"Skills" in Four Secrets “'Skills' is a common term in the workplace, and 'soft skills' has become a fashionable way to refer to adept-ness at interacting with others." Chapter 8 "In situations where none of the other three perspectives in this book provide insight, an objective look at skills can be quite helpful." Chapter 8 "Many studies have shown that the presence or absence of soft skills drives a host of work-place issues, including satisfaction, morale, and productivity." Chapter 8 "Few things are more difficult than taking an objective look at our own strengths and weaknesses." Chapter 8

The Secret of Skills
Exercises

Each new perspective allows you to interpret what you see in a new and useful way.  New interpretations lead to new understanding, which leads to new actions and ultimately new results. This is the only way to permanently defeat job misery and to like work again.

			The perspective of Skills helps define what you could learn that would really help you to enjoy your job, and provides a framework to help you learn it.

If you are reading Four Secrets to Liking Your Work, you may have tried some of the exercises in Chapter 8.  These exercises help you to work alone to build expertise with your own perspective of Skills.

Unlike the other three perspectives in the book, the perspective of Skills is best used alone.  Talking about the skills of others can be dangerous ground; it is far better to keep our attention on our own skills and what we might do about them.

Try the following exercise to explore and develop your own skills:

1. Begin with the exercise on pages 111-112 of Four Secrets to Liking Your Work.   Use it to identify at least one area of interest that might be beneficial to you.
2. Make a list of at least four ways you might learn more about the skill or skills you have selected.  Be sure to include mentors, peers, books, and on-the-job experiences if they apply.  How might you locate these resources?
3. Turn to Table 8-3 on page 114 and review the five-component model for practicing a new skill. Using the model as a guide, create one or more practice plan(s) for your new skill(s).  Pay special attention to the last two components in the table; those are the steps that are most often neglected.
4. Create specific actions that you can take in less than 30 minutes to begin your plan.   For example, if you want to find a mentor, a possible action might be "e-mail Sally to see if she knows anyone who might mentor me."  By creating specific actions, you increase the likelihood that you will actually do them.
5. Transfer your actions into a calendar or whatever system you use for time management.  Give them equal weighting with other important things that take up your time.  Be sure to plan a few minutes every so often to review your progress.

Why this works: This exercise helps you to make a concrete start on an otherwise very abstract process - finding and developing key skills that will improve your experience at work.

Why it's not enough:  Self-diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses is always limited by our own biases.  An easy way to overcome these biases is to invest in an objective assessment of your skills, and those required by your job. (Learn more...)