Summary: Soft Skills

This week's summary blogs continue today with soft skills. I know it's an emotive phrase and I joined that debate with my blog rant last week entitled "but I don't do soft fluffy stuff" and went on to explain that we all do soft fluffy stuff every minute of every day - ie we're not the android above but human. I also wrote the case for soft skills too.

I first dipped my toe into understanding more about these skills over 15 years ago when I attended a 4 day NLP workshop. I was so enthused about the subject I went on to attend the remaining 16 days of the practitioner, a further 20 days for the master practitioner, another 20 days for the trainer trainer and numerous assistant roles to repeat all of the above. Which in class room time alone must amount to over 200 days on the subject. So yes I was hooked and books on the subject continue to arrive weekly as I explore the subject more fully.

Further certification in other coaching tools have just added to the melting pot of all things fluffy!  (More on these tomorrow).

I suppose that's why I blog so often about the subject - my enthusiasm for the subject - but also the ability as I blog to explore the models more fully. Recent blogging on the subject certainly helped when I included a lot of this content in Future Purchasing's Category and Supplier Management workshops before Christmas.

The challenge is how to summarise the blogs on this subject because they represent over half of the blogs I write. That said if I write on communication over a number of days I'll link to the other blogs from the final one. So that's what you'll have here - a set of favourite subjects with links to the main blog with the ability when you get there to explore that subject further. Although be warned its still a long list!


Change
Personal change management is at the heart of much of soft skills.

• Why do I have to change - the answer to which is you don't if what you're doing is working
• Change Management - with links to resistance to change and strategies for change

 

Values
Values are the key to much stuckness in our lives because they motivate our every action or not, and are the basis for how we judge others.

• Values that are too big for their boots - what to do to identify and then realign your values
• Values don't inherently drive right behaviour
• Does empathy ensure we do the right thing - yes but we don't have it for everyone!
• What does respect look like?
• How are values getting in the way
• What do you put your heart and soul into - because that's meeting your values

Influencing (Also see NLP with links to load of blogs)

• The subtleties and politics of influencing with links to numerous other blogs on the subject
• Communication - links to numerous blogs on the subject
• Set aside the pedestal
• Communicate, communicate, communicate

Goals

• Well Formed Outcome - a fab process - as per graphic above
• What stops you achieving your goals
• The things that help you keep on track to achieving your goals
• Anything is possible

Personal development

• Creativity
• State Management - ie state of mind and body
• Judgements are simply assumptions
• Trust is in the eye of the beholder
• Expanding comfort zones
• Speaking with confidence
• Are you always or never late - and how do you judge others who are the opposite to you?
• Dream, believe, achieve - anything is possible
• What's winning in your world - the good the bad or the indifferent - look to your language to find out
• Looking for the worst in other people - no wonder you live in a hostile world
• Who am I - again a look at the language we use
• Have you reached a choice point in life?

Wellbeing

• My prescription for positivity and wellbeing
• How do you start the day
• We love the love the challenge but is it good for us?
• Are we on auto pilot for bad habits or good habits?
• Sleep
• In need of more bounce
• It's not about the toast - on mental well being and stress
• Don't go cold Turkey - but do let go of some of those addictions to emails, social media
• 5:1 positive to negative interactions
• Stop, Look, Listen
• The conspiracies we support - to keep doing the wrong the things
• 6 out of 7 of Disney's dwarfs are not happy
• Don't stay around miserable Mackerels
• Oh no it's Sunday - don't wish your life away
• Disconnect to reconnect
• Nameste - honour the spirit in others

My favourite quotes

• Our deepest fear - just the quote
• Can you by faithless and therefore trustworthy - exploration of its meaning 

Short stories I've written with wellbeing in mind

• The tortoise and the hare
• Forgiveness
• I phone I phone in my hand - about comparison
• There's a couple more short stories read by me on my Youtube channel 

The summary blog tomorrow will share more about what I do and how I do it.

Yesterday I provided a summary list of blogs on procurement, and the day before a summary of rants on the loss of our humanity. A useful reference for those who enjoy my blogs and more easily want to read those from the archive - ok also easier for me to find them too :-).

Alison Smith
Inspiring Change Inside and out - when what you're doing isn't working