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Executive Coaching, Leadership, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills

Why Soft Skills II

John Whitehead
October 24, 2019

The IBM Institute for Business Value recently surveyed approximately 5,670 executives across 48 countries to learn more about the skills needed to execute business strategies. The top finding of the research is that approximately 120 million workers may need to be retrained or re-skilled as a result of AI and intelligent automation. Yet, the research also revealed that, while technical and digital skills were still in high demand, executives are placing highest priority on behavioral—or soft skills (Josh Bersin).

The Enterprise Guide to Closing The Skills Gap: Strategies for building and maintaining a skilled workforce IBM Institute for Business Value (2019) https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/EPYMNBJA
Annette LaPrade, Janet Mertens, Tanya Moore, and Amy Wright

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John Whitehead, coaches individuals and organizations in becoming more effective by helping them improve their interpersonal communications, emotional intelligence and resiliency.

*******Are you wondering if having a Leadership/Personal Development Coach is right for you? Contact John for a complimentary, exploratory coaching session at [email protected]********

If you would like to get notifications for when I post, please go to my blog site and register. I promise I will not spam or use your email address for anything else. You can visit and register for my blog at https://johnkwhitehead.ca/blog-2/

 

Coaching, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills

Leadership Vlog Post 191017 – Why Soft Skills?

John Whitehead
October 17, 2019

Having the technical skills and knowledge to successfully execute our job duties is only one part of being the best we can be in the workplace. In addition to these “hard” skills, we also need “soft” skills. As I stated above, Soft Skills are those skills that allow us to effectively work with others. No matter what our position, organization or industry, we work with people. Taking the time to build effective soft skills can lead to a more efficient, more harmonious, and more productive workplace, as well as to our own overall job happiness and satisfaction. Soft skills encompass both innate personality traits, such as optimism, and abilities that can be practiced, such as empathy. Like all skills, soft skills can be learned. Developing Soft Skills….

Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills, Time Management

What Is Your Challenge This Week?

John Whitehead
October 9, 2019

What is your challenge today? This week? Next month?

How can you resolve it? By when?

What do you need to accomplish this?

This week’s Vlog post explores these questions….

Want to know more? reach out to me by email at [email protected] or schedule a call —>>>>>

Executive Coaching, Leadership, Leadership Development, Networking, Soft Skills

Making Connections: The Importance of Networking

John Whitehead
September 10, 2019

I believe the most important commitment I made was to network. I’m convinced that this one thing has been the primary reason for my success to date. I had no real connections when I started in the fall of 2014. My previous role did not provide me with a ready-made network of potential clients or influencers. In fact, I had not attended any networking events in years. I truly began from a standing start. However, in short order I started to accumulate connections and build a network of individuals who have driven my business’s success. My number one piece of advice for anyone who is building their own business is to get out there and meet people, either in person or virtually – network like crazy!

Here are my key networking points:

  • Attend every networking event you can get to in your own and the surrounding communities
    • Chamber after 5 events
    • Downtown Business Associations
    • Local business group lunches
    • Get yourself invited to breakfast networking events (the first ones are almost always free)
    • Other regular events where your target clients/customers may congregate
  • Develop a quick Lunch and Learn presentation that you can offer
  • Join your local Chamber or Board of Trade
    • Look for volunteering opportunities – Chamber Ambassador Programs put you in front of a great number of business owners
  • Connect on LinkedIn, Facebook and other appropriate social media.
    • Create a marketing plan using LinkedIn’s search feature
      • Better still, use LI’s Sales Navigator
    • Contribute writing to blogs – create your own blog focusing on your area of expertise or interest
      • Post your blogs on as many sites as you can that may attract your audience
        • LinkedIn Pulse, BeBee, Medium, branded.me, Facebook….
      • To help you organize all these new connections invest in a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) application (there are several free ones; I use HubSpot)
        • As you move forward you may also want to look at investing in an email marketing service such as Constant Contact. Mail Chimp is a similar tool that is free of charge.

As you read this list, you may hear a little voice in your head telling you, “That’s a lot of work…” or “That will cost a lot of money….” Yes, it is a lot of work and no, done smartly, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. The biggest cost and commitment is time.

John Whitehead, coaches’ individuals and organizations in becoming more effective by helping them improve their interpersonal communications, emotional intelligence and resiliency.

*******Are you wondering if having a Leadership/Personal Development Coach is right for you? Contact John for a complimentary, exploratory coaching session at [email protected] ********

If you would like to get notifications for when I post, please go to my blog site and register. I promise I will not spam or use your email address for anything else. You can visit and register for my blog at https://johnkwhitehead.ca/blog-2/