Part One the Soft Skills Gap 1
Prologue Meet the Workforce of the Future 3
Chapter 1 The Soft Skills Gap 9
The Soft Skills Gap: Growing Steadily from Gen X to Millennials to Gen Z to Whoever Comes Next 11
Something Much Larger Is Going on Here: The Post- Boomer Generational Shift 11
Soft Skills Are - Sort of - About Conforming in an Age of Non conformism 14
The Soft Skills Gap: The Missing Basics in Today's Workforce 17
Face the Hard Realities of the Soft Skills Gap 24
Chapter 2 You Can't Hire Your Way Around the Soft Skills Gap 27
Staffing Strategy and Hiring 28
Onboarding and Up- to- Speed Training 33
Performance Management and Talent Development36 Ongoing Training 38
The Human Element: What Role Are You Going to Play? 43
Become a Teaching Style Manager 45
Take It to the Next Level 48
Chapter 3 Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 49
Drill Down: The Missing Basics 52
Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills 54
Unlocking the Power: The Rest of This Book 59
Part Two Teaching the Missing Basics 61
Chapter 4 Teaching the Missing Basics of Professionalism 63
Teaching Self- Evaluation 63
Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #1 68
Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #2 - Evaluating Yourself on Ability, Skill, and Will 69
Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #3 - Evaluating Yourself on Productivity, Quality, and Behavior 70
Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #4 - Evaluating Yourself on the Key Soft Skills Competencies71
Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #5 - Drill Down on Understanding the Key Soft Skills Competencies76
Self- Evaluation: Lesson Plan #6 - Explore Your Own Successes with the Key Soft Skills 80
Teaching Personal Responsibility 84
Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 86
Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #2 - All the Factors That Get in Your Way 87
Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #3 - Considering the Most Common Factors, Mostly Outside Your Own Control, That Get in the Way at Work 88
Personal Responsibility: Lesson Plan #4 - Response Power 90
Teaching Positive Attitude 92
Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #1 - Considering Theories of How to Be Your Best at Work 94
Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #2 - Defining "Good Attitude" Behaviors 95
Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #3 - Considering the Most Common Bad Attitudes 96
Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #4 - Considering Good Attitude Behaviors 98
Positive Attitude: Lesson Plan #5 - for Individuals Who Need an Attitude Adjustment100
Teaching Good Work Habits 101
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #1 - Overview: Wellness, Self- Presentation, Timeliness, Productivity, Attention to Detail, Follow- Through, Initiative 104
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #2 - Self- Assessment 106
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #3 - Self- Improvement Planning 108
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #4 - Wellness 109
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #5 - Planning a Wellness Initiative 110
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #6 - Self- Presentation 113
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #7 - Using a Time Log to Learn to Start Living by a Schedule 115
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #8 - How to Make a Basic Project Plan 119
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #9 - Taking Notes and Making Checklists 121
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #10 - How to Do a Time/Motion Study on Your Own Work 123
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #11 - Spotlight on Follow- Through 124
Good Work Habits: Lesson Plan #12 - Going the Extra Mile 125
Teaching Interpersonal Communication Skills 126
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 129
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #2 - Self-Assessment 131
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #3 - Learning to Use the "People List" 133
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #4 - Put More Structure into Your Communication 137
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #5 - Put More Substance into Your Communication 139
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #6 - Preparing for Meetings 141
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #7 - Email Best Practices 142
Interpersonal Communication Skills: Lesson Plan #8 - Communicating Remotely 144
Chapter 5 Teaching the Missing Basics of Critical Thinking 147
Teaching Proactive Learning 147
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #1 - Knowledge Work 151
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #2 - Open Mind 155
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #3 - Suspend Judgment, Question Assumptions, and Seek to Learn 158
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #4 - Question Assumptions: What Do You Know? What Don't You Know? 160
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #5 - Seeking Out Information, Technique, and Perspective 161
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #6 - Studying Information to Build Knowledge164
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #7 - Practicing Technique to Build Skills 166
Proactive Learning: Lesson Plan #8 - Contemplating Competing Perspectives to Build Wisdom 168
Teaching Problem Solving 170
Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 173
Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #2 - Preventing or Avoiding Problems Before They Happen 174
Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #3 - Ready- Made Solutions to Commonly Occurring Problems 175
Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #4 - Common Denominators and Underlying Principles 177
Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #5 - Applying the "After- Action" Review Tool 178
Problem Solving: Lesson Plan #6 - Using the After- Action Review Tool to Learn from Others 180
Teaching Decision Making 181
Decision Making: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 184
Decision Making: Lesson Plan #2 - Information Analysis: Simple Pros and Cons 186
Decision Making: Lesson Plan #3 - Cause and Effect: Positive Outcomes 188
Decision Making: Lesson Plan #4 - Cause and Effect: Negative Outcomes 189
Decision Making: Lesson Plan #5 - Applying the After- Action Review Tool 190
Decision Making: Lesson Plan #6 - Using the "Decision/Action Tree" 191
Chapter 6 Teaching the Missing Basics of Teamwork 193
Teaching Respect for Context 193
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 196
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #2 - Reading the Structure, Rules, Customs, Leadership 197
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #3 - Where Do You Fit? 199
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #4 - What Do You Need to Do to Adapt? 200
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #5 - Context- Limiting Factors 201
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #6 - Complicated Relationships 202
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #7 - Positive Contexts 203
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #8 - Negative Contexts 204
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #9 - Dealing with People with Bad Attitudes 205
Respect for Context: Lesson Plan #10 - Dealing with People with "Great" Attitudes 207
Teaching Citizenship 208
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 211
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #2 - The "Respect" for Others Model 213
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #3 - The "Best Interests" Model 215
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #4 - The "Civic" Model 216
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #5 - The "Communitarian" Model 217
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #6 - The "Common Sense" Model 218
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #7 - The "Solid Standards" Model 220
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #8 - The "Personal Sacrifice" Model 222
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #9 - The Theodore Roosevelt Model 224
Good Citizenship: Lesson Plan #10 - Create Your Own Model 225
Teaching Service 226
Service: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 230
Service: Lesson Plan #2 - Common Myths About "Service" in the Workplace 232
Service: Lesson Plan #3 - Realities About Service in the Workplace 233
Service: Lesson Plan #4 - Myths Versus Realities in the Workplace 234
Service: Lesson Plan #5 - The "Be a Great Employee" Model of Service 239
Service: Lesson Plan #6 - The "Service" Approach to One- on- Ones Between Managers and Direct Reports 240
Service: Lesson Plan #7 - The Service Approach to Meeting Attendance and Participation 243
Service: Lesson Plan #8 - Helping Your Boss Monitor Your Performance 245
Service: Lesson Plan #9 - Putting Yourself on a Performance Improvement Plan 248
Teaching How to Play Your Position 249
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #1 - Introduction 253
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #2 - Defining the Dimensions of Playing Your Role on the Team/Teamwork 255
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #3 - Your Role in Relation to the Mission 257
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #4 - Coordinating, Cooperating, and Collaborating with Others 258
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #5 - Supporting and Celebrating the Success of Others 260
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #6 - Identifying Your "Go To" People and Building Relationships with Them 261
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #7 - Becoming a "Go To" Person for Others 262
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #8 - How to Use Influence to Get Things Done 263
Playing Your Position on the Team: Lesson Plan #9 - Consider the Lessons About Teamwork from This US Air Force Special Operations Team 264
Lesson Plan List: 92 Different Lesson Plans 267
Acknowledgments 273
About the Author 277
Index 279
