Manager Onboarding by Sharlyn Lauby

Author:Sharlyn Lauby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Society for Human Resource Management
Published: 2016-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

As Norman Maclean recounted in his book about the event, Dodge was good technically but inept at building relationships with others. The fire that Dodge started was brilliant and emblematic of his strong technical skills. It was something that the Plains Indians had used for centuries. If Sallee had followed Dodge into the burned-out zone, there’s a good chance the rest of the men probably would have followed, and they all would have survived. (Just in case you’re wondering, Dodge was ultimately cleared of any culpability in the event.)

This case study demonstrates why technical skills cannot be our only form of expertise as a manager. But I don’t want to dismiss technical (or hard) skills completely. There are many moments when they can serve us well.

First off, let’s define what are considered to be hard skills. I tend to think of them as skills that are measurable or quantifiable. Examples include typing speed, machine operation, or computer programming—skills for which a person may earn a certificate to indicate proficiency. By contrast, soft skills—which we will cover in the next chapter—are harder to quantify and most often relate to people. Examples are communication, teamwork, collaboration, and listening.

When it comes to hard skills like machine operation and computer programming, those will be determined by your job and industry. But there are a few hard skills that apply to almost every manager position. Managers don’t necessarily have to know them to become a manager, and they might not need to know them immediately upon becoming a manager. But at some point, these hard skills will be necessary for a manager’s success.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.