People entering the professional world are better educated than ever before. Their technical skills are often off-the-charts, helping them make short work of even the most challenging tasks. At the same time, however, many of these very same people lack soft skills we’ve often taken for granted.
In the newly revised second edition of Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to the New Hybrid Workforce, veteran business advisor, speaker, and consultant Bruce Tulgan delivers a practical and incisive roadmap to developing crucial professionalism, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. You’ll also find: - A collection of 92 instructive lesson plans designed to break soft skills down into their component parts and teach them one manageable piece at a time - An exploration of the soft skills gap, including what it means and how its impact on your organization will be felt - Explanations of why you can’t hire your way around a soft skills gap
An essential leadership handbook for executives, managers, and other business leaders, Bridging the Soft Skills Gap is a must-read resource for human resources professionals, team leaders, and front-line employees who deal with promising, but unpolished, talent.
Table of Contents
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
