THE MOST VALUABLE SKILLS ARE OFTEN UNDEFINED
Todd Dewett, PhD
Author, Keynote Speaker, Best-selling Educator at LinkedIn Learning, Leadership Guru, 5xTEDx speaker
How do they evaluate you at work?? One solid answer is that they evaluate your ability as an accountant or project manager or data analyst.? When it’s time for performance evaluations, they evaluate your core job skills as a primary focus.? As a secondary focus, the evaluation usually addresses a few people skills.? Here they consider communication skills, team skills, leadership ability, and so on.? That’s extremely useful.? However, there is also a tertiary focus that is often as strong as the other two – that is rarely included in performance evaluations – but has a strong influence on those conducting the evaluations.? These skills are largely undefined, but very often define your success.
They are not skills you learn through training.? You don’t learn about them in college.? Nonetheless, they are powerful assets that you might possess that become immensely important to you when others are making decisions about you.? Don’t forget, the more you advance, the more everyone at the next level is similarly talented, thus, to differentiate yourself, improving on the primary or secondary skills noted above is not sufficient.? This third group may not be front and center in your evaluation, but they are definitely top of mind when decision makers are looking at you and others for a given opportunity.? That’s because they are about you making the team better, not just working on or advocating for yourself.
This topic is so important that I have decided to create a full course soon.? In the meantime, here are five examples of people at work who do great things that are hard to measure, but easily seen, and highly valued:
The translator.? This is a person skilled at finding common ground and bringing people together. ?Very often tension is created within teams when people don’t agree with how to assess a situation, how to solve a problem, or how to deal with a difficult team dynamic.? Usually, there is a small bit of misunderstanding and a failure to see overlap or common ground in competing perspectives.? The translator sees these possible bridges and is articulate enough to share them in a way that helps the team move past an impasse.? They translate what appears to be disagreement into some form of partial agreement.? They share a possible path forward while also reducing tension.
The devil’s advocate.? This is a teammate who is skilled at offering new insights and honest evaluations of others’ ideas.? Pressure at work can lead to stress, foul moods, and a lot of censoring.? As a result, people often sit on new ideas instead of sharing them.? They just don’t want the extra stress that comes with opening yourself up to criticism.? The devil’s advocate does not let that possibility stop them.? They appreciate debate and are not afraid of tough conversations.? So, they speak up, and not just to share, but to be appropriately critical of other ideas or decisions within the team.? They seek a little more conversation instead of a little less so we can ensure a higher level of buy-in on decisions that are ultimately made.?
The process observer.? This astute colleague is skilled at keeping us on track and within bounds through a focus on proper methods, rules, and processes.? Sometimes the pace of work leads us to cut corners.? Sometimes we inadvertently violate a norm, rule, regulation, or guideline just because we’re in a hurry.? Occasionally, we even expand the scope of the challenge we’re facing when we don’t need to, and in the process lose focus on our goals.? The process observer calls out possible violations, whether that be not following a known protocol, getting too off course with some of our work, or just telling everyone that we really need to focus because we’re falling behind.? It’s a brave and savvy person who can effectively deliver these messages and steer the team away from trouble and back on track.
The soldier.? We all know that employee who is always willing to try the new thing, take the tough assignment, and agree to do the extra unexpected work whenever it happens. Maybe we need one team member to go to an unpopular event to represent the team.? Or say we need someone to agree to be on a project team in a physical location no one wants to visit.? It can be as simple as the customer changing what they need, requiring some of us to work over the weekend.? The soldier has a palpable sense of duty.? They step up.? When they do, they also increase the odds of others following suit.? They are reliable in tough situations, which is completely invaluable.?
Finally, consider the teacher.? This is a person who likes to learn and is willing and able to explain new things to others.? Let’s say a new law or regulation has been passed that will impact the team.? They dive in, decipher the legalese, and get the team up to speed.? Or maybe the team must adopt a new piece of software.? Someone must go to a training class, learn it, and explain it to the team.? When nearly any form of change hits the team, the teacher is a facilitator that helps everyone learn.? Remember how much you loved that friend back in school who was always willing to help you in a few of your more difficult courses?? That’s why the teacher is highly valued and almost always respected and well-liked.?
You might get lucky and have your skill in these different areas noted on an evaluation.? Usually, they are just tough to measure impressions that you have made on others.? Meaningful impressions that push their view of you in a very positive direction.? To advance in your career, you must be clearly above average in terms of core job skills, and strong in terms of communication and team skills, but the secret sauce that helps you often isn’t measured or mentioned.? The higher the stakes, the more the decision-maker will want to bet on someone who isn’t just great, but great at making everyone better.? That’s a skillset that will help you bring success to yourself and many others whether it shows up on your evaluation or not.?
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WHAT’S UP WITH DR. D?
Amazon is now using AI-generated summaries of customer reviews for the reader who does not want to spend too much time looking through individual reviews.? Here is what the AI generated for Dancing with Monsters:
“Customers find the book terrific, important, and great for work teams to read. They appreciate the structure and storytelling. Readers describe the author as an amazing storyteller, captivating, and entertaining.”
I suspect me and AI are going to get along just fine :)
I hope this note finds you all well and looking forward to a fun holiday season.? Ah, the holidays – often a gluttonous time of supreme self-indulgence.? Turkey, ham, side dishes galore, pies, beer, wine, booze!? This is one of the reasons I’ve already started a little early on Sober October, a fun month away from alcohol (and for me, poor food choices as well) that I enjoy each year.? It’s a great way to reboot your health and attitude.? It also reminds me to enjoy a few of the indulgences the holidays afford without overdoing it.?
Until next time – go learn something, maybe help someone, or at least do something interesting!
My books:? https://tinyurl.com/yvwuvmaw
Me on stage:? https://bit.ly/3EfcDSb
Book me:? https://bit.ly/3WHeRB0?
All links in one place:? https://linktr.ee/drdewett.
Team Manager, Financial Analyst @ Financial Sector, Banks | Master's in Economics, Banking Strategy, M&A, Cross-Border Transactions, Corporate Banking, Risk Assessment Expert
1 个月If we evaluate an employee at work based, among other things, on hard and soft skills, we must also pay attention to the third group. As far as I understand, every team within an organization made up of vertically integrated units needs a translator, a coach, a process observer, and a soldier. For me, the role of devil's advocate is a bit controversial. In my understanding, it is more of an innovator and moderator with a share of advocacy and propaganda. As for the translator, I would not call such a person that, because of "interpreter". In the English dictionary, these are synonyms. But in practice, everything is a little different. Firstly, for many people who have worked professionally with human translators, this definition is often associated with a more simplified vocabulary. Secondly, technical translation tools enhanced by AI are called translators. In the political dictionary, "translator" is always strengthened by the addition of "written", i.e. with AI. Thirdly, it is the interpreters who work with many international papers translate them accurately, but not word for word. A foreign language absorb the culture of its nation, reflect its thinking and, in some ways, even its standard of decision-making.
Helping Speakers, Trainers, Facilitators, and anyone who stands up in front of an audience become more humorous, confident, spontaneous, and effective. WHERE ARE YOU STUCK?
1 个月"Reading the Room." Also known as "Taking the Temperature. and adjusting your interactions.
Through my LinkedIn Learning courses and workshops, I help business professionals get their point across and drive change. || Communication Educator and Coach, LinkedIn Learning Author
1 个月Being "coachable" seems like one of those unspoken types of behaviors. I think it means being open to and responsive to feedback.
Responsable Qualité & Ingénieur civil expérimenté | Méthode & Spécialiste en Assurance Qualité et Gestion de Projet | Développeur de Systèmes d'Information pour la Gestion de Projet
1 个月You will be surprised to see that in a large company I’ve worked, we only evolve and lengthen the yes man, So we have a large Turn-Over and shutdown of employees without evaluation.
Leadership Strategist & Speaker | Award-Winning Author | Transforming Leaders & Their Organizations through Actionable Strategies
1 个月The process observer reminds me of what we used to call the self-appointed safety patrol Todd. This requires a delicate balance so as not to annoy the heck of a team. ??