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Coaching, Hi -Tech, Interpersonal Communications, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills

Research into the Social (Soft) Skills of Hi-Tech Workers

July 14, 2017

research paper

Over the past few months I have been shifting my attention to the Hi-Tech industry. I have this sense that there is a need for executive and leadership coaching in this sector, but it really is just a sense right now – unsubstantiated with any facts or data.

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that my interests lie in the area of Soft Skills: interpersonal communications, listening, showing empathy, networking, self-confidence and giving/receiving feedback, among other things. My initial (academic) research into the Hi-Tech sector has led me to believe that it has a need for soft skills development. That being said, it is still just a sense and I have no concrete evidence to support it, so I have set off to do some of my own research into the matter.

“Forget experience and hard skills — tomorrow’s best talent will need soft skills,” — CIO Magazine (March 27, 2017)

My initial goal is to speak to between five and seven individuals highly placed in the Hi-Tech sector in my community of Kelowna: founders, CEOs, CTOs and CFOs, etc. I have also reached out to some of my HR contacts in the Hi-Tech sector. One other source of potential contacts are my Hi-Tech sector connections on LinkedIn. Once the initial connection is made, I will set up a 30-minute interview, which I call an Insight Discovery Interview, to determine from these individuals what they see as the biggest soft skill challenge facing their sector.

“A successful engineer in Microsoft needs to have a lot of important soft skills. Without them the engineer will not be able to fulfil his role in the company” – Bleek, W.-G; Lilienthal, C; Schmolitzky (2005)

My questions for them will be open-ended and structured in such a way to allow me to delve deeply into whatever area the conversation leads. I will assure the interviewees that their responses will be confidential, and just as in my role as an executive coach, all of our conversations would be held in strict confidence. My plan is to generate a report that I can use to approach potential new clients. Interestingly, several of my connections have already indicated they would like a copy.

To date I have three interviews scheduled, have conducted one of them, and had one on-line conversation with an LI contact. It is much too early to come to any conclusions yet, but there have been some interesting and unexpected ideas coming forward — just what I am hoping for! Again my initial thinking and research indicates that there is a growing recognition of a challenge in social (soft) skills but at the same time a lack of clarity on how to handle it.

If you are a founder, owner, or “C” suite executive in a Hi-Tech company who is wondering about the challenge and development of soft skills in your sector, I would be very interested in hearing from you. Please connect with me, send me a message and let’s have a conversation. Contact me at [email protected]

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John Whitehead, coach’s leaders to become 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]********

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Leadership Development

Hi-Tech Hiring: Where do Soft Skills Fit?

John Whitehead

July 8, 2017

Soft Skills Wordle

Last week I wrote about how the Hi-Tech industry is feeling the pinch from workers lacking basic soft skills. A recent article published in CIO Magazine (March 27, 2017) states, “Forget experience and hard skills — tomorrow’s best talent will need soft skills, and it’s a fact that sourcing and recruiting pros need to be prepared to address.” Using research carried out by LinkedIn, the article identifies ten in-demand soft skills:

communications,
organization,
teamwork,
punctuality,
critical thinking,
social skills,
creativity,
inter-personal communications,
adaptability,
friendly personality.

The CIO article states that, “of 291 hiring managers we (LinkedIn) surveyed, their employers struggle to find candidates with the right soft skills for 59 percent of their open jobs, and 58 percent said the lack of soft skills among candidates was ‘limiting their company’s productivity’”.

I may not agree with all of the items listed above, but I do see a correlation between my own personal experiences and this list, especially inter-personal communications, teamwork, creativity and critical thinking.

A study conducted over five years by the BC Tech Association, funded by the Canadian and BC governments and published last year, stated that, “…gaps need to be filled, but the solution goes beyond quantity alone. Tech talent must also be calibrated to the needs of BC’s tech companies. This means individuals entering the sector must possess a blend of technical and ‘soft’ skills.” (p. 8).

“you can track and measure soft skill development, which means you can also place an ROI on it”

There are a number of on-line and self-study courses available to assist organizations in training employees. To a certain extent they seem to be reasonably effective. However, to get more specific, developmental training, which often means shifting an individual’s behaviour pattern, one-on-one coaching provides a better and more effective solution. For one thing it provides an accountability partnership between the individual and their coach to track and measure progress (yes, you can track and measure soft skill development, which means you can also place an ROI on it). This can have a significant impact on leadership and succession development within Hi-Tech companies going through their growth phase.

As stated in the CIO article, “The combined forces of fast-changing technology and digital transformation, a tight talent market, increased hiring volume, and improved job-seeker confidence means that the top of the hiring funnel is getting filled with potential candidates, and the challenge will be how to filter through the noise and find the right fit, … The differentiator will be soft skills like adaptability, leadership, communication and others…”

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John Whitehead, coach’s leaders to become 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]********

Hi -Tech, Inter-personal communications, Leadership, Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills

Soft Skills and the Hi-Tech Sector: A Growth Industry

John Whitehead

June 30, 2017

Soft Skills and Hi Tech

My coaching practice focuses on helping individuals, usually senior and emerging leaders in organizations, to become more effective leaders. In most cases this centres on the so-called Soft Skills, which are those skills required to “help people work and socialize well with others.” In 2015 I wrote a 26-part series on Soft Skills, which has become the backbone of my practice. The more I work with individuals in a variety of organizations, the more I recognize this common theme. Whenever I ask people about inter-personal communications in the workplace, I get that “look” that says “You’re not kidding!”

Recently I’ve turned my attention specifically to the hi-tech industry, for a couple of reasons. The first is that the community I live in, which has a population of less than 150,000, has over 600 hi-tech companies. They employ over 7600 people (52 per cent of those workers are below the age of 35) and their economic impact has outstripped the traditional high revenue generators of tourism and wineries. The second is the number of articles and news coverage I have encountered recently that address the need for Soft Skills in the tech sector. This not necessarily something new, but the “noise” coming from the sector about this challenge is getting louder as it is increasingly recognized as a serious issue.

A paper presented at the 18th Conference on Software Engineering Education & Training (CSEET’05), 2005 by Bleek, W.-G; Lilienthal, C; Schmolitzky, titled “Software Development Engineer in Microsoft: A subjective view of soft skills required” concluded that “a successful engineer in Microsoft needs to have a lot of important soft skills. Without them the engineer will not be able to fulfil his role in the company”. This paper noted Change Management, Self-Development, and Composure: Stress management, Problem Solving Skills, Drive for Results, Communication Skills and Interpersonal Skills as key soft skills Microsoft requires in the engineers. An additional study concludes that: “it is clear that today’s MBA graduates have a propensity to fail because they hardly display or communicate their employability skills. It is important that the educational institutions design their curricula with a particular focus on enhancing graduates’ soft skills and employability. Moreover, it is important to transform the educational environment to accelerate soft skills formation among the graduates”. (Why Soft Skills Matter Murti, Ashutosh Bishnu. IUP Journal of Soft Skills). Although this study focused on MBA students, I believe it is safe to say its conclusions would also apply to graduates of hi-tech programs.

Until educational institutions start paying attention to and providing soft skills training, it is left to outside resources such as training companies, consultants and coaches to fill the void. I’m not complaining — this is where I find many opportunities! In my work I see how improving individuals’ self-awareness of their gaps in Soft Skills, leads to growth and to more well-rounded workers and leaders, which in turn creates better work environments and higher productivity. And yes, you can measure that! Ask me if you want to know how.

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John Whitehead, coach’s 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]********

Coaching, Interpersonal Communications, Leadership Development, personal development

The Importance of Saying “Thank You” and Why It Matters

John Whitehead

June 23, 2017

I have been a follower of Marshal Goldsmith’s work since his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There came out in 2007 and after I had the opportunity to participate in his two day workshop in 2008. Last fall I completed the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching certification and am now an associate coach with that organization. I have also had the opportunity to facilitate the exercise that Goldsmith describes in the article Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback several times, the latest with 4^th year management students in the leadership course I was teaching at UBCO. In this recent exercise I directed the students to just say “thank-you,” nothing more, after receiving their feedforward responses, and then move on to the next person. After the exercise was completed I asked them what they found to be the most difficult thing about it. Along with the odd “it was difficult to come up with a suggestion to the other’s challenge/issue,” the majority stated that it was to simply say “thank-you.” They wanted to add something else to the conversation. In the context of my coaching journey, the take away from this exercise was the need to make sure we do not fall into the trap of wanting to add value. It is easy for those of us who are in leadership roles to provide answers and solutions, but as a coach this changes. It is also interesting to note that the students enjoyed the exercise so much that they asked it to be repeated a few weeks later, which we did. The response was they found it a really helpful and insightful exercise.

“We all have our down days, but it’s not hard to smile and say, ‘Thank you.’” – Yvette Nicole Brown

Why is it so difficult to say simply “Thank You?” Maybe it’s an ego thing. Just saying “thank you” and nothing else is like saying “I have nothing more to add to the conversation, which is not good because I want to show you how much I know.” It can also be seen, as Goldsmith noted, as a submissive response — “I give up”. But here is another side of the story: Saying thank you can be very powerful. Study after study has shown that recognition is crucial to employee retention and productivity. Kouzes & Posner (2012) describe a law firm that noticed they were losing high value first year associates. An investigation revealed that it wasn’t the hours, the money or the work; “it was because the young lawyers didn’t feel appreciated by the partners”. Studies also show that in work environments where the ratio of positive to negative comments is greater than 3 to 1 are much more productive with much lower turnover. Just saying “thank you” can have a significant effect on morale – it just feels good.

Did you know that if you Google “Saying Thank You” you can get millions of websites on the subject, including one called How to Say Thank You. This website provides instructions on how to say thank you in person, over the phone and by text. It seems like a poor indication of modern social skills that we need a website to help people learn how to say thanks. Even when we do get a “thank you,” it often almost seems like an afterthought.

From my perspective it comes back to listening, if we stay present when interacting with others, then our “Thank you’s” will be authentic. Be willing to drop your ego, really listen to what others are saying, stop adding additional comments (adding value), and say thank you when someone gives you an idea or compliment. If you do, I think you will find that people will start saying “Thank-you” back to you.

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John Whitehead, coach’s 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]********

Leadership Development, personal development, Soft Skills, Time Management

Time (Personal) Management as a Soft Skill

John Whitehead

June 16, 2017

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” ~ Winston Churchill

I believe the very first workshop I attended in my working life was one on time management. That workshop — in the late 70s in Winnipeg — was the start of a lifelong journey of learning. I attended that workshop because of my then-boss’s strong suggestion that I might want to improve my time management skills. From his point of view (and in hindsight, I can agree with him), my time management was basically non-existent. I learned much from that first workshop over 35 years ago, but I admit that it’s an on-going process and that time management can still be a struggle.

The simple fact is that there are a finite number of hours in a day, days in a week and weeks in a year. Why is it that some people seem to accomplish so much, while others just seem to spin their wheels? It’s not solely about productivity; it is also about quality of life. Spending too much time on “work” tasks throws your work/life balance out of whack. We can’t create more hours in a day, but we can use those we have in a way that creates success not only our careers, but in life in general.

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” – Zig Ziglar

Further to that, it’s more than “time management”; it’s really more like “personal management”. Steven Covey spoke to this in his ground breaking book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon and Shuster), when he talked about personal management being the fourth generation of time management and “that ‘time management’ is really a misnomer – the challenge is not how to manage time, but to manage ourselves.” Covey goes on to state that “Rather than focusing on things and time, fourth generation expectations focus on preserving and enhancing relationships and on accomplishing results…” In other words, Covey’s model is to focus on what is important, not what is urgent.

Covey also outlines a number of activities for personal management:

Write a personal mission statement based on personal, family and professional values.
Define all your roles, both professional and personal.
Select the two or three most important goals every week. Tie short-term goals to longer-term goals.
Focus on activities that will achieve the greatest results.
Portability – you should be able to carry and access your priority list or calendar wherever you are.

For many of us, managing our time has become second nature; for others it is a continuous struggle. As a soft skill, personal management is crucial as it can have a significant impact on team dynamics (see my previous post on teambuilding) and communications. It is tied to our level of self-awareness and our personal growth in emotional intelligence.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” ~ Yogi Berra

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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]********