SOFTSKILLS
Don’t just survive,
start to thrive
Despite the doom and gloom of a slowing economy, you can enhance your reputation
and skills to become a key player
R
etrenchment is now a reality across China as align with their goals and motivations? Invest some time to under-
companies’ prepare for slower growth. Assuming you stand more about your colleagues. This is not only good for your
want to keep your job, three practical tips will help get career, but you will enjoy your job more.
you through this rough patch. While building these connections, you can also skill up your
toolkit.
Turn off the TV
Win the mind game. Professional sports people are coached to Expand your comfort zone
block out all negative thoughts and focus only on success. You Even if your company has frozen training programs, you can
must do the same. Remove all negative reminders of how bad still improve your personal skillset with low-cost no-cost methods.
the world is. You don’t need the TV on to know that One way is to become more active inside your com-
things are rough. For one week, avoid all news pany. Look and ask around for opportunities to
stories on TV, in newspapers and the internet. support colleagues in areas you want to un-
Instead, read non-fiction books, take a walk, derstand more. Offer to support on-going
visit the gym or swimming pool. Most an- projects. Take colleagues to lunch and ask
cient wisdom believes that you become them about their work roles. This broad-
that what you think about most. So start ens your understanding for your company
creating a picture of the person you want and industry and increases your personal
to become. visibility.
Once you have control of your mental Focus on building up your soft skills. For
state, you are ready to look at ways to communication, join public speaking orga-
become a more valuable team member. nizations like Toastmasters, where you can
master self-expression in front of a supportive
Understand and strengthen your key rela- audience. Presentation abilities cross over into
tionships your business life as a life-long skill. Look out for free
A large IT company recently retrenched 3% of their China and low cost evening seminars where invited experts share
team – well below industry natural attrition rates. A friend was one their knowledge and experience. Make sure you ask them ques-
of those “selected”, and when I asked him why, he said that he tions. Look for on-line learning. Your company may have a learning
didn’t get on well with his manager. It’s common HR knowledge database that you can use to upgrade your industry knowledge.
that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. Well With podcasting so popular now, you can find good content in
in down times, this works the other way. Managers first remove every subject. Search using your industry key words, chances are
people they don’t like. Is this fair? To my mind, yes it is! Because someone is already blogging and podcasting on it.
if you think that your technical skills alone are enough to build a Today we looked at three ways to thrive in a rough recession.
successful managerial career, then you need an icepack on your Control the information you allow into your mind, find and strength-
neck. Soft skills – which include the ability to build good relation- en key relationships and expand your comfort zone by learning
ships - are essential. new skills.
Build good working relationships: your manager, your depart-
ment head, the HR manager and also your direct reports. Middle
management are getting cut to save costs. So unless you are
Warwick John Fahy coaches managers to higher
known as a high performing manager, you are in trouble. Become
performance across Asia. He leads interactive, en-
gaging workshops that improve essential manage-
more attentive to the objectives of your manager. How do they
ment skills. He is the author of The One Minute Pre-
like information to be communicated to them? How can you better senter available at
www.oneminutepresenter.com
www.chainaonline.com MAY/JUNE 2009 17
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