HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER
Title: Competency Development – Part III
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 is the last post of the year. If you make New Year’s Resolutions you are probably writing down a (short) list of things to work on in the new year. Today’s posting is the last in a series of three looking at a semi-random list of common workplace competencies. Somewhere in this series is bound to be a good book, article or audio for self improvement next year.
Today’s competencies are mainly focused on personal skills.
Oral Communication – I like two books that are similar in approach and both deal with the more difficult end communicating with another person: Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High and Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss what Matters Most (yes, this is a repeat suggestion — fits two competencies quite well).
Oral Presentations – There are thousands of books out there to help you become a better speaker. Many are just a matter of personal taste. A new book that covers all the bases is 101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience. But to cover oral presentations we need something oral. If you are presenting a relatively high level you might like the CD-Rom from Harvard: Communicating for Results.
Written Communication — If you are looking for the basics, The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Business Writing and Communication: Manage Your Writing would be a good bet. My own personal favorite, while not covering everything, has some very good advice on selected topics: Harvard Business School Publishing Guide to Better Business Writing.
Listening– Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead is a short and practical book written with managers and leaders in mind. However, the information applies to anyone and the author’s credentials are outstanding.
Adaptability/Stress Tolerance – There are a variety of ways to address this combined competency, but personally I would start with The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters. If you are in the mood for some time management to help organize your life, I recommend the unusual but effective book The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.
Self-Control – Hard not to fit this book in to a list of competencies: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.
Self-Development – This final entry into this three part series on competencies is the broadest and most difficult to nail down. Really, all of the suggestions so far are self-development. But there is a need to focus on continuous personal improvement and so I conclude with recommending you start with Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance.
And there you have it – a three part series with 19 competencies and 29 recommendations and the New Year only two days away!
Happy Development!
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