The Black Belt BA: Business Analysis Lessons from the World of Martial Arts

Judo, karate, taekwondo, kung fu, tai chi… martial arts is about more than simply self-defence skills. Students build confidence, learn discipline and follow codes of conduct, and many of these principles can be applied to our professional lives.??

A black belt business analyst is:?

• A lifelong student of the profession who is dedicated to developing skill and knowledge for themselves and others.?
• A competent and confident practitioner that is able to adapt their approach relative to the situational context.?
• A facilitator of aligned, outcome driven change that enhances the organisations strategic capabilities - not solely focussed on fulfilling immediate needs.?

Applying the Five Tenets of Taekwondo to the BA Profession??

The five ‘Tenets’ or principles of the martial art Taekwondo are Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit. Here is how these principles can be applied to our professional development and practice.?

Courtesy??

In martial arts, courtesy is about turning up on time; wearing the correct uniform; welcoming new joiners; being respectful towards others and listening to instructors.??

As business analysts, being courteous is essential for collaborating successfully. We need to respect differences and personal boundaries and take the time to get to know team members’ strengths and weaknesses. Listening, and being responsive, is the foundation for communication and collaboration. It’s also important for us to keep to agreed timings, turn up to meetings and deliver when we say we will.??

If a team member won’t listen or take feedback, this damages rapport and is a barrier for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.??

Integrity?

In martial arts, as with life, integrity is about acting in the same way whether someone is watching you or not. It’s about being trustworthy.??

Having integrity as a business analyst means that people know they can trust you to do what you say you will do. We need to be honest and transparent with our colleagues and stakeholders and we avoid making false promises or offering ‘silver bullet’ solutions. As BAs it is part of having integrity to build our professional knowledge and keep up with the latest business change developments.?

Perseverance?

In martial arts, only one or two students out of every hundred achieve the black belt. This takes perseverance, moving forward and learning even when the going gets tough. Guided practice, correction, improvement and repetition are all part of the process.?

Becoming a black belt business analyst involves mastering many tools, techniques and theories. Sometimes these are difficult to learn, and may not make sense at first but, as with martial arts, it’s all about perseverance – practice, practice, practice!??

Successful business analysts focus on outcomes; learn from successes and failures and are committed to continuous improvement.??

Self-Control?

In martial arts, students are expected to use self-control and not misuse their skills. When sparring with someone new, they are mindful to not to use too much force.???

Equally, business analysts need to be aware of their abilities. It’s important to not ‘over-reach’ beyond our skills or competence level. Self-control in business analysis means not over-promising, but instead offering a realistic appraisal of costs, benefits, impacts and the risks associated with proposed changes and ideas. These should be updated as the project progresses.??

It’s easy to sell benefits in a business case if these will never be checked, or to write a User Story which is not traceable to business goals. It takes discipline to use RACI to agree explicitly who is going to do what with regard to activities and outcomes. When used it empowers others to take accountability and responsibility for their work. It is a basis for collaboration.??

The self-disciplined business analyst will make time to study; to put together the proposal for speaking at a conference; to mentor the junior colleague or to run a lunch and learn session. They have self-control and exceptional time management skills.??

Indomitable Spirit?

In martial arts, indomitable spirit is about not giving up, even when training or practice is difficult and even after losing an important bout against an opponent.?

As business analysts we need to have that same indomitable spirit, building resilience and stress management skills within ourselves and our teams. It helps if we focus on answering the key questions for our business and the changes that we deliver – ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’, ‘who’ and ‘how’.?

Successful BAs are lifelong learners, with a relentless focus on organisational and stakeholder or customer outcomes.??

The Multi-disciplinary Approach: Collaboration Amongst Change Practitioners??

There are many different specialist professional disciplines or roles within business change. Each (as with martial arts) has a different: underpinning philosophy and language; training style and set of techniques.?

This proliferation often causes confusion and limits our common understanding of roles and outcomes. Collaboration amongst change practitioners from different disciplines is a rarity – there can even be a lack of professional respect or even disdain between the professions.??

The business analyst is well placed to act as a facilitator of common understanding and to provide leadership to achieve outcomes. But how, as BAs, can we facilitate a conversation with and between the stakeholders from each of the individual professions??

For successful multi-disciplinary collaboration we need to:?

• genuinely have respect and listen to each other;?
• build relationships based upon trust (where we care about outcomes for ourselves and others);?
• build teams where individuals have psychological safety (this allows them to share both strengths and weaknesses);?
• work towards common goals and outcomes;?
• work towards building a common understanding (language and modelling plays a huge part in this);?
• appreciate what different change professionals can bring (the more rounded and aware we are of different disciplines, the better we will be at working with each).?

What Can Business Analysts Learn from Martial Arts??

In martial arts it’s important to be aware of your surroundings (the entry and exit points) and also to be aware of other people (both allies and potential threats).??

As BAs, we also need to be aware, asking questions to increase our understanding:?

• Where does the project fit relative to strategic priorities and broader strategic context??
• What are the desired outcomes??
• Who is the champion/who are the blockers/opponents??
• What might success look like??
• Where might be the pitfalls/what do we need to avoid??
• What is the impact if the change goes well/goes wrong on the organisation?
• Who is interested and impacted in the project? What are individual stakeholder perspectives on the change? Different contexts and situations require different toolkits.?

Just like students of martial arts, the best BAs are disciplined and committed to continuous learning and improving. As a community, BAs share lessons on their successes and failures. The cycle of repetition, feedback and improvement is the same, and hard work pays in the long term. They also share the attitude that there is always something to learn… through books, online articles and blogs, podcasts and formal study. Experienced and knowledgeable practitioners share their wisdom, often acting as mentors and coaches.??

In this spirit, as a BA you may wish to ask yourself the following questions:?

• How can I enhance knowledge and skills for both myself and others??
• How can I extend my knowledge of other disciplines within the change profession??
• How can I ensure that I enhance my organisations’ strategic capabilities??

With thanks to AssistKD's Jonathan Hunsley .

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