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

How Flexible Are You? The Soft Skill of Adaptability.

March 6, 2019

I read somewhere recently that Soft Skills have become today’s Hard Skills. This is something to think about as we move further into the information age and away from the industrial age. It’s not that we will do away with hard skills. Trades, factories, mining, the list goes on, will still be around and those working in them will always need those hard, technical skills to do the job. But more and more, even for occupations in those trades, soft skills are being recognized as a critical component of the whole worker. Two of the most important soft skills that are coming to the forefront are adaptability and flexibility.

Some people mistakenly think that the ability to change according to the needs of a situation or a willingness to compromise, show weakness or a lack of conviction. In reality, the ability to compromise, adapt to change and still thrive are keys to success in the fast-pace workplaces in which most of us find ourselves. Change can be scary, but learning to adapt and flex as needed is an investment worth making.

“You must always be able to predict what’s next and have the flexibility to evolve.” – Marc Benioff

To me, adaptability and flexibility is about creativity. It’s being open to other alternatives in any situation. It’s about looking for the second or third “right” answer. There is always more than one right answer to a given problem; the trick is to find the one that you are most comfortable with and the one you can live with. Just because we have done something the same way for years, doesn’t mean it still works today. Thinking creatively, sometimes “out of the box,” will often produce a solution that is both effective and surprising. It is these solutions that add energy to projects and help them on their way to success.

We all have those moments in life where we are confronted with change: small and inconsequential, or massive ones such as change in the workplace (either a promotion or demotion); change in family life (the birth of a child or death of a parent); a move across town or across the country, may be even to totally different country. The ability to adapt to changes, to be flexible, is about accepting reality and coping with it.

“Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” – John F. Kennedy

How can you showcase your adaptability? Studies show that people who are highly adaptable may be more highly valued than those who are highly skilled but less willing to adapt, flex, and change. Some ways to demonstrate adaptability on the job are:

Be open to alternative solutions when your first suggestion does not go over well or succeed
Be willing to take on new roles, even when they are a stretch for your skills
Be willing to help others generate alternative solutions or plans
Be willing to accept the unexpected
Keep your calm, even when things are moving fast or are stressful
Demonstrate confidence in your ability to complete the job even when you’ve had to adapt or flex

Taking the time to develop your soft skills such as adaptability and flexibility will give you additional opportunities in any endeavour.

Executive Coaching, Leadership, Leadership Development, personal development, Self-Awareness, Soft Skills

Is Being Self-Centered That Bad: Caring for Others vs Caring for Self

John Whitehead

February 27, 2019

Has there been a shift in our thinking around caring for others vs. caring for ourselves? I ask this because of the current focus on Self-Awareness. Has the pendulum swung again to a focus on self rather than on others? (Some may ask if the pendulum ever really swung toward the latter!) I remember the 1970s being dubbed the “me” generation because of the way the baby boomers had become so self-centered, more concerned about themselves and their own comfort than those around them. The fallout of that state of affairs was the economic recession of the early 1980’s: very high unemployment and the collapse of savings and loans financial institutions, blamed in part on the excessive greed and over-consumption of that “me” generation.

However, the series that I have been writing over the past 14 weeks is not on economics but on soft skills. So where is the connection? I see it in the way that every few months, it seems that a new “best” system of managing or leading pops up. A new expert writes a book on the latest and greatest method, but a close examination reveals it to be merely a reworking of a system that had already come and gone. We are told that the newest and latest method will give us insight into how to solve our current “unique” issues. The reality, though, is that things may change but they also stay remarkably the same.

I have come to believe that we need to have, and use, the combination of both the new and the old. Of course we should pay attention to the latest research and ideas, but we should not necessarily throw away all the experience and knowledge we have gained over many years just to chase the “new” thing. In the context of this post, does it have to be either Caring for Yourself vs. Caring for Others, or can it be both? I believe it can.

“Why do we assume that showing care and concern for others and their needs means that we make ourselves and our needs our lowest priority?”

Why do we assume that showing care and concern for others and their needs means that we make ourselves and our needs our lowest priority? That we either practice self-care or be a good colleague and team member who demonstrates compassion for others, but that we can’t be or do both? What if we can, and actually need, to do both. That they are inclusive? If we have shared goals with those with whom we share our personal and professional lives, finding a way to take care of both ourselves and others can create an environment for success. Caring for ourselves can be a template, a model for caring for others. By taking good care of ourselves, we become the best colleague we can be, demonstrating care for others. Seeing the ways in which everyone is interconnected, and the way in which everyone’s success benefits the entire group is an important attitude shift. When we can find a way to care for others and ourselves, we develop a more positive, productive workplace. When we come to the realization that we have shared goals with those we work with, we can find a way to both care for ourselves and care for others.

Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills

Keep Calm and… Attitude and Work Ethic

John Whitehead

February 20, 2019

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” – Albert Einstein

You’ve most likely heard the phrase, “Hire for attitude; you can always train and test for skills.” Hard skills for any job can usually be tested. A simple example would be for typing skills –you can measure a candidate’s keyboarding speed by administering a test. Attitude, though, is different. It cannot be objectively measured, and that is why it can be classified as a soft skill.

A 2012 Forbes article on a study of 20,000 new hires found that 46% of them failed within 18 months of being hired. Of those 89% failed because of attitudinal issues and only 11% due to a lack of skills. A more recent study by Millennium Branding (2014) showed that positive attitude (84%) was one of the top three attributes that recruiters look for.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ― Winston S. Churchill

A positive attitude is very much a real thing. There is now science behind the idea that having a positive attitude makes a difference. Using EMI machines scientist are mapping the brain and observing how both negative and positive thinking impacts the brain’s functioning. Evidence indicates that positive events help the brain develop new neuro pathways, which improves learning, making people open to new ideas and feelings, and that negative thinking actually decreases cognitive functioning and can create a drop in the immune system, which makes a person susceptible to illness. Richard Boyatzis names these effects in his Intentional Change Theory and states that we either move towards a Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) or Negative Emotional Attractor (NEA). Our natural tendency, due to our ancestry, is to move towards the negative (fight or flight). The ancient part of our brain is wired to watch out for danger and to see things in the negative. However by raising our self-awareness and managing our emotions (EQ) we can consciously move towards and maintain a PEA.

So why is all this important?

It increases and improves productivity.
It increases and improves workplace happiness.
We become viewed as approachable and therefore build more effective workplace relationships.
It creates a space that allows us to positively handle challenges or setbacks – it breeds resilience.

Our attitude defines how we approach things. There will be times when we have a bad or negative attitude and time when we have a good or positive one. Our management of these will have a significant impact on our success, not only in our careers but also our lives.

“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” ― Marcus Aurelius,

Being clear about what you’re working for is an important part of building a positive attitude and strong work ethic. If you are not sure what you are working for, it can be difficult or even impossible to fully invest in a project or in developing your skills. Here are some ideas to get you started (from Ten Soft Skills You Need. 2015, Global Courseware Inc.)…

Take time to clarify your personal goals, both in terms of specific projects and in terms of your overall career.
Set specific goals and then create plans to achieve them.
- Tie these goals to your day-to-day tasks and responsibilities so that you can keep them in sight.
When working with a team, it is also vital that you outline clear group goals.
- Know what each member of the group is working for, and what the group is collectively working for.
- Find ways to consistently tie individual tasks or steps to the overarching group goals and to individual members’ personal goals.

Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills

The Myth of Multitasking

John Whitehead

February 15, 2019

My focus for this final post on the soft skill of personal management is on multitasking. Multitasking is exactly what it sounds like – trying to do more than one thing at a time. How many times have you heard a colleague proclaim that they are great multitaskers? Many of us claim (or complain about) the ability to handle a “million things” at a time. We listening to a colleague while checking email, working on a document while talking on the phone, attend meetings with our laptops open. We assume that multitasking leads to better productivity or that it is the best way to maximize our time. Many recent studies into multitasking, however, show that it is not after all the great solution to 21^st-century, high tech living, but in fact, people who multitask have been shown to take 30%-40% longer to complete tasks. A recent study documented in INC Magazine (http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/why-multi-tasking-is-killing-your-brain.html) from the University of London actually suggests that multitasking is damaging the brain. Another research study from Stanford University (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august24/multitask-research-study-082409.html) demonstrated how multitaskers consistently underperformed others who took on projects one at a time, disproving the myth that multitasking was a good thing.

As INC points out, “The biggest instigator of multitasking mayhem? Our inboxes. Some studies have shown that even the opportunity to multitask, such as knowledge of an unread email in your inbox, can reduce your effective IQ by 10 points! …A McKinsey Global Institute Study found that employees spend 28 percent of their workweek checking emails.”

So what can we do?

Turn off email notifications
Set your email to check for new messages at set times rather than constant refreshing
Mute cell phones
As I noted in previous posts – create to do lists for the day and stick to them
- Complete one task before you move onto the next
Block in times on your schedule to answer voice messages, answer emails, and check social media of all kinds.

Multitasking is a significant part of personal and time management. Managing it adds another dimension to improving your overall soft skills.

Leadership Development, personal development, Self-Awareness, Soft Skills

The Power of Flow: A Personal Management Soft Skill

John Whitehead

February 6, 2019

Have you ever had those moments when you are involved in an activity and time just seems to have flown by? Maybe it was sitting at the piano, painting, a challenging chess match, or reading a really good book. Maybe you were playing a sport and everything was working—every pass you made, every shot you took, or every stroke of the golf club—you just couldn’t miss. Athletes call this being in the zone. It is also called “flow”.

Psychologists, and specifically those in the Positive Psychology movement, define “flow” as “the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity” (Wikipedia). Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who spent two decades studying it and who is recognized for discovering this, described it as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz” (I love the jazz metaphor). When we are a flow state, we are completely absorbed in what we are doing, and this produces a feeling of energized focus and enjoyment. Tapping into flow is a powerful way to increase our own productivity, and the productivity of our teams. We are most likely to achieve flow when we are engaged in a task to which our skills are well matched – another reason to identify the capabilities of each person on a team (see my posts on teambuilding). Flow is also achieved more easily when we have clear goals and can focus on the process rather than the end product. And as I alluded to in my post last week, one of the most important keys to achieving flow is to minimize interruptions when you are working.

In Search Inside Yourself (Harper One), Chade-MengTan stated that “Flow” is another way of looking at passion. He uses the example of Tony Hsieh of Zappos who saw passion as one of the three types of happiness. That passion (flow) is “where peak performance meets peak engagement, and time flies by”.

In the work world, when we find the flow state, time seems to pass quickly without our noticing. We are also more likely to create high quality work with fewer errors. Because we are totally focused on what we are doing, a flow state may be a key aspect of mastering a new set of skills – stretching your skill set and cultivating flow can be a great tool for professional development and that’s why it is an important part of the personal management soft skill set.

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

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