HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER
Title: Competency Development – Part II Â
Competency: self-development
Who benefits: employees at all levels, those seeking to enter or reenter the workforce
Consultant Usage: reference material
What’s it about? Today I continue with the second part of a three part series devoted to suggesting workplace competencies and listing one or two of my all time references for that competency. With the “teen†decade fast approaching, you may want to put one of these resources on your New Decade Development List:
Delegation – This is an easy choice. Any topic on delegation must begin with the classic Harvard Business Review article Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? The link takes you to a 1999 edition with the original article and an update from Stephen Covey.
Conflict Management – Selection of a resource here is much more difficult because there are several book and audios that are world class in their content and organization. But if I can only choose one, I go with Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss what Matters Most. The content is specific in what to do and general to most situations.
Interpersonal Sensitivity/Empathy – It may come as no surprise to many of you that I insert the name of Daniel Goleman here. What may surprise you is that I am suggesting Working with Emotional Intelligence instead of his blockbuster bestseller Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. I recommend this book because so many of you have already read his first book and this one has more practical application.
Team Building – This is a tough one because there are so many resources out there that are quite good.  I was raised and was a true believer in earlier editions of this book and this one is better so a strong recommendation goes to Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. An excellent alternative is the very recently updated Team Players and Teamwork, Completely Updated and Revised: New Strategies for Developing Successful Collaboration by team building guru Glenn Parker. I might add that this book includes some much need material on cross-cultural teams.
Recognizing/Rewarding — 1.4 million buyers can’t all be wrong. This is an easy read, just plain fun…and it works 1001 Ways to Reward Employees.
Coaching/ Employee Development – If you believe you get what you pay for, consider the 5th edition of FYI For Your Improvement. It is expensive but worth it for individuals and their coaches. It is 100% practical. If you are a professional coach, you should already own it…or consider another profession. If you are interested in coaching in a more general way, then 50 of the best coaches in the profession have some suggestions for you: The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching: 50 Top Executive Coaches Reveal Their Secrets. And if you are supervisor just looking for some simple guidelines, try How to Be a Great Coach: 24 Lessons for Turning on the Productivity of Every Employee.
Political Leadership – There are some of you who move around in political arenas full of slippery slopes and derailment traps. A long biography best digested over time is a great way to contemplate the politics in your organization: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
I will end this series next week just in time for the new decade.
Catch you later.
[tags]delegation, conflict management, interpersonal sensitivity, empathy, team building, team dynamics, cross cultural teams, recognizing performance, rewarding performance, praising performance, coaching, coaching for performance, employee development, careers political leadership, William oncken, steven covey, daniel goleman, glenn parker, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
