Are skills enough to get the job?

What skills do you need to stay raise your employability, command a high salary and be deeply satisfied? Long gone are the days where skills training alone can perform magic and I'm so glad that Mckinsey has published the findings from a survey of 18000 people in 15 countries. To future-proof one's career, new skills and attitudes are required - but which ones? Mckinsey's survey highlighted 56 DELTAs - distinct elements of talent which are a mix of skills and attitudes. What's noteworthy is exhibit 5 which is shown below. Top 3 DELTAs for better employment: 1. Synthesising messages 2. Coping with uncertainty 3. Adapatability Top 3 DELTAs for higher income: 1. Self-confidence 2. Workplan development 3. Organizational awareness Top 3 DELTAs for high job satisfaction: 1. Self-confidence 2. Coping with uncertainty 3. Self-motivation and wellness Just by looking at the overlapping DELTAs, coping with uncertainty and self-confidence are important skills and attitudes to develop. In my agile leadership methodology, I define Agility as the ability to 'lead in uncertainties and complexities with a sense of ease of authenticity' which I believe, supports the development of the two DELTAs. Do you agree with Mckinsey's survey? Let me know in the comments. https://lnkd.in/gf9VAMT #leadership #coaching #motivation #success #training #management #ChuenChuenYeo #agileleadership

Doing your job well may get you recognised, rewarded, and even a nice bonus at the end of the year. But will it get you promoted to your dream job? Not likely, unless you do four things: 1. WANT AND WORK. Many go with the flow. If they get promoted great, if they don't, well maybe next year. And then there are ambitious employees (AEs) who know what job they WANT and will WORK to get it. They are able to articulate clearly and concisely why they want the job, the value they will bring to it and how it will impact them. AEs will also work to earn it by acquiring relevant skills and accumulating relevant experience. They know there are no free lunches. 2. ENGAGE. AEs will engage leaders who are in a position to help them get their dream jobs. These would include their managers and also managers from other divisions and senior executives in the company. To have effective engagement, they hone their skill in personal branding and networking. In addition, they are not just takers. They give and help everyone who is in their network. 3. DEMONSTRATE. Many will never purchase a car without doing a test drive. Similarly, many leaders will not promote an employee to an important role if they did not believe the employee could be successful. So how do AEs get a chance to demonstrate what they can do? They volunteer to do an assignment no one else is keen on, lead a complex task, make significant presentations. 4. PRACTICES. The best AEs have a set of practices that help them be successful - They perform, are honest, are knowledgeable and can talk beyond their pay grade, and they work to help their team and others be successful too. Also, they don't brag, and whilst they are savvy, they stay away from office politics. So if you see employees with these qualities, look them up and give them the opportunity they want and deserve. Remember if you don't, then they will do #5: find the dream job elsewhere.

Don't take soft skills for granted - you may have a natural predisposition for some of these skills, but you're not a master until you spend a great deal of time in training. Let's just take one example - how good are you at making conversation? A few of the key aspects of an effective conversation are listening, active cognitive empathy, and asking relevant questions. Listening takes practice - most ambitious folks are absolute gasbags and need to rein in their desire to make a point or a rebuttal. Start practicing. Active cognitive empathy requires that you remind yourself to see things from another person's point of view. Since human beings ordinarily prefer to see things from their own point of view, this is pretty unnatural until you've trained yourself. Start practicing. Asking relevant questions helps to propel the conversation forward and demonstrate interest - this is essential if you are hoping to gather more than surface level insight. You'll have to learn to think on the fly with a minimum of information. Start practicing. The list doesn't end there - every single "soft skill" that is talked about as a buzzword is its own deep field of expertise, and they can lead to some very quantifiable real-world benefits. Conversation is a key ingredient in networking, negotiation, relationship building, stakeholder management - I could go on forever. So let's stop underestimating soft skills or reducing them to buzzwords and treat them with the same respect that we give to hard skills like coding or data analysis. #softskills #leadership #business #networking #entrepreneurship

Landing your dream job takes confidence. This involves knowing who you are and what you're meant to contribute, establishing a clear vision and path, and building in-demand skills. The right support will get you there faster, and with greater ease.

Why are they still referred to as "soft skills"?? They are FOUNDATIONAL skills.

Building confidence is key as a leader. I feel if someone is made to feel they can’t do a job, they are much more likely to have low self esteem and make more errors. Lift an employee up, train them and make sure they know you have their back and they will thrive. #leadernotboss #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #employeeengagement

Great piece in The New York Times about how helping people land good jobs with career paths takes more than just task-specific skills training. It takes a more human approach: coaching, mentoring, and support that helps people be more resilient. As one expert puts it, “it’s about seeing connections and building confidence.”

Great piece in The New York Times about how helping people land good jobs with career paths takes more than just task-specific skills training. It takes a more human approach: coaching, mentoring, and support that helps people be more resilient. As one expert puts it, “it’s about seeing connections and building confidence.”

This is excellent. I love seeing communities and business partner for skills based training. We need more of this. Not saying we don’t also need college education, I think we need both, and different people will have a different mix. What your companies and communities doing? Any success stories you can share? Curious to hear what you have! #jobs #training #trades #skills

Helping people get good jobs with career paths takes more than skills training, labor experts say. It takes coaching, mentoring and other assistance. “It’s about seeing connections and building confidence,” one expert said. https://nyti.ms/3qhaKvB