SkillInside

  “The greatest good you can do another is not just share your riches, but to reveal him his own.” – Benjamin Franklin While I was at McKinsey, I was having trouble managing a new, very smart analyst fresh out of undergrad. A partner on the project took me aside and said,  “Let me teach you about the will skill matrix.” He whipped out a marker and drew a simple two by two with “will” on the vertical axis and “skill” on the horizontal, and labeled each axis low to high. He then said,  “Ok, the analyst you’re having issues with is in this box, high skill but low will. He will poison this team if you don’t do anything. When others start seeing somebody not engaged, they become disengaged. The best thing to do is have a stern talk with him about his will on this project.” Take a look at the will skill matrix visual below. That day, I sat down with the analyst for a heart-to-heart conversation. I mimicked the partner and drew the will skill matrix on a whiteboard. I laid it ou...

  If you don't have anything productive to say, don't say anything at all. Radio host Bernard Meltzer is famously quoted as having said, " Before you speak , ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid." I find that this is as true  in the workplace  as it is in personal life. That said, here are seven unhelpful words and phrases anyone in the workforce should consider removing from their  professional vocabulary . 1. I can't. "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." Henry Ford was quoted as having said in 1947, and it holds up even today. I have my own version. Whenever I'm asked for my best advice, I always say, " 'I can't' is rarely accurate. 'I choose not to' is often the most accurate." I say "rarely" because some things are inarguable truths. I know I can't defy g...

  If you’re a leader, it’s likely that not everyone who works with you will agree with the decisions you make — and that’s okay. Leadership involves making unpopular decisions while navigating complex relationships with colleagues, partners, and clients. But often, you will need to get buy-in from these constituents, and therefore you will need to convince them to change their mind. There is little friction involved in convincing people who are your natural supporters. But trying to change the mind of a dissenter, or a  detractor , is a different story. How do you go about convincing someone who, for one reason or another, doesn’t see eye-to-eye with you? Someone who gives you a flat out “no”? In the recent research we completed for Laura’s book,  Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage , we observed, and then interviewed, more than 60 leaders who were trying to convince business associates and other constituents to change their minds on a course of action that they initia...

  Managerial Coaching has become increasingly popular in organizations during the past two decades. On the one hand, organizations are making significant efforts to build  internal capability  by training managers to coach. On the other hand, managers, by acting as a coach, are taking more responsibility for helping employees achieve excellent performance. These patterns are beginning to appear as a  trend  as more and more organizations are training their managers to be coaches. We are also seeing more Coaching and Human Resource Development organizations discussing the importance of Managerial Coaching (e.g., SHRM, CIPD, AHRD) and its increasing popularity. In fact, the  2012 CIPD Annual Survey Report  stated that coaching by line managers is rated the second most effective learning and development practice and nearly three times as effective as coaching by external practitioners. Corporations and other organizations, while increasingly realizing the...

  We all want to be better at something. After all, self-improvement is necessary to getting ahead at work. But once you know what you want to be better at — be it  public speaking , using social media, or analyzing data — how do you start? Of course, learning techniques will vary depending on the skill and the person, but there are some general rules you can follow. What the Experts Say Mastering new skills is not optional in today’s business environment. “In a fast-moving, competitive world, being able to learn new skills is one of the keys to success. It’s not enough to be smart — you need to always be getting smarter,” says Heidi Grant Halvorson, a motivational psychologist and author of the HBR Single  Nine Things Successful People Do Differently . Joseph Weintraub, a professor of management and organizational behavior at Babson College and coauthor of the book,  The Coaching Manager: Developing Top Talent in Business , agrees: “We need to constantly look for op...