Soft Skills for Emerging Leaders Successful Meetings, Effective Communication, and Leveraging Generational Differences Andrew Clough, April Malvino, Joy Brown

What are Soft Skills? These skills include the ability to communicate, work with the public or customers, your constituents, and your peers or employees. • Technical Skills – Knowledge of Your Business • Leadership Skills – The Ability to Get your Team to Perform Well • Soft Skills – The Ability to Professionalize your Work and Communicate Your Business Message.

Why are Soft Skills Important? • Technical Skills will get you the interview, but it’s the soft skills that get you the job • 80% of achievements in career are determined by soft skills and only 20% by hard skills • #1 important soft skill - Communication

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings • Why do we have meetings? • What was your worst meeting? • What was the most effective meeting you ever attended?

Time is Money • Does it have to be a meeting? Email, conference call? Coffee? • Is there another way to get the result? • Respect your time and their time

• Status updates can be efficiently provided over email

Managing Successful Meetings • Introductions • Make your objective clear • Invite the right attendees, and excuse others after their item has been addressed • Stick to the agenda • Don’t get derailed • Start on time, end on time • Consider banning technology • Follow Up

Attending Meetings • Put down the smart phone • Be prepared - read the agenda ahead of time, bring necessary info • If you don’t speak up, you can’t be heard • Ask questions • Provide suggestions, solutions

Generational Differences

Who do you identify with?

Generational Differences TRADITIONALISTS babyboomers GENERATION X MILLENIALS Communications Feedback

Rewards

Balance

Face to Face Formal Memo No News is Good News

In Person Formal Email/Cell Phone Memo Once a year with Instant, documentation Immediate feedback

Text Messaging Individualized Feedback at the push of a button! The satisfaction of a Money, title, the Freedom is the Work that has job well done corner office ultimate meaning for response me! Support me in Help me balance Balance now, not Flexibility so I shifting the balance everyone else & at 60 can balance all find meaning my activities myself

Avoid Stereotyping! Take into account differences amongst team members may be due to life experiences, age, life events Not all members of a generation share the same preferences and characteristics.

Generational Differences “I feel included at work when….”

What generational differences are you seeing?

Communication is Key!!

By 2020, 50% of the workforce will be Millennials.

Communication Challenge

Effective Communication The successful conveying of ideas and feelings.

Methods of Communication • Verbal

• Meetings • Telephone • Public Speaking

• Non Verbal • • • • • •

Clothing Gestures Facial Expressions Silence Eye contact Posture

• Written • • • • • • •

Business Letters Memos Emails Test Messages Council Reports Blogs Social Media

Barriers to Effective Communication Stress and Out of Control Emotions Lack of Focus

Negative Body Language

Cultural Differences

Political Beliefs Resistance to Change Ethics

Perspective

Beauty

Organizational Structure Popularity

Multi-tasking

Aspirations

Health

Assumptions Motives

Language

Defensiveness

Lack of Respect

Generations

Education

Cultural Differences Eye Rolling

Values

Assumptions Standards Position Gender Economic Social Status Inconsistent Body Language Day Dreaming Temperament Age

Communication Challenge

The Cost of Failing to Communicate • 70% of mistakes in the workplace are the direct result of poor communications. • 80% of the people who fail at work do so because they do not relate well to other people

Communication Challenge Our biggest communications problem is we do not listen to understand.

We listen to reply.

It Starts with Respect

Improve Your Communication Skills • Be an engaged listener • Pay attention to non-verbal signals • Keep stress and emotions in check • Assert yourself • Be Clear and Concise • Use the right medium • Provide feedback • Know your audience

• Treat People with Respect

You Never Said They Were Big Mountains

Skills You Want • What training can APWA NorCal provide you, your coworkers, your boss?

Questions? Comments?