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Life Skills are psycho-social competencies that enable an individual to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life . There are 10 Life Skills . Let us divide the 10 Life Skills into two categories ;- Thinking Skill Social & Emotional Skill A. THINKING SKILLS SELF- AWARENESS This indicates the ability of an individual to introspect and to identify his own resource as well as his areas of improvement(AOI). CREATIVE THINKING This competency makes it possible for an individual to formulate creative ideas and to generate innovative products/services. CRITICAL THINKING This competency facilitates an individual to analyse the market opportunities , appraise the competitors , study the potential of the innovation , strategic segmentation , strategic positioning etc. DECISION MAKING This competency enables the individuals to take the right decision from the situational perspective PROBLEM SOLVING This competency facilitates an individual to analyse problem, trace out the root cause of the problem and to generate strategic inputs for alleviating the problem. B. Social Skills & Emotional Skills EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION It makes it possible for an individual to express his views and to convince others to accept the logical rationale of his views. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT It helps an individual to develop conducive relationship with others EMPATHY It facilitates an individual to perceive the problems of others as if these were of his own. It facilitates an individual to become sensitive to the problems of others and eventually to take initiative to solve their problems. It is an essential competency of a Social Entrepreneur. MANAGING STRESS This is the competency of overcoming/subjugating stress in an adverse , problematic situation COPING WITH EMOTION This is the competency of maintaining a harmony between rationality and emotion. It facilitates an individual to maintain composure and emotive equilibrium even after achieving success

HR and the Innovation Process Five ways in which HR can influence innovation One of key values which enable a company or product to stay ahead in the market is innovation. Innovation is vital for not only differentiating products and services in the market, but it also a catalyst for true culture of value creation in any organization. How could HR pitch in to drive Innovation? Some ways in which HR processes could drive innovation is described below. Rewards & Recognition The aspect needs to take Innovation as a key indicator of performance. Promoting innovation could be ingrained into the goals and thereafter in the annual rewards mechanism. Innovative ideas need to be promptly recognized as it occurs by formal appreciations to the employee. PMS Innovation could be a key competency requirement for PMS. This aspect needs to be embedded in the short- and long-term goals of the staff. Innovation specific projects need to be part of goal setting planned by line and functional managers. An act of innovation could be recorded and spelt out in performance ratings and incorporated into the formats. Recruitment Innovation is a competency very difficult to assess in shorter framework of interviews. A BEI could give some insights about the innovative mindset. However, these qualities can be assessed effectively with in basket exercises and roleplays during assessment centers. An innovative mindset could be a vital requirement for certain type of job roles and start up organizations. These could be earmarked a key competency to look for during recruitment processes in certain high potential roles. L&D Innovation is a vital change agent for businesses willing to create a mark in the market. It very important hence to keep this as a competency to work for in the IDP plans across functions and verticals. This need is to be hence developed and promoted through a training methodology which can bring innovation as a measurable output. Culture and Engagement Tracking innovation within large organizations become cumbersome until and unless, it is in the DNA of the organization. Innovation is a value proposition and should hence be part of the vision and mission statements. An innovative culture drives the process across various levels making it easier to develop and obtain innovation to grassroot levels. To summarize, Innovation is not a standalone value that could be done at a functional or team level. This needs to be ingrained in the organizational processes and products.HR has a key role to play in promoting Innovation by getting the right talent, nurturing it, and also rewarding the deserving employees who have the innovative mindset. Lt Col R Sudhir (Retd) Life , Executive and Career Coach

There was a great thinker , social reformer and playwright in Brazil , named Augusto Boal . He developed a special kind of Theater pattern called Theater of the Oppressed . The fundamental intent of this theater pattern was to empower the under privileged people of Brazil . One component of Theater of the Oppressed was termed as Forum Theater . In Forum Theater , a theme on any socioeconomic problem was conceived and enacted by the trained theater actors before a group of underprivileged marginalized spectators. Then at a time when the climax has reached in the drama , the spectators were asked to enter into the theater arena and function as role players . To be precise the spectators were asked to create solutions in the problem context and express those solutions in the form of acting. Thus the the passive status of the underprivileged spectators is converted/transformed into creative & proactive role-players . So Forum Theater dealt with empowerment of the underprivileged people . It facilitated the common people to unleash their pent up potential . I believe that FORUM THEATER is very much relevant in Facilitation of team of learners . It is an excellent tool for facilitating the engagement of learners and enabling them in the process of unearthing their creative potential . During my sessions as a Process Facilitator , I have judiciously administered Forum Theater as a tool for ensuring spontaneous participation and Experimental Learning of the trainees . I have asked one group of learners to consider themselves as colleagues in an Organization and to create a theme on a problem in their organizational arena . When they portrayed the problem through Role Play , I asked another group of learners to play the role of OD Intervention Practitioners . They were asked to analyze the problem of the first group , create solution oriented interventions and then enact those interventions through role play . Thus a stage comes when the two groups of learners interact among themselves and collaborate together to design interventions aiming at alleviating the problems created by the first group of learners . I encourage the practicing facilitators to make use of Forum Theater as a result oriented learning tool. It fosters psycho-social competencies like creative Thinking , Critical Thinking , Decision Making , Problem Solving , Effective Communication , Relationship Building , Empathy , Emotional Resilience i convey my profound reverence to Augusto Boal