Bridging the Soft Skills Gap

BRUCE TULGAN is a sought-after speaker, leader, and advisor to businesses and executives around the world. He is the Founder of RainmakerThinking, Inc., which works with top companies on improving their management practices, as well as the bestselling author of It’s Okay to be the Boss, Managing Generation X, and Not Everyone Gets a Trophy.

• Part One the Soft Skills Gap 1Prologue Meet the Workforce of the Future 3Chapter 1 The Soft Skills Gap 9The Soft Skills Gap: Growing Steadily from Gen X to Millennials to Gen Z to Whoever Comes Next 11Something Much Larger Is Going on Here: The Post- Boomer Generational Shift 11Soft Skills Are – Sort of – About Conforming in an Age of Non conformism 14The Soft Skills Gap: The Missing Basics in Today’s Workforce 17Face the Hard Realities of the Soft Skills Gap 24Chapter 2 You Can’t Hire Your Way Around the Soft Skills Gap 27Staffing Strategy and Hiring 28Onboarding and Up- to- Speed Training 33Performance Management and Talent Development36 Ongoing Training 38The Human Element: What Role Are You Going to Play? 43Become a Teaching Style Manager 45Take It to the Next Level 48Chapter 3 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 49Drill Down: The Missing Basics 52Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 54Unlocking the Power: The Rest of This Book 59Part Two Teaching the Missing Basics 61Chapter 4 Teaching the Missing Basics of Professionalism 63Teaching Self- Evaluation 63Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #1 68Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #2 – Evaluating Yourself on Ability, Skill, and Will 69Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #3 – Evaluating Yourself on Productivity, Quality, and Behavior 70Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #4 – Evaluating Yourself on the Key Soft Skills Competencies71Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #5 – Drill Down on Understanding the Key Soft Skills Competencies76Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #6 – Explore Your Own Successes with the Key Soft Skills 80Teaching Personal Responsibility 84Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 86Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #2 – All the Factors That Get in Your Way 87Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #3 – Considering the Most Common Factors, Mostly Outside Your Own Control, That Get in the Way at Work 88Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #4 – Response Power 90Teaching Positive Attitude 92Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #1 – Considering Theories of How to Be Your Best at Work 94Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #2 – Defining “Good Attitude” Behaviors 95Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #3 – Considering the Most Common Bad Attitudes 96Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #4 – Considering Good Attitude Behaviors 98Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #5 – for Individuals Who Need an Attitude Adjustment100Teaching Good Work Habits 101Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #1 – Overview: Wellness, Self- Presentation, Timeliness, Productivity, Attention to Detail, Follow- Through, Initiative 104Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #2 – Self- Assessment 106Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #3 – Self- Improvement Planning 108Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #4 – Wellness 109Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #5 – Planning a Wellness Initiative 110Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #6 – Self- Presentation 113Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #7 – Using a Time Log to Learn to Start Living by a Schedule 115Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #8 – How to Make a Basic Project Plan 119Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #9 – Taking Notes and Making Checklists 121Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #10 – How to Do a Time/Motion Study on Your Own Work 123Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #11 – Spotlight on Follow- Through 124Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #12 – Going the Extra Mile 125Teaching Interpersonal Communication Skills 126Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 129Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #2 – Self-Assessment 131Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #3 – Learning to Use the “People List” 133Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #4 – Put More Structure into Your Communication 137Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #5 – Put More Substance into Your Communication 139Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #6 – Preparing for Meetings 141Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #7 – Email Best Practices 142Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #8 – Communicating Remotely 144Chapter 5 Teaching the Missing Basics of Critical Thinking 147Teaching Proactive Learning 147Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #1 – Knowledge Work 151Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #2 – Open Mind 155Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #3 – Suspend Judgment, Question Assumptions, and Seek to Learn 158Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #4 – Question Assumptions: What Do You Know? What Don’t You Know? 160Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #5 – Seeking Out Information, Technique, and Perspective 161Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #6 – Studying Information to Build Knowledge164Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #7 – Practicing Technique to Build Skills 166Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #8 – Contemplating Competing Perspectives to Build Wisdom 168Teaching Problem Solving 170Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 173Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #2 – Preventing or Avoiding Problems Before They Happen 174Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #3 – Ready- Made Solutions to Commonly Occurring Problems 175Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #4 – Common Denominators and Underlying Principles 177Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #5 – Applying the “After- Action” Review Tool 178Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #6 – Using the After- Action Review Tool to Learn from Others 180Teaching Decision Making 181Decision Making: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 184Decision Making: Lesson Plan #2 – Information Analysis: Simple Pros and Cons 186Decision Making: Lesson Plan #3 – Cause and Effect: Positive Outcomes 188Decision Making: Lesson Plan #4 – Cause and Effect: Negative Outcomes 189Decision Making: Lesson Plan #5 – Applying the After- Action Review Tool 190Decision Making: Lesson Plan #6 – Using the “Decision/Action Tree” 191Chapter 6 Teaching the Missing Basics of Teamwork 193Teaching Respect for Context 193Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 196Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #2 – Reading the Structure, Rules, Customs, Leadership 197Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #3 – Where Do You Fit? 199Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #4 – What Do You Need to Do to Adapt? 200Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #5 – Context- Limiting Factors 201Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #6 – Complicated Relationships 202Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #7 – Positive Contexts 203Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #8 – Negative Contexts 204Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #9 – Dealing with People with Bad Attitudes 205Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #10 – Dealing with People with “Great” Attitudes 207Teaching Citizenship 208Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 211Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #2 – The “Respect” for Others Model 213Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #3 – The “Best Interests” Model 215Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #4 – The “Civic” Model 216Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #5 – The “Communitarian” Model 217Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #6 – The “Common Sense” Model 218Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #7 – The “Solid Standards” Model 220Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #8 – The “Personal Sacrifice” Model 222Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #9 – The Theodore Roosevelt Model 224Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #10 – Create Your Own Model 225Teaching Service 226Service: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 230Service: Lesson Plan #2 – Common Myths About “Service” in the Workplace 232Service: Lesson Plan #3 – Realities About Service in the Workplace 233Service: Lesson Plan #4 – Myths Versus Realities in the Workplace 234Service: Lesson Plan #5 – The “Be a Great Employee” Model of Service 239Service: Lesson Plan #6 – The “Service” Approach to One- on- Ones Between Managers and Direct Reports 240Service: Lesson Plan #7 – The Service Approach to Meeting Attendance and Participation 243Service: Lesson Plan #8 – Helping Your Boss Monitor Your Performance 245Service: Lesson Plan #9 – Putting Yourself on a Performance Improvement Plan 248Teaching How to Play Your Position 249Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #1 – Introduction 253Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #2 – Defining the Dimensions of Playing Your Role on the Team/Teamwork 255Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #3 – Your Role in Relation to the Mission 257Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #4 – Coordinating, Cooperating, and Collaborating with Others 258Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #5 – Supporting and Celebrating the Success of Others 260Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #6 – Identifying Your “Go To” People and Building Relationships with Them 261Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #7 – Becoming a “Go To” Person for Others 262Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #8 – How to Use Influence to Get Things Done 263Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #9 – Consider the Lessons About Teamwork from This US Air Force Special Operations Team 264Lesson Plan List: 92 Different Lesson Plans 267Acknowledgments 273About the Author 277Index 279