Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to Todays Young Talent

Acknowledgments xv Part One The Soft Skills Gap 1 Prologue Meet the Newest New Young Workforce 3 Chapter 1 The Soft Skills Gap 7 The Soft Skills Gap: Growing Steadily from Gen X to Gen Y to Gen Z 10 Something Much Larger Is Going on Here: The Post-Boomer Generational Shift 11 Gen Zers Are the Ultimate Non-Conformists in an Age of Non-Comformism 16 The Soft Skills Gap: The Missing Basics in Today\'s Young Talent 19 Face the Hard Realities of the Soft Skills Gap 29 Chapter 2 You Can\'t Hire Your Way Around the Soft Skills Gap 33 Staffing Strategy and Hiring 34 On-Boarding and Up-to-Speed Training 39 Performance Management and Talent Development 42 Ongoing Training 45 The Human Element: What Role Are You Going to Play? 49 Become a Teaching Style Manager 51 Take It to the Next Level 54 Chapter 3 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 55 Drill Down: The Missing Basics 58 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 60 Unlocking the Power: The Rest of This Book 65 Part Two How to Teach the Missing Basics to Today \'s Young Talent 67 Chapter 4 How to Teach the Missing Basics of Professionalism to Today\'s Young Talent 69 How to Teach Self-Evaluation 69 Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 75 Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 2-Evaluating Yourself on Ability, Skill, and Will 76 Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 3-Evaluating Yourself on Productivity, Quality, and Behavior 77 Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 4-Evaluating Yourself on the Key Soft Skills Competencies 78 Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 5-Drill Down on Understanding the Key Soft Skills 80 Self-Evaluation: Lesson Plan 6-Explore Your Own Successes with the Key Soft Skills 82 How to Teach Personal Responsibility 84 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 86 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 2-All the Factors That Are in Your Way 87 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 3-Considering the Most Common Factors That Get in the Way at Work 88 Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan 4-Response Power 89 How to Teach Positive Attitude 90 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 1-Considering Theories of How to Be Your Best at Work 93 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 2-Defining \"Good Attitude\" Behaviors with Your Team-or Any Individual 94 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 3-Considering Common Bad Attitudes 95 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 4-Considering Good Attitude Behaviors 96 Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan 5-For Individual Employees Who Need an Attitude Adjustment 97 How to Teach Good Work Habits 98 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 102 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 2-Self-Assessment 104 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 3-Self-Improvement Planning 106 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 4-Wellness 107 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 5-Planning a Wellness Initiative 108 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 6-Self-Presentation 111 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 7-Using a Time Log to Start Living by a Schedule 112 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 8-How to Make a Basic Project Plan 116 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 9-Taking Notes and Making Checklists 118 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 10-Doing a Time/Motion Study on Yourself 120 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 11-Spotlight on Follow-Through 121 Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan 12-Going the Extra Mile 122 How to Teach People Skills 123 People Skills: Lesson Plan 1-Interpersonal Communication 126 People Skills: Lesson Plan 2-Self-Assessing Interpersonal Communication 127 People Skills: Lesson Plan 3-Learning to Use the \"People List\" 128 People Skills: Lesson Plan 4-Putting More Structure into Your Communication 132 People Skills: Lesson Plan 5-Putting More Substance into Your Communication 134 People Skills: Lesson Plan 6-Preparing for Meetings 136 People Skills: Lesson Plan 7-Email Best Practices 137 People Skills: Lesson Plan 8-Communicating Remotely 138 Chapter 5 How to Teach the Missing Basics of Critical Thinking to Today\'s Young Talent 139 How to Teach Proactive Learning 139 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 1-Proactive Learning 143 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 2-Open Mind 147 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 3-Suspend Judgment, Question Assumptions, and Seek to Learn 150 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 4-Question Assumptions 152 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 5-Research 153 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 6-Study Skills-Building Knowledge 156 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 7-Practice Skills-Building Skill 158 Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan 8-Contemplate Competing Perspectives to Build Wisdom 160 How to Teach Problem Solving 162 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 165 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 2-Preventing or Avoiding Problems Before They Happen 166 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 3-Ready-Made Solutions to Commonly Occurring Problems 168 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 4-Common Denominators and Underlying Principles 170 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 5-Applying the After Action Review Tool 171 Problem Solving: Lesson Plan 6-Using the After-Action Review Tool to Learn from Others 173 How to Teach Decision Making 174 Decision Making: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 177 Decision Making: Lesson Plan 2-Information Analysis: Simple Pros and Cons 179 Decision Making: Lesson Plan 3-Cause and Effect: Positive Outcomes 181 Decision Making: Lesson Plan 4-Cause and Effect: Negative Outcomes 182 Decision Making: Lesson Plan 5-Applying the After-Action Review Tool 183 Decision Making: Lesson Plan 6-Using the Decision/Action Tree 184 Chapter 6 How to Teach the Missing Basics of Followership to Today\'s Young Talent 187 How to Teach Respect for Context 187 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 191 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 2-Reading the Structure, Rules, Customs, and Leadership 192 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 3-Where Do You Fit? 194 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 4-How Can You Adapt? 195 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 5-Context-Limiting Factors 196 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 6-Complicated Relationships 197 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 7-Positive Contexts 198 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 8-Negative Contexts 199 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 9-Dealing with People with Bad Attitudes 200 Respect for Context: Lesson Plan 10-Dealing with People with Great Attitudes 201 How to Teach Good Citizenship 202 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 206 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 2-The \"Respect for Others\" Model 208 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 3-The \"Best Interests\" Model 210 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 4-The \"Civic\" Model 211 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 5-The \"Communitarian\" Model 212 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 6-The \"Common Sense\" Model 213 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 7-The \"Solid Standards\" Model 215 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 8-The \"Personal Sacrifice\" Model 217 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 9-The Theodore Roosevelt Model 219 Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan 10-Create Your Own Model 220 How to Teach Service 221 Service: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 225 Service: Lesson Plan 2-Common Myths About \"Service\" in the Workplace 227 Service: Lesson Plan 3-Realities About Service in the Workplace 228 Service: Lesson Plan 4-Myths Versus Realities in the Workplace 229 Service: Lesson Plan 5-The \"Be a Great Employee\" Model of Service 234 Service: Lesson Plan 6-The \"Service\" Approach to One-on-Ones Between Managers and Direct Reports 235 Service: Lesson Plan 7-The Service Approach to Meeting Attendance and Participation 237 Service: Lesson Plan 8-Helping Your Boss Monitor Your Performance 239 Service: Lesson Plan 9-Putting Yourself on a Performance Improvement Plan 240 How to Teach Teamwork 241 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 1-Introduction 245 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 2-Defining the Dimensions of Teamwork 247 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 3-Your Role in Relation to the Mission 249 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 4-Coordinating, Cooperating, and Collaborating with Others 250 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 5-Supporting and Celebrating the Success of Others 252 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 6-Identifying Your \"Go To\" People and Building Relationships with Them 253 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 7-Becoming a \"Go To\" Person for Others 254 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 8-Using Influence to Get Things Done 255 Teamwork: Lesson Plan 9-Consider the Lessons About Teamwork from This U.S. Air Force Special Operations Team 256 About the Author 259 Index 261