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The rules for succeeding in business are
changing daily. Yet people are still asking for the magic formula that
contributes to a successful organization. Is it talented, knowledgeable
people plus innovative products? That's a great start, but something vital
is missing from this equation.
More and more corporations around the world
recognize that, in order to gain a competitive advantage, they also need to
make sure their people know how to handle themselves at work and how to
relate with their customers and peers. From showing empathy and optimism to
extreme self-awareness to knowing what's going on around them, these vital
competencies are an integral part of a progressive organization. They fall
under the umbrella of Emotional Intelligence (EI).
These soft-skills, or emotional
intelligence skills, revelations open the door to a lot of discussion. The
western civilization and our traditional management theories tend to lead us
in the direction of individualistic promotion. They display our strengths
rather than the demonstration of our humanness. These ideas have been so
tightly woven into our leadership mentality that they can be challenging to
break.
Unfortunately, most graduate schools don't
teach you how to cultivate your soft skills. While courses such as Business
Writing and Public Speaking are offered, I have never seen a course
entitled, "The Effective Art of Listening to Your Customer." We
live in a society that measures intelligence through quantifiable metrics. A
professor will give you good grades once you know XYZ, but he or she will
not increase your grade for being able to deal with a difficult situation,
showing compassion, or solving an unexpected problem. Yet most compliments
that you or your employees receive deal more with the use of soft skills
than with your actual knowledge about a particular situation. Most customers
appreciate a "willingness to help" and the fact that "she
listened to my complaint." The use of these skills is what elevates
your organization above the competition.
You don't compete only with products
anymore, rather with how well you use your people. Too often we focus on
what employees need to "know" when evaluating and hiring them
instead of "who they really are." I will illustrate this with an
example.
John was promoted to Technical Project
Manager at his consulting company. Some people wondered why John had risen
to this level of management. His educational level was lower than others in
the firm and his degree wasn't in an area that pertained to consulting.
However, one of the strengths that was nowhere on his resume was his ability
to be positive in all situations and to naturally motivate people. He was
quick to smile and see the positive side of every project. He was generous
in praising people and was consistently happy. These were his strengths -
his natural attributes. They made up the sum of who John was. These soft
skills are just as important as what John knows.
The challenge nowadays is to introduce a
program that will allow your leaders to learn and capitalize fast on their
soft-skills competencies. Soft skills are important and always have been. It
seems we have laid them aside and opted to emphasize too much on expertise
and credentials. Let's get back to our values and the basics of good
internal and external customer service.
Soft skills are the underlying principles
that trademark a company for professionalism and excellent customer service.
They provide differentiation between all the cookie-cutter look-alikes and
play a vital role in customer loyalty. In today's working environment, where
customers and employees are demanding more, instilling the use of soft
skills in your team members is something you simply can't survive without.
When it's time to focus on soft-skills
training as a tool to improve performance, leadership potential, and bottom
line organizational success, consider the following:
1. Start Slowly - Instead of getting a
large number of people in a room and preaching to them about their soft
skills - move slowly. Introduce the concept with an informative and fun
workshop. The program should also be designed to enhance their skills.
2. Involve Your People From the Start -
Involve as many employees as you can on the decision to create a program,
what to include within the program, and how to maintain the program. People
support what they help create. Engage them, give them the possibility to
make changes with your training curriculum, do a pilot program with key
people, and use the pilot program as an introduction to the group.
3. Hire Expert Help - Coaches and
Organizational Consultants are experts in building rapport and establishing
the right culture for these initiatives. With the right culture and the
appropriate training, managers can continue the task of training and
cultivating good relationships.
4. Recognize Individual Achievement - There
is so much talk about teamwork today that we forget to emphasize how
important it is to praise individual achievement as well. From time to time
praise your stars. Recognizing personal contributions to the team is an
excellent morale booster.
5. Discover the Group's Soft-Skill Identity
- All people are not the same, so their soft skills and strengths are not
the same either. Once you know who you have on your team, leverage their
strengths and differences because these are the facts that will help
distinguish you and your organization from the competition. Illustrate how
they can leverage each other's strengths inside the team to develop a new
group "identity."
The essence of your business is your
people. Making soft-skills development a priority will bring your team to a
new level because it focuses directly on them. By allowing the human aspect
of your employees to shine through, you are encouraging them to do what
comes naturally to them. Don't overlook these all-important skills when
evaluating areas of improvement for your team. Find a way to incorporate
soft skills into your leadership development programs and see results
immediately.
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Carole Nicolaides is President and
Executive Coach of Progressive Leadership Inc. who thrives on helping
individuals and organizations achieve results by coaching them on how to
discover and build upon their strengths and cultivate their soft-skill set.
Visit http://www.progressiveleadership.com
for more info & subscribe to her FREE Ezine.
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