What a challenge it is, living in the United Arab Emirates. Not many places in the world offer such a variety in nationalities and cultures interacting together. For professionals active in the field of Human Resource Management and/or Training it is a paradise. There are so many new things to be done, and even more situations to be corrected than one can possibly handle in a lifetime.

Complaining? Not at all, but from a professional stance I would prefer to implement preventive action rather than invoicing people for providing corrective measures. To be able to interact effectively, with others it is first of all essential for us to learn about ourselves. Now, most people believe they know themselves very well and as a result might fail to acknowledge the existence of so-called 'blind spots': things that we do not know about ourselves but others can clearly notice. Self-assessment helps, preferably done on regular basis, and even better if supported by objective tools. Knowing the 'starting' point in life makes it easier to determine the route we need to follow to arrive where we want to go. A lot of people enjoy interacting with animals: for example cats.

I always think of cats as animals that do not make an effort pleasing us, they just tolerate our presence! If you happen to be allowed to pet them and you rub them the right way they will occasionally start purring and you know they like what you are doing. Try to rub them the other way around and you will end up with scratches on your hands and possibly some bite marks as well! People, believe it or not, are no different. The will not often scratch or bite you, but they will surely react in a way you least expected. The golden rule: treat people the way you want to be treated is no longer valid! The diamond rule is: Treat everyone the way they want to be treated.

To be able to do that effectively we need to learn how to 'read' people and to understand how to interact with them and what we need to avoid. Easier said than done. In my life I, probably just like many of you, followed the trial and error method, if something doesn't work we try something else again and again. This could be a lengthy process during which many people might stop putting in the effort and decide that it is time for the rest of the world to find the best way interacting with them. To make it even more exhausting, every individual is different and all of them need rubbing in their own way to feel comfortable. If, like in the UAE the variety of people and cultures are so diverse, we need to realize that it is hard work trying to connect with others and to adapt ourselves in a way that we create the best environment for creating long-term relationships. For the ones who are willing to make the effort I can assure you that it can be extremely rewarding in more than one way! I use the Insight Discovery Profiling to understand others and myself better and use that for our clients as well with remarkable outcomes.

It is never too late starting to improve our conditions of living and this might be the key to your future success. I surely wish you the Insights it gave many others and me and I can assist you if needed. The practical application of this knowledge is limited to the level you are able to stretch your creativity and can, in my view, therefore be labelled: unlimited. Good Luck!

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