Key competencies: communicating and influencing
In the first of series of monthly articles Ros Pepper, Organisational Development Manager at the University of Lincoln, offers insight into key workplace competencies and provides tips towards developing these further
n the payroll profession, development time is often committed to compliance and understanding legislation leaving personal development overlooked. Read on to think about this for your personal development, and give yourself a few moments to reflect on your own practice.
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Soft skills We all know that in a busy workplace the pressure is on to focus on process and knowledge – but how often do we have the chance to stand back and think about the ‘soft skills’ required?
And what do we mean by ‘soft skills’?
Well, this is a term used to describe personal attributes and behaviours that can go a long way to enhance an individual’s interactions with others, performance on the job, and certainly support future career prospects. So, do these really matter? If you think about the Latin word, communicate, this means to make
...TIME IS OFTEN COMMITTED TO COMPLIANCE AND UNDERSTANDING LEGISLATION LEAVING PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OVERLOOKED
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common or to share. So, if you view this around the context of communicating and influencing, the sharing of information and how you can have an effect on this becomes an important part of how you operate and also how you are perceived and is therefore valuable to be aware of. Within the workplace environment, it is also about communicating effectively in a variety of situations. Consistently selecting the most appropriate mode of communication and promoting dialogue between colleagues is a valuable asset to have, where continually adapting your style to the audience can set you apart from others.
How do you know if you are an effective communicator? Okay, so we communicate all the time, but ask yourself how often do you give yourself an opportunity to think about how you do this and how it might come across to others? Consider the following.
Sharing information and encouraging two-way communication l Do you tell people what is going on, as needed? What methods do you use and why? Is that best for you or the other person? We all have ways of working and preferred styles, so do you ever take the opportunity to find out how people want to receive information from you (especially if this is on a regular basis), and is this the most effective and convenient method for both parties? l Do you keep your messages clear and
simple and appropriate to your audience? l Do you ever give people ‘a good listening to’? We get used to the phrase where someone needs ‘a good talking to’, but when do we ever think about the same for listening as a technique? Do you invite comments when putting across a point of view and encourage involvement? Think about recent important conversations you have held recently – what is the ratio of talking to listening? What should this be? Think about how you could manage this next time and what difference would this make to the person/ people involved and the outcome. l What happens when someone puts across an alternative view? How do you consider counter views or arguments? Think about the people you work with at all levels, are they prepared to offer varying views do you think? If not, why not? l How observant are you as to the style of others? Do you try to understand the potential issues and concerns of others? If so, how do you take this into
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