by Nancy Jackson

Nancy Jackson, Ph.D., is an educator, mediator, and consultant in

communications applications. She has written a book, The Worker’s Dozen,

which focuses on the essential skills that are crucial for workplace

effectiveness. She can be reached at Nancy Jackson and Associates,

(303) 363-1 930 or NanSolo@aol.com.

“...there seems to be a systematic under- valuation in this country of how much difference it can make when people are well educated and when their skills are continuously developed and challenged. This underestimation of human resources becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, for it translates into a pattern of training for work that turns out badly educated workers with skills that are narrow and hence vulnerable to rapid obsolesce.” (quoted in Carnevale, Training & Development 1990)

Whether you manage a beauty salon, weld steel, conduct an orchestra, or work in an office, you should have more than technical skills. Certainly you must know how to cut hair, weld, read music, or use a computer. But no matter what you are doing, you also have to communicate and solve prob- lems. You must have the professional interaction skills.

Communication and problem-solving will help you be more effective on the job no matter what kind of work you do. They will also help you at home and in social situations. Social interaction skills and problem-solving skills will make your life easier and help you achieve your goals faster with less effort.

Background The world has changed. We are in the midst of a revolution comparable to the industrial revolution of the 19th centu- ry. Nothing is the same as it was in “the good old days” (whatever that means).

The perception of many people in the workforce today (and those just getting out of school) is that they are hovering on the brink of a hurricane of changing technologies, changing companies, and changing rules. They have no reliable way to predict the future.

After all, who, in the 1960s, could have predicted PCs on every desk, the fax, Internet, e-mail. Who would have pre- dicted cat scans or “managed care”? What happened to secretaries and tele- phone operators? And who, sitting in the comfort of their living room watch- ing the evening news on television, would have predicted the fall of the Soviet empire, the end of apartheid, and the explosion of TV channels, video games, and electronic music?

It’s a new ball game, and the effect on individuals is real. The downsizing waves of the ’80s and ’90s have left workers cynical and worried. The New York Times (3/7/96) states that 36 mil- lion jobs have been eliminated between 1979 and 1993. Indeed, the largest sin- gle employer in the United States is Manpower, a temporary job supplier, at 767,000 people a year. New jobs are in services, health care, the computer and telecommunication fields. Many jobs are in areas that did not exist until recently.

We are in something called a “global economy.” What that means is essen- tially that employees are not just com- peting with their neighbors for jobs, but they are competing with people all

32 performance improvement / april1997

around the world. Companies have had to change their way of doing things to contend in this fast-paced global mar- ketplace. It may be true that “all politics is local” but it isn’t true of the economy. Changes in one part of the world affect all others.

How do you prepare for a career in a field that hasn’t been developed yet? How do you deal with the fact that as soon as you get a degree the informa- tion is obsolete? Technology is changing the shape of our world at a dizzying pace. Who can predict what will come next?

Even the people we work with are changing. Diversity in the workplace is not just an empty phrase. The faces in organizations are changing: more women, more diversity in terms of eth- nic background, age and physical capa- bilities. How do we communicate with one another when our backgrounds and experiences (even languages) are different?

How do you prepare for the workplace of tomorrow? What skills will workers need? As an engineer in a leadership class once said, “Engineering is chang- ing so fast that we can’t call it a hard skill anymore. It’s the so-called soft skills of communication that are the real hard skills, the skills that last no matter what the technology.” He is right.

The skills employers want in employees - the skills that the SCANS commis- sion has identified - the skills that are looked for by every interviewer, are process skills such as communication, decision-making, and problem-solving. A person doesn’t just punch a clock and do a job anymore. Involvement, com- mitment, and creativity are becoming essential.

Future workers will have to have process skills. The amount of informa- tion is growing so rapidly that no one can possibly master any subject area. Employees will have to know how to access information, solve problems, make decisions, and coordinate with

others. It means they need skills com- munication, listening, conflict resolu- tion and team building.

In a Department of Labor publication, Readings on Labor Management Relations and Cooperative Programs, Richard E. Walton says:

“In this new commitment-based approach to the work force, jobs are designed to be broader than before, to combine planning and implementation,

Technology will change not only how many jobs there will be, but the kinds of jobs available. Now workers are needed who can think on their feet, who can understand complex processes, who can communicate, and who will take responsibility.

Throughout the country as organiza- tions downsize, add technology, and reengineer, workers are called on to make decisions, solve problems, and work on teams. The complexity of our

Technology is changing the shape of our world at a dizzying pace. Who can predict what will come next?

and to include efforts to upgrade opera- tions, not just maintain them. Indivi- dual responsibilities are expected to change as conditions change, and teams, not individuals, often are the organiza- tional units accountable for perfor- mance. With management hierarchies relatively flat and the differences in sta- tus minimized, control and lateral coor- dination depend on shared goals, and expertise rather than formal position determines influence.”

Employees will be expected to take more responsibility, make decisions, set goals, and cooperate. The old notions of competition and hierarchy are crum- bling before the force of a new wave of cooperation, mutuality, and principle centered negotiation.

What skills are needed? In Keeping America at Work, a book which focuses on the impact of technol- ogy in the workplace, the authors state:

“Technological change will not only have a quantitative effect on manufac- turing jobs, but there will also be a qual- itative effect in terms of the skills.”

lives today is demanding that we be able to function effectively as sophisticated communicators and problem solvers.

Indeed, as the authors of Keeping America at Work write:

“The ability to communicate has not normally been one of the criterion [sic] for blue collar worker selection. As long as the worker has been able to follow instructions and seek help when it was needed, he or she has not been required to possess any unusual abilities to com- municate to fellow workers, with super- visors, or with the production process. This situation changes when a machine monitor’s job includes giving clear, unambiguous instructions to the system or providing information to down- stream workers or to supervisors on the state of the production process. Equally important will be the ability to receive and understand messages from co- workers or from computer interfaces.” (p. 98) and: “There will simply be no time to refer most problems to foremen or managers for resolution. Increased judgment will be required as decision- making is pushed to lower levels.” (p. 109)

performance improvement / voI36, #4 33

In fact, pushing decisions to lower levels, incorporating teamwork and responsi- bility for outcomes has become more prevalent in American organizations. Companies have found that employee involvement in decision-making and teamwork pays. In a survey of work practices in 29 studies, involving 157 small companies, researchers found three major areas that pointed to improved productivity: Employee involvement in decision-making, profit- sharing, and training.

The American Society for Training and Development, in conjunction with the Department of Labor, conducted a two- year study on specifically what skills employers are looking for. The result was a seven-layered model: (from lowest level: ) 1. Learning to learn 2. 3 R’s - reading, writing and com-

3. Communication: listening and oral 4. Creative-thinkindproblem-solving 5. Self-esteem/ goal setting-motivation/

personal and career development 6. Interpersonal/negotiation/teamwork 3. Organizational effectiveness/

putation

leadership

These areas have been identified as important across the board as skills that every American must master to be employable.

Across America the changes in the work environment are forcing workers to become more involved not just in pro- duction, but in the process. Employees must know how to work closely with others in decision-making and how to negotiate the best solution to problems.

According to Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence, to be effective on the job requires a combination of technical and relational skills. Success- ful people in the workplace demon- strate a wide variety of interpersonal skills, work with others easily, and are good problem solvers. This requires sev- eral subskills, such as: 1. Knowing one’s emotions, self-

awareness.

2. Managing emotions, self control. 3. Motivating oneself. 4. Recognizing emotions in others. 5. Handling relationships.

These are the kinds of skills that every- one (from the janitor to the conductor of the orchestra) must have to work pro- ductively, and cooperatively, with high morale, and with personal satisfaction.

Across America thechanges in the work environment

are forcing workers to become more

involved not just in production, but in

the process.

Suggested Core Interaction Skills What specific skills should we learn? Can these skills be implemented into a coherent training program? Based on the reviewed literature and experience in teaching, here are a core set of skills that lead to flexible, intelligent, creative, and productive interaction. They will enable individuals to work in the chal- lenging workplace of today and tomor- row: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12.

Dealing with change. Understanding the self. Communication. Listening. Thinking skills. Decision-malung and problem- solving. Assertiveness. Negotiation. Conflict resolution. Teams and groups. Leadership. From vision to plan. Goal setting and motivation.

These twelve skills are the air we breathe and the sea we swim in. They

are so much a part of us that we often take them for granted. Most of them we never stop to think about, we commu- nicate, we negotiate, we solve problems. However, no matter who we are, we can learn something new about each skill. Because we live with these every day, we take them for granted and have developed blind spots. Improving our skills in these areas, working on them one at a time will improve our lives on the job as well as off the job.

These twelve skills form the core of what it is to be an effective individual, to know who you are, and know how to interact competently with others. These skills will help you achieve your person- al goals while maintaining quality rela- tionships and performing at your best.

Summing Up Given the global marketplace, competi- tion, increasing demographic diversity, changes in technology and organiza- tional revolutions, the need for individ- uals to learn and master interaction skills is clear. There is a set of skills that everyone needs to know, beyond the traditional notion of literacy of the three Rs. Although these skills “are not rocket science,” we tend to take them for granted, and it is helpful for every- one to review and improve their own skill level. Just as an athlete must con- tinually practice and learn new tech- niques, so must we all review our inter- action and problem solving skills.

“Your ability to communicate largely determines your personal happiness.” (Messages) A bold statement and a true one. It is also true that your ability to communicate and use interaction skills will largely determine your success on the job. Whatever your level, whatever your occupational aspirations, you will be more successful and achieve your goals more easily if you learn and use professional interaction skills.

References

Lawrence, Paul, R. ”How to Deal With Resistance to Change“ in

34 performance improvement / april 1997

Harvard Business Review, Business Classics: Fifteen Key Concepts for Managerial Success. Harvard Business Review, 1991.

New York Times, 3/7/96

Business Week 311 1/96

Barciela, Susana. ”Investing in employ- ees bolsters the bottom line, Survey Says.“ Knight-Riddermribune News Service. June 13, 1995, p.613k2804. (Quoting Robert Reich in Interview) Carnevale, Anthony Patrick, “Put Quality to Work: Train America’s Workforce,” Training and Development, 1990.

Coch, Lester, and John R.P. French, Jr. ”Overcomming Resistance to Change.”Human Relations, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1948, p. 512.

Doucouliagos, Chris, “Worker Participation and productivity in labor- managed and participatory capitalist firms: a meta-analysis.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, v. 49, Oct.

Readings on Labor Management Relations and Cooperative Programs, DOL. Richard E. Walton From

Control to Commitment in the Workplace,” 1991 (Reprinted from Harvard Business Review- March 1985.)

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High Performance Work Practices and Firm Performance. U.S. Department of Labor, Aug. 1993

Secretary’s Commission on “Achieving Necessary Skills. Learning a Living: a Blueprint for High Performance,” Washington DC: “Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills”, U.S. Department of Labor. 1992. Albrecht, Karl and Ron Zemke. Service America! Dow Jones-Irwin. Homewood, Illinois, 1985.

Bellah, Robert N., Richard Madsen. William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Stephen M. Tipton. Habits of the Heart. Harper and Row, 1985.

Bennis, Warren, and Burt Nanus. Leaders. Harper and Row, 1985.

Bothwell, Lin, The Art of Leadership, Simon and Schuster, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Fireside Edition,l993.

Carnevale, Anthony, Leila J. Gainer, and Ann S. Melzer. Workplace Basics: The Skills Employers Want: The American Society for Training and Development and The U.S. Department of Labor, 1988.

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. A Fireside Book, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1990.

Fisher, Roger and William. Ury. Getting to Yes. Houghton Miffin, 1981. Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence,Bantam Books,1995. Lund Robert T., John Hansen. Keeping America at Work; John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1986. McKay, Matthew, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning. Messages, New Harbringer, 1995.

Peters, Thomas J. and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. In Search of Excellence. Harper and Row, New York, 1982.

Pritchett and Price. New Work Habits for a Radically Changing World, 1994. Rockwell and Brandenberg. Workforce Literacy Primer, 1990.

Scholtes, Peter R. The Team Handbook. Joiner, 1988. Stewart, John, Bridges Not Walls, Random House, 1986.

Senge, Peter, The Fifth Discipline, New York, Doubleday, 1990.

Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, Doubleday, New York, 1994.

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