JKWhitehead & Associates

personal development

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

Time (Personal) Management as a Soft Skill

 “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…

Seeing the Other Side – Influence and Persuasion

In a recent coaching conversation, a client mentioned that he always feels like he is second guessing his actions. He wondered why he was getting the sense that his messages aren’t getting across. I asked him for an example and he talked about not getting the expected responses or results…