Shift Thinking of Soft Skills Into Fluid Skills and Hard Skills into Fixed Skills
Employee engagement is not a soft skill.
And it is not a matter of pure will.
You don’t go to a training room to learn engagement.
Training is for dogs – education is for people.
We can certainly go to a classroom to learn about engagement
But we must show class by demonstrating that education
is as much about what you give as what you get
and that a learning community resides within the group
and we need to bring learning out while creating community
Don’t just put more stuff in with participants who are already loaded to the max with too much to do and too little time to do it and going to a course just seems to be putting them further behind and they shudder at the possible imposition embedded in training to do a whole bunch more stuff when they leave the session with time and energy they do not have.
Education and engagement must be invitations not impositions.
Engagement is no more a soft skill than accounting is a hard skill.
Engagement is a fluid approach embracing skills in relationship to
our work, each other, our organization and our customers.
And this fluidity is what keeps the fixed skills from seizing up.
Lets melt our rigid concepts of hard and soft skills training
into fluid and fixed learning and actions that achieve results that matter to all.
We must say no to something else while maintaining laser-like focus on performing
the smallest thing we can that is most significant in creating and sustaining engagement.
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David Zinger, M.Ed., is an employee engagement expert. He offers exceptional education and consulting on employee engagement for leaders, managers, and employees. David founded and moderates the 2025 member Employee Engagement Network. His website offers 1000 articles relating to employee engagement and strength based leadership.
Book David for education, speaking, and coaching on engagement today for 2010.
Email: dzinger@shaw.ca Phone 204 254 2130 Website: www.davidzinger.com.
Hi David,
Very interesting. I worked with GE throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s and the ‘Work-Out’ concept that was launched in 1987/88 was one of the first real cultural revolutions at the heart of Employee Engagement.
When we brought this to Europe in the early 1990’s it was a revelation and is still being used by numerous organisations today.
You may know of it already, but if not you you definitely check it out.
Tony
Hi Tony,
I am only slightly familiar with the Work-Out concept. How did it accomplish being at the heart of employee engagement? I will take a look for more information.
David