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author interview
RApport 62
A very particular set of skills … Understanding the language of work
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By Chris Watson
or the last 16 years I’ve worked exclusively on delivering behaviourally-based learning and development – focusing not on what people do, but the way they go about it. During this time, I’ve picked up some unexpected insights in terms of the most effective ways to develop people, and a number of proven, provocative and (at times) perverse ways to extend capability and commitment in the workplace. Much of my approach has been shaped by my experiences as an HR practitioner in the 1990s, working within large, complex organisations, supporting line managers to extend the performance of their people. Without exception, all of these fast-moving businesses used competency frameworks to help them assess individual performance requirements in a structured and consistent way. However, over time I began to suspect that while the original driver for many of these frameworks was to define the behavioural expectations required at job level, they rarely succeeded in accommodating the complexity of evolving job requirements. The problem was that the competency model appeared to be based on a rather outdated myth that an ‘ideal employee’ could actually be found. It suggested that it was possible to define a set of standards required for effective performance and that this ‘magic formula for success’ could be captured, articulated and shared in order to create some kind of blueprint for superior performance. These days, I often run a simple exercise when working with diverse work groups, asking people to create a short job advert for their own job using just ten words to capture the critical skills, knowledge and work requirements of a peak performer for that role. I tell the
The competency model appeared to be based on a rather outdated myth that an ‘ideal employee’ could actually be found
delegates that their future professional reputation and personal income will be determined by the success of their advert. After a few minutes, I invite feedback from everyone on these most prized attributes. The results are always the same. Regardless of role, sector or seniority, each person consistently uses the same descriptive words to express the factors critical for success in role. Terms such as collaborative, persuasive, flexible, empathetic, creative, decisive and resilient are commonly applied. What never fails to surprise each of the groups, when you review their collective list, is just how few of the items (if any) are ever technical skills or knowledge-based qualities. It reflects the fact that what organisations tend to value initially during onboarding is rarely what gets valued after someone has started working for them. Invariably, companies recruit based on technical skills, knowledge and experience, but then make informal judgements about capability, and even promote people based on how they go about what they do. In the words of the Fun Boy Three, ‘It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.’ While technical skills certainly remain important, if you ask employees themselves about what adds the greatest value in their role, they intuitively know
that it is a combination of interpersonal approaches and human skills which will make the difference, not the technical skills which are so frequently given priority when defining role requirements. This is why so many people are unfortunately put through what’s called a ‘magic weekend’ at work. It happens when an individual is without doubt the best operator, with extensive knowledge of their particular operating practice, and so is promoted on the Friday afternoon. By Monday morning they are supposedly transformed into a really effective supervisor, team leader or manager, and that’s when all the problems start because they simply aren’t equipped with the skills they now need. It isn’t just this exercise that demonstrates the significance of these skills. Take Google, for example – one of the most technical environments you could ever imagine. After scouring years of performance reviews, feedback surveys and one-to-ones, their much publicised ‘Project Oxygen’ identified
author interview
What organisations tend to value initially during onboarding is rarely what gets valued after someone has started working for them eight characteristics which employees at Google admired the most in their own bosses. Once again, ‘technical ability’ – often considered to be the defining characteristic of the most successful Googlers – came in at the bottom of the pile. While Project Oxygen provided some interesting insights into what the modern worker actually wants from their manager, it didn’t offer any clues as to what organisations themselves want from their employees. For this reason, my own company – Endor Learn & Develop – secured funding from the European Regional Development Fund and set sail on a ten-year longitudinal survey to investigate the specific skills which employers most value in their employees here in the UK. Our aim was to isolate the adaptive work skills associated with success in any role. Following feedback from over 8000 businesses from all sectors, the project identified a set of 21 ‘transferable currencies’: these were the workplace skills which were consistently associated with greater operational flexibility and which added value to an employee across multiple work situations at any stage in their career, regardless of position. Now at first sight, a list of 21 adaptive work skills may look very much like just another competency framework, but in reality this isn’t the case. What the results suggest is that whatever your role, regardless of the sector or job type, here are the 21 skills which have the greatest potential to provide sustainable long-term value. These are the skills which will help people adjust to the everchanging world of work and take charge of their career. So, instead of being prescriptive and saying that a customer services assistant, a manager or a web designer needs to be developed against a particular ‘ideal’ role profile of six to eight arbitrary competencies throughout their time in the job, the speed of change is so fast these days that we need instead
RApport 62
to invest our energies in developing people against the evolving requirements of the multiple tasks that each individual will be required to undertake. Employees today are expected to move from project to project, job to job and task to task so rapidly that it makes much more sense to abandon the idea of trying to hammer people into a particular fixed ‘job shape’ in favour of upskilling them around the diverse requirements of each particular project they are working on – based on the most appropriate of the 21 adaptive skills which we know will deliver the best results. In this way, once achieved, you then change the focus to meet the requirements of the next dynamic task as this emerges.
Introducing just-in-time learning solutions – whenever and wherever they are needed While there is growing consensus around the actual skills needed to support operational agility, there is also an increasing frustration among management groups with regard to the way any upskilling is currently taking place. According to the Chartered Management Institute, over 70 per cent of UK managers would like to provide their staff with easy-to-access, easyto-consume and easy-to-implement development opportunities which can be integrated into everyday work experiences. However, for this to happen, managers need to know how to access reliable and proven content. My new book Upskill: 21 keys
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to professional growth provides a compendium of resources for readers to pick up and refer to in their own time and at their own pace: 840 practical ideas reflecting the latest thinking on how to extend personal performance. The suggestions have all been grouped around the 21 adaptive skills associated with successful outcomes at work and beyond. These skills can be practised and refined throughout a career and are as relevant for new starters in an organisation as they are for more experienced managers. The book provides a plethora of development ideas to help individuals adapt and adjust to new approaches and work methods. It can be used to support upskilling through the identification of relevant and realistic options for professional growth. Readers will discover a host of proven techniques: relevant quotes, articles and resources; carefully selected videos; novel approaches; time-saving apps; topical insights; and engaging tools. This compendium of high-leverage tools and techniques delivers a dynamic snapshot of learning possibilities, and can be used by managers, supervisors, coaches, NLP practitioners, and HR and training professionals – as well as proactive employees who are committed to their own personal development. Ultimately, Upskill reinforces the importance of applied people skills and the human dimension of work, by placing each person at the centre of their own learning journey.
Chris Watson MCIPD is an award-winning specialist in the promotion of adaptive skills who founded Endor Learn & Develop in 2002 following a successful career in HR. Drawing on a background in leadership, psychology, education and the human sciences, Chris has a proven track record in harnessing potential to help people flourish. Incurably curious about all aspects of organisational behaviour, his aim is to strengthen relationships in the workplace by sharing straightforward solutions which people can relate to on a personal level.