SkillsThis is the second in the series Performance and productivity essentials. Performance is about how well you do something and productivity is the volume of work you achieve. In the last newsletter we talked about Clarity.
In this article, we will deal with Skills. Skills are the acquisition of competencies which enable you to do your job effectively and include cognitive skills (such as thinking skills, concentration, memory, logic and decision making), professional skills (which are job-specific such as HR, java, closing the sale, management accounting, etc) and interpersonal skills including conflict management, networking, leadership and the like.
If you did a personal SWOT analysis as advised in the first article of this series, you will have a good idea about what your strengths and weaknesses are.
It is important to play to your strengths and either delegate your weaknesses (ie IT skills, finance, admin, marketing) or develop these abilities within yourself.
However, anyone who watches any kind of reality program will know that we aren’t always aware of our weaknesses and we can exaggerate some of our strengths. Self-insight is imperative and will be covered in a future newsletter. In the meantime, I wonder if you are you aware of your blind spot? Do you get feedback from others which you reject out of hand? Or do you think people don’t understand you? It may be helpful to be more open about receiving feedback from people because there is often a little truth in there which, if acted upon, could help build your skills and your effectiveness.
There are personality profiles, 360° assessments (where you get feedback from people who work with you) and aptitude/ability tests which can all help to give you greater clarity about your skills and development needs. A good profile will help you to understand your interpersonal style, thinking style, coping style, team role, leadership role, influencing style, potential strengths and development needs. When you know these, you can really work to develop yourself. Your individual style will affect your behaviour which will influence your performance.
It is also useful to consider the degree to which you have a skill as they can be overused or underused.
Let’s see an example from my 5 top skills for personal effectiveness:
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FOCUS
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Underused
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Definition
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Overused
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| Easily distracted. Difficulty focusing on one thing at a time. |
The ability to attend to a task at hand to the exclusion of distractions whilst maintaining awareness of the bigger picture. |
So focused on the task at hand that they fail to see what else is going on which may require attention. |
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INFLUENCING SKILLS
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Underused
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Definition
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Overused
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Shy or lacking in confidence. May avoid conflict and is unlikely to put forward ideas. May be easily intimidated.
Too passive or anxious to influence.
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The ability to positively persuade people to a course of action whilst maintaining good relationships and loyalty. Influencing through motivation.
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Uses power of position or personality to coerce or manipulate people to a course of action. Influencing through fear.
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TIME MANAGEMENT
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Underused
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Definition
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Overused
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May make promises they can’t keep. May have difficulty saying no and be easily distracted. Is likely to have difficulty setting priorities.
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Effectively prioritises tasks and manages time to produce the best results in the least time. Able to multi-task and manage changing priorities whilst setting realistic expectations and maintaining good relationships. |
Inflexible about time and will stringently adhere to agenda and/or priorities regardless of changing needs. May be impatient or fail to build rapport as they can be more task-focused than people-focused.
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PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
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Underused
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Definition
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Overused
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| Technical skills appropriate for the job are either under-developed or out of date. May make mistakes because of lack of aptitude or experience. May need strong supervision or may be accurate but slow due to inexperience. |
Has the technical skills appropriate to undertake the job to the highest level (ie the latest programming skills for a programmer) and blends these with other skills to ensure effectiveness in work/business.
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Has very strong job-specific professional skills but is unaware of the need to balance these with other skills. May over-develop skills beyond the needs of the job and potentially at the expense of other skills needed. |
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PROBLEM SOLVING
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Underused
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Definition
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Overused
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May feel intimidated or overwhelmed by problems and be unable to see the big picture. May feel fearful about taking any steps in case the wrong decisions are made. Is likely to delegate upwards very early in the process.
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Sees problems clearly and is able to use logic to determine appropriate courses of action. Takes into account consequences and risks before selecting the solution which has the most positive impact in the circumstances. Clearly sees the big picture.
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Very quick to make decisions and may not consider the consequences or the effect on others. Alternatively, may have a tendency to overanalyse at the cost of making timely decisions.
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These are examples of definitions in my five favourite areas affecting performance and productivity that I believe help most people to be more effective. What are your key skills which help you in your role/business? What skill lack is affecting your ability to perform at your best? There are many and a full assessment by a professional is a great investment in you and your role/business.
In addition, it is useful to think about what are the areas of your work that you can delegate to someone else? This is particularly helpful if their time is cheaper than yours and if, once delegated, it is something they can keep doing for you without your constant input. Of course, delegation is another skill and one which can be learnt.
If you would like to experience coaching to develop your skills, or a personality profile, do contact me on 0845 130 0854.
Next time we will be looking at Energy, the third essential for performance and productivity.
© Tricia Woolfrey, PW Consulting.Limited, 2011
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