Personal planning and skills

Humanitarian aid work requires dedicating yourself to the management of skills and resources necessary to accomplish the task. Just as important, it requires dedication to managing yourself: professional development and learning plus physical, emotional and mental health. In addition to Understanding Career Transitions and Managing Stress, managing yourself includes building your personal resilience and emotional intelligence, developing good team/social relationships, ensuring effective time management and productivity, and taking care of your body (exercise, nutrition).

Staff member walking in newly erected tent

Photo: UN Photo/Sophia Paris

Key actors

Global online learning platform offering training, resources, and certification for humanitarian and development workers, including a soft skills curriculum, e.g. on relationship and emotional skills for managers, networking skills, and handling stress

Global online learning platform offering learning on humanitarian and professional skills, including courses on social leadership, coaching and mentoring, harnessing differences to boost effectiveness, leadership styles, assertiveness and communication, and other personal development skills

Training provider supporting humanitarian professionals in career development and developing intercultural competencies

Organization offering training on leadership, delivered by specialists from both the humanitarian and private sector

Key references

Handbook seeking to help individuals, teams, partnerships, or other collaborative efforts become more effective by helping them to strengthen their understanding and skill in working with diversity within such collaborative arrangements

Learning resources

Course aimed at developing skills in social leadership and outlining activities that focus on the development and application of social leadership in the humanitarian context

Course aimed at developing your understanding of coaching and mentoring and the benefits of using them when working in an emergency response

Module focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of the different leadership styles and their impact on your team

Course aimed at helping you to be more successful and confident in negotiations

Course aimed at providing more effective emotional support to a person affected by a crisis

Course aimed at identifying and managing your own emotions, and managing emotionally-charged situations

Course designed for any professional seeking to improve their public speaking skills

Course designed for anyone seeking to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses in order to become more assertive

Course designed for new managers as well as those looking for a basic refresher on the core principles of management

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