Bridging the Soft Skills Gap

Part One the Soft Skills Gap 1 Prologue Meet the Workforce of the Future 3 Chapter 1 The Soft Skills Gap 9 The Soft Skills Gap: Growing Steadily from Gen X to Millennials to Gen Z to Whoever Comes Next 11 Something Much Larger Is Going on Here: The Post- Boomer Generational Shift 11 Soft Skills Are – Sort of – About Conforming in an Age of Non conformism 14 The Soft Skills Gap: The Missing Basics in Today’s Workforce 17 Face the Hard Realities of the Soft Skills Gap 24 Chapter 2 You Can’t Hire Your Way Around the Soft Skills Gap 27 Staffing Strategy and Hiring 28 Onboarding and Up- to- Speed Training 33 Performance Management and Talent Development36 Ongoing Training 38 The Human Element: What Role Are You Going to Play? 43 Become a Teaching Style Manager 45 Take It to the Next Level 48 Chapter 3 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 49 Drill Down: The Missing Basics 52 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 54 Unlocking the Power: The Rest of This Book 59 Part Two Teaching the Missing Basics 61 Chapter 4 Teaching the Missing Basics of Professionalism 63 Teaching Self- Evaluation 63 Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #1 68 Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #2 – Evaluating Yourself on Ability, Skill, and Will 69 Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #3 – Evaluating Yourself on Productivity, Quality, and Behavior 70 Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #4 – Evaluating Yourself on the Key Soft Skills Competencies71 Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #5 – Drill Down on Understanding the Key Soft Skills Competencies76 Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #6 – Explore Your Own Successes with the Key Soft Skills 80 Teaching Personal Responsibility 84 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 86 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #2 – All the Factors That Get in Your Way 87 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #3 – Considering the Most Common Factors, Mostly Outside Your Own Control, That Get in the Way at Work 88 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #4 – Response Power 90 Teaching Positive Attitude 92 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #1 – Considering Theories of How to Be Your Best at Work 94 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #2 – Defining “Good Attitude” Behaviors 95 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #3 – Considering the Most Common Bad Attitudes 96 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #4 – Considering Good Attitude Behaviors 98 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #5 – for Individuals Who Need an Attitude Adjustment100 Teaching Good Work Habits 101 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #1 – Overview: Wellness, Self- Presentation, Timeliness, Productivity, Attention to Detail, Follow- Through, Initiative 104 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #2 – Self- Assessment 106 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #3 – Self- Improvement Planning 108 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #4 – Wellness 109 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #5 – Planning a Wellness Initiative 110 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #6 – Self- Presentation 113 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #7 – Using a Time Log to Learn to Start Living by a Schedule 115 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #8 – How to Make a Basic Project Plan 119 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #9 – Taking Notes and Making Checklists 121 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #10 – How to Do a Time/Motion Study on Your Own Work 123 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #11 – Spotlight on Follow- Through 124 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #12 – Going the Extra Mile 125 Teaching Interpersonal Communication Skills 126 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 129 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #2 – Self-Assessment 131 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #3 – Learning to Use the “People List” 133 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #4 – Put More Structure into Your Communication 137 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #5 – Put More Substance into Your Communication 139 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #6 – Preparing for Meetings 141 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #7 – Email Best Practices 142 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #8 – Communicating Remotely 144 Chapter 5 Teaching the Missing Basics of Critical Thinking 147 Teaching Proactive Learning 147 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #1 – Knowledge Work 151 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #2 – Open Mind 155 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #3 – Suspend Judgment, Question Assumptions, and Seek to Learn 158 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #4 – Question Assumptions: What Do You Know? What Don’t You Know? 160 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #5 – Seeking Out Information, Technique, and Perspective 161 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #6 – Studying Information to Build Knowledge164 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #7 – Practicing Technique to Build Skills 166 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #8 – Contemplating Competing Perspectives to Build Wisdom 168 Teaching Problem Solving 170 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 173 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #2 – Preventing or Avoiding Problems Before They Happen 174 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #3 – Ready- Made Solutions to Commonly Occurring Problems 175 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #4 – Common Denominators and Underlying Principles 177 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #5 – Applying the “After- Action” Review Tool 178 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #6 – Using the After- Action Review Tool to Learn from Others 180 Teaching Decision Making 181 Decision Making: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 184 Decision Making: Lesson Plan #2 – Information Analysis: Simple Pros and Cons 186 Decision Making: Lesson Plan #3 – Cause and Effect: Positive Outcomes 188 Decision Making: Lesson Plan #4 – Cause and Effect: Negative Outcomes 189 Decision Making: Lesson Plan #5 – Applying the After- Action Review Tool 190 Decision Making: Lesson Plan #6 – Using the “Decision/Action Tree” 191 Chapter 6 Teaching the Missing Basics of Teamwork 193 Teaching Respect for Context 193 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 196 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #2 – Reading the Structure, Rules, Customs, Leadership 197 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #3 – Where Do You Fit? 199 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #4 – What Do You Need to Do to Adapt? 200 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #5 – Context- Limiting Factors 201 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #6 – Complicated Relationships 202 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #7 – Positive Contexts 203 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #8 – Negative Contexts 204 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #9 – Dealing with People with Bad Attitudes 205 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #10 – Dealing with People with “Great” Attitudes 207 Teaching Citizenship 208 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 211 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #2 – The “Respect” for Others Model 213 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #3 – The “Best Interests” Model 215 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #4 – The “Civic” Model 216 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #5 – The “Communitarian” Model 217 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #6 – The “Common Sense” Model 218 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #7 – The “Solid Standards” Model 220 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #8 – The “Personal Sacrifice” Model 222 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #9 – The Theodore Roosevelt Model 224 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #10 – Create Your Own Model 225 Teaching Service 226 Service: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 230 Service: Lesson Plan #2 – Common Myths About “Service” in the Workplace 232 Service: Lesson Plan #3 – Realities About Service in the Workplace 233 Service: Lesson Plan #4 – Myths Versus Realities in the Workplace 234 Service: Lesson Plan #5 – The “Be a Great Employee” Model of Service 239 Service: Lesson Plan #6 – The “Service” Approach to One- on- Ones Between Managers and Direct Reports 240 Service: Lesson Plan #7 – The Service Approach to Meeting Attendance and Participation 243 Service: Lesson Plan #8 – Helping Your Boss Monitor Your Performance 245 Service: Lesson Plan #9 – Putting Yourself on a Performance Improvement Plan 248 Teaching How to Play Your Position 249 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 253 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #2 – Defining the Dimensions of Playing Your Role on the Team/Teamwork 255 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #3 – Your Role in Relation to the Mission 257 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #4 – Coordinating, Cooperating, and Collaborating with Others 258 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #5 – Supporting and Celebrating the Success of Others 260 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #6 – Identifying Your “Go To” People and Building Relationships with Them 261 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #7 – Becoming a “Go To” Person for Others 262 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #8 – How to Use Influence to Get Things Done 263 Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #9 – Consider the Lessons About Teamwork from This US Air Force Special Operations Team 264 Lesson Plan List: 92 Different Lesson Plans 267 Acknowledgments 273 About the Author 277 Index 279