25) validated in a Japanese sample (10), and a proposed diagnostic interview tool (6). In addition, research has included social interaction models and biomarkers (11, 12), tools not yet applicable to clinical assessments in distinguishing subtypes of hikikomori.

Hikikomori presents with different stage, duration, and degree of social withdrawal that may be due to differential developmental course of the condition. A Hong Kong study showed that self-reports of self-efficacy, self-esteem, subcultural identity, and empowerment were initially low in youths with 3 to 24 months of social withdrawal but improved beyond 24 months. This positive trend may be due to formation of a subcultural identity within the online community that allowed youths to realize their full potential. Moreover, prolonged social withdrawal was associated with improved physical, social, and psychological quality of life over time (13). Retrospective viewpoints of formerly withdrawn youth suggest that initial phases of social withdrawal may confer a private status that blinds them to the dangers of social skill deterioration and increased apathy, submersed in this state over time (14). These findings await replication in other regions. A cross-national study of 36 socially withdrawn males with an average duration of 2.1 years showed high levels of loneliness and moderate functional impairment (6), but the sample size did not allow for analyses by duration of social withdrawal. In addition, youths often show fluctuations in the degree of withdrawal in all regions (15). This varies from exclusive seclusion in one’s bedroom, to youths with no contact with others outside the nuclear family, to youths who infrequently leave home for sustenance.

Variance in duration and form of social withdrawal moderate the corresponding impact on the individual, family, and society. While some hikikomori may not experience a decrease in quality of life, negative behavioral and social consequences may arise from complications associated with a sedentary lifestyle. In Asian societies that emphasize individual industrialism and regular routines, disrupted dietary routines and sleep diurnal reversal patterns are frowned upon, compounded by negative impacts on physical health (12). Adverse social impacts on families include social distancing between family members, escalating to marital and parent–child conflict, sibling rivalry, loss of youth’s potential earnings, and depleting parents’ savings. Socioeconomic costs include reduced available human capital and possibly negative impacts on population growth.

Typologies

Hikikomori carries high psychiatric comorbidity across Asian populations. A Japanese study showed 80% of help-seeking hikikomori met the criteria for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision diagnosis (16), including avoidant personality, social anxiety disorder, and major depression. In addition, autistic spectrum disorders and prodromal states of schizophrenia may also demonstrate overlapping symptomatology (3, 6).

In order to further our understanding of the hikikomori phenomenon, a typology distinguishing primary versus secondary hikikomori has been proposed. Suwa and Suzuki (17) and Li and Wong (4) propose a distinction between primary versus secondary hikikomori. Primary hikikomori has no evident psychiatric disorder, while secondary hikikomori has social withdrawal attributable to the presence of psychiatric disorders. This classification of hikikomori is theoretical, while there is little empirical evidence for such a distinction (18). Existing literature indicates substantial numbers of secondary hikikomori in the respective studied populations. However, this may be ascribed to the fact that mental health and social services remain their main receptor platforms and treatment centers. In contrast, primary hikikomori may chiefly be identified through novel research studies designed to capture this elusive group. Furthermore, the primary hikikomori concept remains poorly defined and unstandardized across studies and countries. For instance, all socially withdrawn youths in South Korea are considered primary hikikomori, while Japan includes those with or without psychiatric comorbidities. This alludes to directional uncertainty on whether prolonged social withdrawal is caused by, correlated with, or causes psychiatric disorders.

Another theoretical framework describes socially withdrawn youths as a function of different interactions between individual, family, school, and social factors (4) via different types of social withdrawal processes. Some youths may lack autonomy due to overprotective parenting and financial overdependence. Others may experience existential uncertainty due to discrepancy between parental expectations for achievement and their prospective outcomes. However, no studies to date have examined these underlying mechanisms.

Risk Factors

The best-known risk factors for hikikomori are the presence of a psychiatric disorder, developmental disorder, substance-related or behavioral addictive disorders (including Internet and gaming misuse), and poor psychosocial contexts (5, 16, 19). Various risk factors that emerge from the literature are universal among the East Asian regions, including male gender, insecure attachment (20), and psychiatric conditions. Conversely, other risk factors achieve less consensus. Studies on clinically detected hikikomori in Japan, for example, demonstrate that high educational status of families, especially fathers, is reported to increase the risk of hikikomori (21). However, it has been suggested that these studies of clinically detected hikikomori may not represent hikikomori receiving assistance from nonprofit organizations or no assistance at all (22). Hikikomori in Hong Kong detected through social service platforms, for instance, emerges in diversified contexts including low socioeconomic status (SES) families with single parents. However, 80% of cases from Hong Kong emerge from middle to high SES families, mirroring trends observed in Japan.

In countries with high costs of living such as Hong Kong and Singapore, a family with high SES may accommodate financial burden of the hikikomori individual. For anomalies with low SES, several clinicians at the HRTRS anecdotally hypothesized that they may possess specific attributes, such as high cognitive function or remote earning capabilities. Furthermore, low familial support and maternal mental disorder were also positively associated with hikikomori (21).

Dependent behavior described as “amae” in Japanese parent–child relationships has been hypothesized to play a role in developing social withdrawal (23) by normalizing and encouraging the acceptance of their socially withdrawn child (HRTRS) (24) staying at home. These mechanisms await further investigation in the various regions. East Asian parenting styles tend to embody the mother–child relationship as interdependent cooperation, in contrast to the focus on evolving independence and autonomy in Western regions (25). In Korea, the youth culture incorporates a strong sense of cohesion and engagement through social gatherings. When individuals are isolated for more than 6 months, it is perceived as a sign of mental illness. Lastly, preliminary studies in Japan and Hong Kong have begun investigating physiological biomarkers and physical health parameters, respectively, that may eventually contribute to early identification (11, 12).

Furthermore, studies point to the overlap between social withdrawal and Internet and gaming addiction [e.g. Refs. (18, 26)]. Benarous and colleagues, for instance, describe how avoidance and social withdrawal as a persistent maladaptive reaction in a patient with an anxious–avoidant insecure attachment plays a key role in the emergence and persistence of Internet gaming disorder. Lastly, the stigma surrounding mental illness diagnoses may result in preference for hikikomori labeling to mask psychiatric conditions.

Table 1 shows inter-regional presentations of the hikikomori phenomenon, elucidating heterogeneity across regions. The infrastructure to address social or mental health issues determines main modes of identification for the autonomous regions and, in turn, the locale-specific hallmarks of the hikikomori condition. However, regardless of the identification method, hikikomori youths are a heterogeneous population due to differing causes unique to the specific youth.

Table 1. Cross-regional presentation of hikikomori phenomenon.

Therapeutic and Preventive Interventions

Various healthcare interventions including family, individual, and group counseling or therapy, clinical psychological assessment, and medication or hospitalization exist for hikikomori in various countries. In addition, support and management services including group and interest activities, socialization and skills training, parenting advice, and community education may also be offered (27). Different interventions exist in disparate East Asian regions (refer to Table 1). These include home visits, befriending, psychodynamic therapy, parent support groups, Internet addiction programs, art therapy, cyber counseling, e-mentoring, family therapy, pharmacotherapy, animal-assisted therapy (AAT), and halfway homes. Specialized services catered to the hikikomori population exist in Japan and Hong Kong. Interventions are offered through specialized centers (Japan), general (psychiatric) hospitals (China and Singapore), schools (Singapore), government agencies (South Korea) or voluntary welfare organizations, and social agencies (Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan). Interventions are often administered by social workers and mental health professionals. In China, apart from social work intervention (28, 29), ideological and moral education have also been advocated (30). Currently, referrals are based on condition presentation and location of identification. For instance, a socially withdrawn youth replying to a question in an online game receives cyber counseling, school nonattenders receive intervention through governmental agencies, and parents of socially withdrawn children mostly turn to psychiatric hospitals.

To date, published evidence on treatments for this group is scarce. In their review, Li and Wong (4) identified one empirical evaluation of an intervention specifically targeted at the hikikomori condition, involving a home visitation program conducted in Korea (19). More recently, Wong and colleagues (31) examined the effectiveness of a multicomponent program with animal-assisted therapy (AAT) for socially withdrawn youth in Hong Kong. Program evaluation indicated enhanced self-esteem and perceived employability, and reduced social anxiety. The AAT component did not significantly add to program outcomes but appeared effective in promoting enrolment. During the HRTRS, various strategies to attract and incentivize youth into accepting social and therapeutic interventions were discussed. These include online treatments, potentially incorporated into online gaming, and messaging platforms in Hong Kong’s programs. However, the efficacy of these pilot interventions has yet to be assessed. In a cross-national study of 36 socially withdrawn males, a consistent preference for treatment delivered in person over tele-psychiatry was expressed (6). Although social media advertising has demonstrated nominal capacity to detect hikikomori (32), the potential for effective online interventions to bridge the therapeutic gap remains unclear.

In line with other mental health conditions and drawing from the various presentations, intervention strategies evidently need to be tailored to heterogeneous hikikomori subtypes. A multicomponent approach would address complexity, multifactorial onset, and development of the condition. This multicomponent approach should always include youth empowerment and family interventions, whereas AAT should be second-line treatment. For instance, the most severe cases of exclusive seclusion at home may require intensive home visits, coupled with AAT. Alternatively, youths experiencing withdrawal as a transitory state may respond to interventions targeting school resumption and reemployment. In addition, interventions may differ depending on withdrawal duration. Earlier intervention is advantageous to directly address youths with impaired daily functioning. The optimal time frame for intervention appears to be after 3 months of withdrawal, before youths are officially characterized as hikikomori (withdrawal >6 months). At this interval, the joys of regained autonomy have faded, and youths begin to realize the downside but have yet to regain renewed “self-efficacy” and a new sense of hikikomori identity cultivated by a prolonged state of social withdrawal—typically after 2 years.

Future Directions: Challenges and Opportunities

Challenges across countries concern the difficulty of case detection due to its hidden nature (32) and that youths may not pathologize this state. Another closely related challenge relates to motivating hikikomori youth to access services or treatment and to return to society. The fragmented knowledge of the condition also hampers optimal intervention. The heterogeneity in presentation, developmental pathways, risk and protective factors, and underlying mechanisms, within regions and across regions, have led to a wide range of services currently being offered, often of unknown efficacy.

The components of challenges at the societal or country level include recognizing burden of care on family and society and the role of authorities or policy makers. As the individual is nested in an ecological social system, the involvement of peers and family is essential to scaffold intervention. Authorities and policy makers may prioritize service planning and implementation by reinforcing case detection by effective gatekeepers. State policy and funding should also focus on awareness, advocacy, and fostering interorganizational collaboration.

The HRTRS presented an opportunity to collectively work toward a more universal definition of the hikikomori condition and explore innovative ways to shape existing service structures. These opportunities pertain to early detection of cases, adoption of assessment tools, and improved intervention services.

Development of opportunities is critical for early detection in the respective regions, through evolving the existing service structures to fit the needs of their youths. For example, primary and secondary school attendance is compulsory and tracked in Singapore. Prolonged absence from school without medical reason could trigger a home visit by a trained social worker. In Hong Kong, it may be helpful to raise awareness to recognize hikikomori symptoms among general practitioners, teachers, and parents, since hikikomori is currently mainly detected through online gaming platforms.

Next, standardization of screening and assessment tools would align primary evaluation within a validated diagnostic framework. We recommend to adopt the HQ-25 screening instrument, as it is theoretically grounded, easy to administer, and shows encouraging psychometric properties (10). We propose that a common method of identification would allow construction of a pathway to justify combinations of recommended interventions. These interventions would directly target affirmed symptomology and causes specific to the hikikomori individual.

As hikikomori is a multifaceted condition, an intervention model that integrates various possible factors affecting the individual could structure and direct intervention. Each country has differing approaches to case identification but may additionally adopt aspects of intervention from other regions to construct a complete biopsychosocial intervention. For example, Singapore may consider adapting AAT into their programs for hikikomori with low motivation and severe withdrawal. For Japan, which has strengths in biological identification and psychiatric and social services, they may consider working toward a more integrated and unified approach. Through a shared information network on research protocol and standardized outcome measurements, different countries may create their own integrated intervention model specific to local needs.

Furthermore, it may be beneficial for regions to examine innovative treatment approaches. The use of augmented reality games to draw socially withdrawn youths out of their rooms and into the real world (33, 34) has recently been suggested. One potential development may include introducing gaming stations at therapy centers and devising activities that encourage offline cooperation and interaction. Another potential avenue pertains to integrating therapeutic gaming with exposure therapy strategies by introducing hikikomori to virtual reality experiences, then shared virtual reality environments, before resocialization into society (9).

The lack of large-scale standardized research has previously been highlighted by multiple authors (4, 35). Future studies should include structured psychiatric assessments to investigate primary hikikomori and associated psychosocial comorbidities to better delineate the cause–effect relationship and intervention touch points for improved outcomes. Furthermore, the debate underlying hikikomori classification is between one camp that contends that it deserves a stand-alone diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders versus another that argues hikikomori is simply a secondary effect of other psychiatric conditions. Select studies currently differentiate between onset of other psychiatric conditions before, during, and after hikikomori onset (7). This operational method could be used to differentiate primary and secondary hikikomori and align existing and future literature in streamlining manifestation of psychiatric comorbidity. This would better define case selection for cluster analysis of treatment outcomes and comparison across countries.

In addition, the examination and detection of precursors in large-scale longitudinal epidemiological studies will further enhance early intervention opportunities to prevent withdrawal or limit withdrawal duration. Future studies should also examine Internet and gaming addictions in relation to the hikikomori condition. These collective efforts will further our understanding of this complex phenomenon and consequently improve services provided to prevent or mitigate youth from prolonged social withdrawal.

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#hikikomori #social withdrawal #youth #dysfunction #asia #social psychiatry #challenges #opportunities #intervention

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itsduongquyet · 5 years

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Essay Mother nature vs. Develop or even Both

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Things You could Increase Characteristics vs . Nutriment Essay

Inquiries in to human college and its particular development. Behavioral as well as Human brain Sciences, 15(Three or more), 373-386. today will take sometimes on the intense jobs. Bob Wiley & Sons, The new year. It is quite possible to spot people physical characteristics seeing that related or maybe the clones of your parents' real benefits. During your research course of action, students could wipe out not one but two chickens using the same jewel: find a neat papers strategy in addition to get the exact citations and individual references to make use of after. A man or women can't love water skiing or maybe demand caring that prior to trying.

It consists of the scientific along with spouse and children variables while the actual nutriment contains the actual cultural along with natural environment things. The fact is, the harder could with regards to advancement and also tendencies, the greater apparent it can be in which nature and also foster usually are in the same way has an effect on as opposed to factors, but not only individually but in addition in combination. The fact is, a lot more can certainly regarding advancement in addition to habits, a lot more apparent it will become that will nature in addition to foster tend to be also has an effect on instead of determinants, besides individually but in addition combined. I most certainly will in addition try to present the third, new-emerging method intended to resolve the actual secret connected with “What one thing causes us to who seem to we are?”

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whittlebaggett8 · 5 years

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Dr. Shashi Tharoor on the Future of Indian Democracy

When India’s standard elections concluded in Could, the Indian Nationwide Congress was faced with a devastating defeat. The Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 seats, marking a comfortable return to govt. In sharp distinction, the Congress mustered only 52 seats, approximately 1-sixth the BJP’s total.

A single of the couple of vivid places for the Congress was the re-election of Shashi Tharoor, a former global civil servant who has been serving as Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha symbolizing Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, because 2009. While his bash as a complete underperformed when compared to the final elections, Tharoor beat the pattern, successful by just about 100,000 votes in 2019, compared to his profitable margin of just 15,000 in 2014.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor talked briefly with journalist Arun Budhathoki for The Diplomat about the election results and the upcoming of Indian politics, especially the destiny of the liberal, secular values espoused by the Congress.

Making the most of this article? Simply click below to subscribe for total accessibility. Just $5 a thirty day period.

The excerpts underneath have been frivolously edited for clarity.

Initially of all congratulations to you for obtaining the hat-trick in your Lok Sabha constituency, Thiruvananthapuram. What does this gain mean for you provided the adversary that your bash, the Indian Congress, has faced in the new elections?

Thank you. I have been confused by the guidance of the folks of Thiruvananthapuram, which gave me a in close proximity to a person-lakh [100,000] the greater part I could scarcely have dreamed of. At the same time, the problem with the national photograph has undoubtedly created this an equally somber and bittersweet second. I really feel like a batsman who has scored a century even though his group has missing.

In which do you really feel India is heading below the management of the re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the up coming five yrs? Do you really feel it will be a hard time for spiritual minorities in India?

If the government’s monitor record in business is to be regarded, there is an understandable purpose for stress. It is now a perfectly documented reality that religious minorities have been systematically targeted in the very last 5 yrs. Just very last calendar year for instance, according to a report by Detest Criminal offense Watch, spiritual loathe crimes in the nation achieved a 10 yr high in the place with members of spiritual minorities becoming the sufferer in 75 % of these instances. In the same way, it is also telling that out of 70 scenarios of cow-connected violence have been reported in the last 70 years, 97 per cent (68 out of 70) have transpired for the duration of the 1st four yrs of BJP rule and a the vast majority of these have happened in BJP-ruled states. A hundred and thirty 6 individuals have been injured in these assaults and 28 killed: 86 per cent of the victims had been, of training course, Muslim. Whilst one are not able to position all the blame on the federal government and hold them directly accountable for such regrettable scenarios, a single can surely and rightly criticize the government for not condemning these kinds of events vocally plenty of at the highest degrees or clamping down strongly on its perpetuators.

Now on the take note of which path the place is possible to head in, the rising amount of cases the place minorities have been focused suggests that we are at this time in the throes of a basic contestation amongst two thoughts of India. 1, of system, is the India that lots of like me imagine in, which is a pluralist and inclusive India, a single that celebrates our diversity of variances and believes that all Indians are equal. Then there is the challenge to this thought offered by all those (which includes the perpetrators of these crimes) who feel in a distorted and alienating concept of India, exactly where some Indians arrive 1st (as extensive as they think in a individual religion, converse a particular language, and adhere to the political doctrine of Hindutva) and other individuals come previous. Only time will convey to which plan will at last prevail and determine the way our country heads in.

Let’s discuss about the rise of Hindutva in India. Do you take into consideration it as an ideology or a distortion of tranquil Hindu faith?

As I have argued thoroughly in my ebook Why I Am a Hindu, Hindutva is a nakedly political doctrine, spawned out of the racial satisfaction concepts of muscular and cultural id that ended up preferred all over the earth in the 1920s. Whereas Hinduism, a extensive all-encompassing faith, is an inward-directed religion, concentrating on self-realization previously mentioned all and the union of the soul with the Absolute, Hindutva is an outward-directed concept, aimed at building social and cultural distinctions for a political objective. Hindutva is, in the chauvinistic and alienating concepts that it espouses, disconnected from the central assumptions and tenets of Hinduism, which, between numerous issues, areas a quality on the acceptance of our differences. And but, Hindutva piggy-backs on the religion, proclaiming to represent Hinduism, though it does not do so as a established of doctrines or precepts but as a cultural marker. Hindutva adopts the Hindu religion not as a way of trying to get the Divine but as a badge of worldly political identification. This has little to do with the Hinduism of its excellent proponents like Swami Vivekananda or of Adi Shankara—it is rather a 20th century idea, born of 20th century types of political considering that ended up currently beginning to be dangerously out of date in other places in the world when they were propounded in India. Parties professing to discuss of an whole men and women of “volk” were being discredited as nicely as destroyed in Europe in 1945. Sadly, seven many years later on, the idea prospers in India, in the name of Hindutva.

Will spiritual minorities, women, reduce caste people, and the LGBT community be in a position to are living peacefully for the following 5 a long time?

As a careful optimist, I would argue that the foundations of India’s democratic ethos stay essentially potent and we nonetheless have checks and balances in location to assure that no 1 community is unduly marginalized or specific. As in the last 5 several years, there will proceed to be troubles that current by themselves in the upcoming, but these will be satisfied in equal evaluate by sturdy voices from our political course, civil culture, judiciary, and the media, and all of these citizens in our state who believe in an inclusive and pluralist plan of India, 1 that welcomes our range and will resist any steps that make it possible for that foundation of our democracy to be undermined.

What about push flexibility and the right to dissent?

Admittedly, constitutionally-certain freedoms, such as that of no cost speech and freedom of the push, have confronted a collection of reversals in the previous five many years. Just about every of these particular person cases have been perfectly documented (including the arrests of four journalists just this very last week) but to cite one ranking, I consider it is surely worrying that India’s rank on the international Push Flexibility Index has fallen from 140th to 190th in the previous calendar year, below the Modi government’s check out. This is troubling for all of us given that a totally free and irreverent media and the ideal to air one’s opinion have been the cornerstone of Indian democracy given that its independence. The realist in me understands that it is very likely that these worries may perhaps quite properly continue in the next 5 years and for that reason it is imperative that people of us who consider in an inclusive and tolerant India have to go on to almost everything in our energy to resist these forces of intolerance.

Most importantly, what about the challenges of economic expansion and unemployment?

I do hope that the new government will eventually see the wisdom in trying to find and employing comprehensive remedies to these troubles before it gets out of hand. In the last five several years, we have previously found our financial system grind to a crawl, unemployment get to a 45-calendar year substantial, common agrarian distress, and other worrying illustrations of the government’s shambolic financial management of the place. All of these require to be addressed by the new govt on a precedence foundation and I am sure that so lengthy as their financial wondering is seem and very well-intentioned, we in the Opposition will help their endeavors in the country’s interest.

The Indian Congress didn’t fare properly in the recent elections. What is your watch on it? Why have Indians resolved to vote for Modi?

I believe the success make it very clear that there absolutely seem to be some basic concerns that we bought mistaken. It will definitely just take us some extremely solid introspection and a extensive assessment to the right way determine exactly what these concerns ended up.

For case in point, we had been (not unreasonably) persuaded that grave economic problems — this kind of as unemployment ranges hitting a 45-calendar year large, or the considerable agrarian distress that is forcing our farmers to contemplate suicide in document numbers, or even the disastrous impact of other measures like demonetization on the destiny of our smaller, medium, and micro enterprises — would perform a pivotal part in deciding the destiny of the election. After all, there is a perfectly-identified knowledge in believing that voters would cast their votes in accordance to their economic self-fascination. But this time the Indian voter did not do that, and we need to have to recognize why.

1 explanation is potentially the other facet executed the vital messaging much better they made the decision early that their “product” was Mr. Modi and they promoted him pretty very well. They constructed up the most remarkable personality cult in contemporary Indian political background, buttressed by larger-than-lifetime imagery, hundreds of countless numbers of social media warriors, an intimidated “mainstream” media, ubiquitous cameramen, and a slick publicity equipment that was switched on 24/7, all lubricated by 5,600 crore [56 billion] rupees of taxpayer resources relentlessly selling his every transfer. They also had fantastic success in internet marketing and making hype all around many of their flagship strategies. Perhaps we could have completed superior to make the reality of the flawed shipping of these techniques more apparent.

One more issue, possibly, is that we may perhaps have underestimated the influence of nationwide stability as an electoral subject matter (in the aftermath of the Pulwama assault and Balakot strike) on the psyche of the voter. This is perhaps additional accurate in the north than in south, the place I can explain to you centered on my private encounter that this issue did not get a great deal traction, whilst in the former, the BJP had good results in striving to change the election into a “khaki” referendum.

Yet another location wherever we could have done greater is most likely if we experienced released our party manifesto earlier and as a result given ourselves additional time to market thoughts like NYAY, which by layout and in terms of effects was practically nothing brief of groundbreaking. It seems that the core messaging around NYAY may well have only achieved about half the voters and possibly even the wrong half—mainly centered in urban regions and amongst qualified lessons, who would be shelling out for the plan, relatively than the bottom 20 per cent, primarily in rural India, who would come to be beneficiaries of it. Had the NYAY idea been unrolled even 6 months earlier, it may well have won above lots of voters.

Now all of this is centered on 20-20 hindsight. But we actually do require a comprehensive and systematic assessment of where by and what we got completely wrong.

What will be the subsequent system for your bash and on your own to preserve the democratic values of India?

With regard to the way forward I do feel there are a amount of crucial spots that the bash should retain in mind whilst acquiring its revival method. For just one, I do assume that the Congress is rightly accused of acquiring shed contact with the grassroots in numerous states and it is crucial for us to spend even a lot more consideration to the work at the booth level to make certain that the fundamentals of the get together stay sturdy. We will have to also come to a decision what we stand for and do greater to talk it effectively and consistently. The Congress has historically been the political embodiment of India’s pluralism and has been a sturdy and committed voice for the preservation of secularism as its fundamental reflection. We want to reaffirm our belief in these values and hold reiterating them at every single opportunity.

At the similar time, there are other places that we have to emphasis on, this sort of as becoming a solid and constructive opposition both of those inside of and outside Parliament. We will need to also examine pragmatic coalitions so as to bolster the anti- authorities place, though also doing our very best to wield leverage on the central authorities via the difficulty of middle-condition relations.

And transferring ahead, we will have to not make the miscalculation of permitting the BJP to monopolize the nationalist narrative. As the occasion that introduced independence to India and valiantly preserved it for a long time, and hence has vital encounter in safeguarding India’s nationwide pursuits, the Congress will have to proudly articulate its personal nationalism and continue to be vigilant on security and overseas plan issues that could be mishandled by the BJP governing administration.

And eventually, we should articulate a eyesight for the potential that embraces the aspirations of India’s vast majority – the young. A startling 40 % of voters this yr were beneath 35. They have to have to hear what we can do for them, specifically in areas exactly where the Modi government has so significantly unsuccessful them, like education and learning, ability development, and career development. We need to have to employ insurance policies in these areas in the states we rule and then advocate them at the middle. Younger Indians have to believe that we comprehend their aspirations and can be trusted to market them in govt.

Do you come to feel India has celebrated a populist leader who prefers Hindu religion and disregards the rights of religious minorities, in particular Muslims?

Probably its too early to inform. We do know, for occasion, that Narendra Modi has already designed a sequence of properly documented conciliatory messages following his victory which includes some directed especially at spiritual minorities. No matter if this represents genuine outreach or regardless of whether it is component of a recurring paradox that I have observed formerly, in which these kinds of statements are accompanied by other attempts by the same particular person to “soft-signal” his bigotry to his foundation, stays to be viewed.

Is India’s democracy dying?

I wouldn’t go to that extent. Right after all, we just lately and productive managed to carry out the largest democratic exercise in the environment, exactly where 900 million voters came together to determine who they would like to stand for them, in a way that was mainly cost-free and transparent. Performing exercises our franchise is the essential setting up-block of our democracy and the simple fact that we have managed to maintain performing so, indicates that Indian democracy is really much alive. That becoming reported, it is easy to understand to suggest that given the mother nature and monitor report of the country’s new political masters, there will be periods when the balance and foundations of our democratic ethos may arrive under risk in the upcoming. But if and when we get to that level, I am guaranteed that there will be formidable voices, which include that of my bash, that will do everything in our energy to resist any such endeavor.

India’s instant neighbors like Nepal feel uneasy with PM Modi owing to the financial blockade he imposed on 2015 and also for the reason that of his stance on the Hindu faith. What can we count on to occur amongst India and its shut neighbors in coming yrs?

I believe it would be unwise on the section of the federal government to antagonize its shut neighbors, like Nepal, with whom we have traditionally shared a extremely heat and fraternal relationship. I do imagine that the the latest blip in our relations was extremely regrettable and the federal government of India could have dealt with its grievances with Nepal employing significantly far more refined and professional-diplomacy actions. Only time will tell if the federal government will be much more thoughtful in its 2nd expression, but I hope that, with an experienced hand at the helm of its foreign affairs in the kind of S. Jaishankar, our place will be dependable and accommodative in its relations with its close neighbors.

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imreviewblog · 7 years

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Six Facts About Gender

In the past few months there have been an increasing number of attacks on the legitimacy of transgender and gender non-conforming people coming from both the left and the right. Most of these attacks stem from either a flawed understanding of gender, misrepresentation of evidence, or deliberate obtuseness. The responses to these attacks have generally failed to address these underlying problems.

Gender and gender expression are complicated, but not nearly so much as critics would like to claim. They are also not inherently contradictory, nor anti-feminist. Indeed, they can be liberating for everyone. Here are the things you need to know about gender and gender identity in this blizzard of misinformation.

1. Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t invalidate it

Many of the most recent attacks by right wing outlets can be summarized as, “This gender theory stuff doesn’t fit my worldview; I totally can’t wrap my head around it, so it must be wrong.” However, an inability to understand something doesn’t make it wrong.

I can’t explain the physics of black holes. Our family dog will never understand the internal combustion engine either. Unlike members of the right wing media though, I’m not out there picking fights with Stephen Hawking, and my dog still likes to go for a ride in the car. The fact that transgender people seem to exist throughout human history is enough to demonstrate that gender, and transgender people, are a reality.

This brings me to my second point.

2. It is not a fad: gender non-conforming people have been around for millennia

There is extensive archaeological evidence that transgender and gender non-conforming people have existed for millennia. In Eastern Europe, 5000 year old graves were found with female skeletons buried with male warrior accoutrements. There are records of Norse women going Viking (raiding). Joan of Arc was burned for wearing men’s clothing. The Kama Sutra describes a third sex, and the Bible talks of “self-made eunuchs.” The kathoey of Thailand have a place within Buddhist writings. Other cultures have long traditions of gender non-conforming individuals, such as the hijra of Hinduism and India, the fa’a’fa’fine of the Pacific Islands, and two-spirits in Native American culture.

The reason we see more of it now is a combination of greater cultural awareness of such people, and because of changing cultural norms which allow transgender people to be more visible. For a reducto ad absurdum example, there are a lot more out gay people in California than there are in Iran or Saudi Arabia, because the difference in how they are treated. Similarly, people are much more likely to identify as LGBT in socially tolerant US states than in conservative ones.

The most cutting edge of cultural change right now is coming in the form of gender fluid and non-binary people. This is the part that conservatives have the hardest time with, but is actually just an extension of something a lot of people already do subconsciously already.

3. Gender fluid expression is something a lot of straight cisgender people do (to a degree) already

Women in American society can (and do) express their gender in ways that that can change from day to day, if not hour to hour. They can put on a business suit to feel commanding and strong at work or an interview, both of which are stereotyped as masculine traits. Or mix a jacket with a dress to keep it at a business level, but more feminine. Other times they can dress in ways that make them feel attractive, which often means much more stereotypically feminine attire.

Alternately, there are times when gender expression is completely irrelevant or gender neutral. Most every mom I know has had days when everyone in the house has the flu, and their gender expression is, “screw it I’m wearing tennis shoes, sweat pants, and a sweat shirt to the drug store for more Pedialyte.”

Women in our culture have much greater room to express their gender than men do, but this bolsters the underlying point. Given the option, straight cisgender people will change their gender expression to fit how they want to feel about themselves in that moment, whether it is sexy, strong, or comfortable. While these feelings may be tied to stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, they are deeply ingrained into how we see ourselves.

Gender-fluid people simply take this day-to-day and moment-to-moment variance in expression we see in cisgender people, and expand upon it. Thus, this is not something new, but an evolution due to increased cultural space for such expression.

So, is how we see ourselves based on nature or nurture? Conservative pundits like to ask this as a black or white, yes or no, one or the other question. The truth is more complicated, but not by much.

4. Gender has components of both nature and nurture

Demonstrating that gender has components that are social constructs is relatively easy. The colors pink and blue are not intrinsically gendered; they are merely frequencies of light. Dresses and skirts are not either; they are simply bits of fabric any human being can drape over themselves. (The fact that some people are willing to defend the morality of hurting or killing someone for wearing the “wrong” bit of fabric says a lot more about us than it does the fabric.)

At the same time, people seem to have an innate gender identity, whether female, male, or somewhere in between. Anecdotally, we can see this in Dr. John Money’s failed experiment with David Remer, who was raised as a girl but never identified as such. The guevodoces of the Caribbean similarly appear female until puberty and are raised as such as a result of 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. However, at puberty their genitals descend, and are treated as male thereafter. While usually infertile, guevodoces almost universally identify as male, despite their upbringing.

A recent meta-study at Boston University looked at the peer reviewed evidence, and concluded that gender identity has biological origins, though the exact biological mechanisms remain unknown. This conclusion is not uncommon; it is effectively the same conclusion we have reached about sexual orientation and autism; namely that these have biological origins which are not fully understood.

These examples effectively contradict the notion that gender, and gender identity, are purely social construct as well. However, neither is it purely biological; there are components that are cultural. Both are significant, and observing transgender children helps square this circle. Transgender children often assert from a very early age what their gender is, and choose cultural artifacts (e.g. using a towel to make a dress) to express how they see themselves.

Thus, gender has interacting biological and social components.

5. How you were raised does not determine the reality of your gender identity

One line of argument that tries to further segregate transgender people is that they are not “real” women or men because they do not have the exact same experiences as most cisgender people. This is dangerous in the sense that it invalidates the lived experiences of a threatened minority group, while othering them and opening the door for “separate but equal” legal marginalization. It’s also wrong on a number of levels.

Transgender people are held to a double (read impossible) standard for asserting the validity of their gender identities. David Reimer was raised as a girl, but no one questioned whether he was a “real” boy when he asserted gender identity. The same is true for the guevodoces. In this, we can see that when someone asserts a gender other than the one they were raised in, it is only treated as valid if the individual’s eventual identity is cisgender.

Similarly, many transgender children are now socially transitioning at an early enough age that they will likely have almost no memory of having lived in a different gender role. Even in my case, as a “late” transitioner (mid-30’s), when I die I will likely have spent more than half my life being treated as a woman. On top of that, there’s the issue that male privilege is not monolithic.

Finally, the argument that you’re only a “real” woman if you have menstruated, are fertile, or have had children is reductionist and vaguely creepy, in a Handmaiden’s Tale kind of way. There are cisgender women who never have a period, are infertile, or choose not to have children and don’t have to defend the validity of their gender identity and expression.

6. Transgender people do not intrinsically reinforce gender stereotypes

Transgender people, by definition, go directly against societal norms for how a person should dress or act based on their assigned gender. Virtually every Circuit Court in the US has agreed with this interpretation of what it is to be transgender. However, the argument made by anti-transgender conservatives attempting to appeal to women and feminists is that when transgender people transition, they do so by adopting cultural norms and stereotypes of their target gender, thus reinforcing them.

Both cisgender and transgender people change their gender expression to match how they feel about their gender, and themselves, at any given moment. However, transgender people have traditionally had even less space to express their gender than others.

In the past, transgender people (particularly transgender women) were not allowed to medically transition unless they looked, sounded, and acted in a stereotypically feminine manner. In recent years, people who are visibly gender non-conforming have been at a much higher risk of violence than those who blend in. Religious conservatives have urged violence against transgender people; and the easiest way to avoid this is to adopt an appearance and mannerisms which blend in.

As such, if transgender people have done anything to reinforce stereotypes, it is a result of a patriarchal culture which we have no control over which severely punishes anyone who is seen to violate these stereotypes.

The final nail in the coffin of this flawed argument is that as medical culture reduced gatekeeping, and our culture is making more room for diverse gender expressions, gender non-conforming transgender people are becoming more common. This is perhaps one of the most gender transgressive developments in our culture today, and is a direct result of the work of transgender activists to begin opening this space up.

Far from reinforcing the gender binary and gender stereotypes the transgender movement is actively working against it.

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mysticfestpoetrystuff · 7 years

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Pleasure - It's an within activity!

For some These, it's straightforward towards truly feel a feel of anticipatory happiness more than getting with household participants throughout the trip period. Certainly, it can be a Good possibility toward reconnect and bond upon a further stage.indianastrologyguru

There are a lot of of us, Sad to say, that consist of at minimal 1 loved ones member we fear shelling out year with. For quite a few factors, we negatively hope becoming inside their existence for even a nano-moment. Quite possibly it's a relative who beverages much too a great deal, 1 who criticizes your pounds, one particular who is judgmental over how your self strengthen your little ones, or a person who tends to make exciting of on your own below the guise of "joking." Likely there is a sister or brother whose lifetime is apparently "suitable" – with husband or wife, children and a Terrific activity although on your own are one, accurately hardly manufacturing finishes meet up with. Maybe your jealousy becomes the easiest of oneself, or possibly an additional relative's mere respiratory irritates the heck out of by yourself, and oneself can't determine out why.Click Here

Regardless of what your particular person condition, the dilemma is nevertheless the exact same. How do yourself hold your rest of thoughts? Your dignity? Your poise? Realistically, your self include 4 characteristics:

#1. Variance the unique Numerous of us consist of tried out relentlessly and desperately, usually toward our private detriment, in direction of difference the particular person that bothers us. We tumble into a defective myth that appears such as this, "If ________ would difference, then I would be joyful." Hence we effort tirelessly toward "mend" the individual, comprehending that all would be perfectly, if merely they ended up choice. It can be exhausting in the direction of pay out season judging, running, and striving toward manipulate this specific in the direction of be as yourself believe that they ought to be, quite than accepting how they definitely are. My particular person encounter with modifying other folks is this: IT DOES NOT Operate. This issue may well be a reserve unto alone, therefore enable's stream upon in direction of #2.

#2. Depart the unique Yourself may well make a decision towards stay clear of the individual and bow out of loved ones trip season entirely. It is your preference, no make a difference how a lot guilt many others could try toward stress on oneself. If the unique that bothers yourself regularly reveals unacceptable habits or functions abusively and cruelly, oneself needn't issue by yourself toward that. Or, if by yourself do determine toward move and consider out the problem, Deliver on your own authorization in the direction of depart at any year.

#3. Tolerate the particular person Grin and undergo it? Why not? Isn't this what the loved ones situations are relating to? One particular of my clientele delivered me a notepad with the proclaiming, "Area upon your large woman panties and package deal with it." This is what numerous of us do. If on your own dress in't have to have in direction of result in a commotion and your self seem to be the mandatory want towards exhibit up, this procedure is fondly referred in the direction of as, "White-Knuckling-It." It can crank out it a lot more tolerable towards be close to your annoying particular person if by yourself can supply up the notion that "by yourself recognize simplest" over how they are meant toward be behaving.

#4. Variance your impression of the specific It is the indicating that we assign in the direction of a particular person's routines that particularly influences our emotions. Considering that shifting our private practices, queries, and mind-set is the merely factor we can very take care of, why not place your electrical energy below? Anytime oneself look oneself starting to be dissatisfied, in advance of reacting, question on your own, "How necessary is it?" Dilemma your self in direction of get within just whichever is developing at facial area cost and refuse towards dramatize it. Is the challenge major more than enough for yourself towards sacrifice your serenity?

Listed here are a couple recommendations and Designs for retaining on to by yourself and getting value of your perceptions and relaxation of head through the holiday vacation year and all calendar year prolonged! My advice is that your self opt for just one or 2 that resonate with on your own, and coach them very carefully.

8 Sanity-Preserving Equipment:

#1. Designate an outdoors "daily life-line" Anytime we collect with our household of origin, we can very easily regress into previous childhood layouts. Although this transpires, we literally consider upon patterns that we crafted Even though we were being more youthful towards cope within just that earth. This kind of habits are most likely in the direction of be centered within immaturities of the outside of and are customarily incongruent with the unique we include grow to be.

Continue to be inside of get in touch with with a person reliable unique that on your own can get in touch with at the time your self are viewpoint "tiny and low" in direction of remind by yourself of your constructive traits, grownup successes, endeavor achievements, and interior triumphs. Talk to this specific in direction of remind by yourself that for nowadays, it is your grownup selection in the direction of be within just this globe and that yourself are not a sufferer yet a volunteer. On your own are not trapped and at any period by yourself can acquire in a different way and determine toward go away.

#2. Reduced your criteria Ache is the change involving what we count on and what we practically attain. With cultural beliefs and promoting overloading us with legendary propaganda of the "best household", nearly anything a lot less than that can truly feel which include a failure or thoroughly dysfunctional. Each household, I repeat, Each and every Relatives incorporates its personalized quirks, adverse behaviors, and idiosyncrasies. Offer your household a split – count on everybody in the direction of proceed currently being by themselves, not the excellent loved ones illusion your self might contain dreamed of or hoped for. In a different way, this myth is a established-up that is sure in direction of allow on your own down each individual period.

#3. Awareness upon the beneficial This is a different "in activity" instrument. Create a record of almost everything on your own are thankful for every working day earlier mentioned the holiday vacation. Review the specific that is disheartening toward your self in direction of a pimple upon your encounter. Oneself can take in direction of consideration upon how hideous your facial eruption is and select at it, generating it even worse, or by yourself can interest upon the other eye-catching elements of your encounter and overall body. Fully grasp that your issue of energy is all regarding in which by yourself position your attention.

#4. Have interaction inside day by day functions of kindness Research incorporate stated that altruistic persons are satisfied. Attempt heading toward snooze each individual night pondering around what yourself can do the upcoming working day toward place a smile upon an individual else's experience, potentially even a family members member's! This will transfer your wanting to know absent in opposition to your individual situations and considerations in direction of absolutely sure mind and deeds. It's uncomplicated and everybody added benefits!

5. Prepare chatting responsibly Refuse towards unfold gossip or chat negatively with regards to any of your household contributors toward other spouse and children participants. On your own add towards sick emotions as soon as on your own chat inadequately above anyone who is not show. As Use Miguel Ruiz suggests in just his guide, "The 4 Agreements" – "Your phrase is all-natural magic, and misuse of your term is black magic." Consideration upon what is constructive above just about every particular person – there is sure toward be some thing!

#6. Consider handle of your issues Even though your self track down oneself obsessing pertaining to a person else's patterns or way of thinking, oneself are providing them huge ability and authority previously mentioned your lifetime. Who is managing your existence in any case - yourself or them? Refuse towards enable destructive concerns of an individual else dominate your intellect, acquiring distressing thoughts. Get regulate and repeat the confirmation: "I am dependable for my thoughts, my things to do, and my mindset." As William Shakespeare reported, "Absolutely nothing is possibly very good or negative. It is wanting to know that tends to make it consequently."

#7. Obtain bodily occupied Identify period every working day in the direction of take part within the conditioning of your decision. Irrespective of whether cycling, strolling, operating, swimming, and many others., scientific tests incorporate demonstrated that health and fitness can minimize despair, get rid of stress, and generate a tranquilizing affect that lasts for up in the direction of 4 hrs at the time working out – without the need of medicine! Your self will on top of that take period in direction of by yourself toward technique your mind and emotions – contributing toward your in general psychological and actual physical physical fitness.

#8. Lighten your temper We won't be able to knowledge humor and seem to be frustrated, fearful, or indignant at the exact season. After making the most of humor the other thoughts dissolve, consequently imagine of components that produce oneself chortle. An case in point may be sorting all through relatives images and producing amusing captions or one particular-liners toward transfer with your favorites. Each time on your own want a opt for-me-up, pull out the album. Humor aids us variation the direction we understand outside of and Deliver functions.

By means of practising these types of secrets, oneself can distinction your vacation year for the far better and establish a beneficial ripple impact that lasts all 12 months extended! "Joyful Holiday seasons" are seriously probable, still it's up in direction of oneself in the direction of crank out that pleasure.

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enlightened-leader-success-vault · 3 years

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How’s Your Vision?

Does your company or department have a compelling strategic vision? Does it actively support your ongoing development? Who owns it? How do you know?

Analyse any successful organisation to determine what makes it “good” and you are bound to find a strong sense of purpose and direction. It is widely accepted that there is a need for organisations to have a strategic vision. Every book shop will have shelves of books dedicated to the subject and yet all too often what is thought to be “strategic vision” is in reality little more than a slogan on a poster in reception or words bandied about by the Senior Management Team which means little to the workers or customers.

What is a strategic vision?

It defines your ultimate goal. What you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it. The vision should illustrate your core values and set the tone for your organisation's culture.

It is not something that can be achieved by one person or a small group in isolation, as to be effective, a strategic vision needs everyone to take ownership and subscribe to its core values.

A strategic vision should be shared by everyone within the organisation and understood by all the stakeholders. (Stakeholders include everyone who has a vested interest in your business: employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, and affiliates.) The strategic vision should be demonstrated in everything people say and do within the company. Every transaction should exemplify the values of the organisation, whether it is a telephone call, letter, report or a face-to-face meeting.

How does having a strategic vision help make an organisation more effective?

A strategic vision acts as central support and focus, around which a detailed Action Plan should be created. The plan should encompass the “how, when, who and what” needs to be done to make the vision a reality.

Having a strategic vision which is translated into a dynamic strategy can save organisations huge amounts of money as it enables long term planning to be much more effective. Rather than being in fire fighting mode where people are constantly reacting to circumstances they feel are beyond their control, strategic vision encourages strategic thinking. This facilitates proactive behaviour and the ability to accommodate change. Forward planning could help you to reduce your material costs, accommodate the slow periods within the year and make the most of the resources at you disposal.

Creating an effective strategic vision can have huge benefits in attracting the right staff, developing people throughout the organisation and retaining the skills and knowledge of staff, saving your organisation a huge amount of money.

The cost of appointing a Senior Manager can be anything between £4000 and £10,000 per appointment. Yet despite this huge investment, there is still a high level of dissatisfaction from both the employer and the employee because there is a mismatch of expectation and reality.

If you have a clear vision you will be much more explicit about what to look for in a new employee and take into account not only their skills, knowledge, understanding, and experience but whether they will fit within your organisation and the team you have created to deliver your vision. If they are to be a successful addition to your workforce it is imperative that new employees share the same core values and principles.

An organisation with a strategic plan to develop people in-house can reduce the need for expensive recruitment campaigns and has the added advantage of motivating and retaining staff, who feel valued and have tremendous loyalty to the organisation.

Effective delegation becomes easier as individual responsibilities are clearer. It is easier to hold people accountable if there are clear, shared expectations.

How well does your strategic vision serve your organisation?

Ask yourself and the rest of your management team individually the following questions?

What is the strategic vision of our organisation? Write it down.

Does it serve our purpose?

Does it capture what our organisation stands for?

Does our strategic vision underpin our company culture?

If your company aims to care about people, does it actually care for the staff, customers, and suppliers consistently? Or are we simply paying lip service to the words?

What activities have we undertaken as an organisation in the last 6 months / 1 year / 2 years/ 5 years to revisit our strategic vision?

Who was involved?

What impact did these activities have on our organisation and on individuals within it – is the impact the same for all stakeholders?

Compare your responses – Is there a match? Together think about:

How would a new member of staff or a customer know what the strategic vision was for your organisation if they didn’t actually have the words in front of them?

What would the behaviours of your staff demonstrate? Is there a match between the way staff treat your customers and your vision for the service you provide?

Think about your reward system, does it reflect your company’s core values?

Is your vision shared by all your stakeholders?

Go on a walk around your building or make some calls and ask at least five people from different sections of your company, 5 employees, 5 customers, and 5 people associated with your company either a supplier or an affiliate: What is the strategic vision for our company?

If they are able to tell you, ask them: What does it mean in real terms? What does it mean for you?

Their reaction will tell you much about the health of your strategic vision.

We all know the benefits of having a shared strategic vision are indisputable. Creating a shared vision, which is understood and owned by all those involved in any organisation takes effort but is well worth the trouble. How can you improve things?

So how can you support the creation of a more effective strategic vision within your organisation?

Each organisation will need something rather different so take the time to consider:

What does your organisation really need?

How do you know?

Compare your current situation with your ultimate goal.

Start with: What is going well?

How do we know?

Identify your strengths – celebrate, and protect them, share the best practice within your organisation. Identify your areas for development. The questions below are a good starting point.

Think of a lighthouse providing a beacon of light to keep a ship on course and safe from harm whatever the weather and state of the sea. Your vision should sustain your organisation in good times and when things get rocky or through changes of personnel. All those involved with your organisation internally and externally should know what your vision is where you are ultimately aiming for and why.

Consider:

What do you want your organisation to look like in 2 or 5 or 10 years' time?

What are the core values you want to live by?

What are your ultimate goals?

How are you going to create that vision – by yourself or with others?

What elements are negotiable and which are set in stone?

Identify the people you need to involve to make your vision a reality.

Creating the Culture

It is important to create the right culture for your organisation. Ensure that it matches your core values. Consider the reward system you have, does it encourage collaboration for example?

Collaboration between your team rather than cut-throat competition can provide long-term benefits for your organisation and your customers. Involving the staff in the creation of a reward system can offer tremendous benefits. It is important that everyone understands what you are trying to achieve, your constraints and the opportunities. Create a culture where company success is of equal status to individual success and enjoy the huge boost to performance and morale as everyone strives to support the end goal.

Successful organisations are built on a culture of development rather than blame. Where professional honesty is encouraged and people are trained to give and receive constructive feedback professional growth and positive collaboration are maximised. People should be encouraged to evaluate their own performance and that of their team, to strive for excellence and have high expectations of themselves and others.

You and your Management Team need to show by example and be consistent in your approach.

Articulate your vision, purpose, core values to all involved - regularly, they should be an integral part of your organisation’s daily living rather than a dog- eared poster somewhere in the reception area or on your notice board.

Consider the language used throughout your company. It can support your vision and help develop the culture or be at variance with it. If people receive mixed messages they become confused and disheartened. Look at past communications within your company. Consider the language used and the tone set. Is it in line with your core values at every level of the company and in all forms of communication?

Think about the people you need to have around you to achieve your vision. Induct new and existing staff so they buy into the vision. Remember it is an ongoing process, a map for a journey rather than simply identifying the destination.

It is quite common to feel there is simply too much to do, that the work-load is unmanageable. Remember that however challenging the task may be, all journeys start with the first step.

Involving your staff from the outset can pay significant dividends. The shared talents, expertise and creativity of your workforce will provide huge added value to the process if they understand and are committed to your organisational vision. The paradox is, the better the understanding and the clearer the parameters are, the greater the freedom for people to develop and grow. It supports better delegation and a greater sharing of the workload.

Your strategic vision needs to be reviewed regularly as your position in relation to the world changes. There should be balance between solid values and principles which remain constant and your organisations ability to be flexible and change over time.

Today’s competitive corporate world is a challenging place to be. Organisations must maximise their effectiveness if they are to succeed. A shared, strategic vision provides an organisation with a solid foundation. It supports ongoing development and growth and enables organisations to cope effectively with change. How does your strategic vision measure up?

Maybe you need *me* to be part of your vision?

If you need any further assistance with creating and realising a vision, or help with becoming an Enlightened Leader then there are lots of free resources and content, plus a fully CPD Accredited training programme that may just be perfect for you. Just head over to my website HERE.

#workloadmanagementleadership

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