Competencies
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Interpersonal Skills
Self-awaremess, Social skills and responsibikity
The more we are aware of our strengths and weaknesses, the better we are able to contribute as a cohesive member of a team.
Good social skills are foundational in the workplace. They help to build strong and long-lasting relationships which make for a better work environment and more fruitful collaboration.
Being able to manage responsiblities and commitments helps to make an effective contribution and to avoid burnout.
In relating to others, is aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
Is able to communicate and relate well with others.
Is able to effectively manage their responsibilities and commitments.
Growth Activities
The following activities have been identified to achieve comptency in Interpersonal Skills in levels from Learner to Expert.
Being able to manage responsiblities and commitments helps to make an effective contribution and to avoid burnout.
Reflect on how you can grow in resilience. What tends to influence you in a negative way? Discuss with your mentor.
Ask a friend at work for feedback on your interactions.
Reflect on what helps you receive criticism.
Reflect on what kind of advice you take to heart and why. What can you learn from your reflections?
Reflect on how you liked to be listened to and how you liked to be asked questions. Ask a friend about their preferences.
Read an article about interpersonal skills at the workplace. Out of the 10 points listed for this competency, identify 3 that you need to grow in. Discuss with mentor.
Reflect on how you show respect in your own culture.
Practice openness. Be intentional about engaging in conversations beyond work.
Reflect on what kind of affirmation motivates you the most.
Reflect on what helps you to resolve a conflict situation with someone. Think of a concrete example and discuss with your mentor.
Write a short personal reflection that explores how you have grown in the past year in your self-awareness and in your understanding of your relationship with others. Demonstrate in it that you can recognise your emotions, motivations and attitudes, both positive and negative. Discuss with mentor.
Assess your work-life balance. Do you have a healthy rhythm? Reflect on whether you need to make changes.
Consistently keep to deadlines and goals that you agreed to.
Take the initiative to serve where there is a need.
Share your personal story with your mentor. Reflect on how you have grown/changed in the last few years.
Discuss with your mentor in which areas at work you are using your strengths. Where do you need to learn more or ask for help?
Reflect on an occasion when you chose to remain positive despite the circumstances.
Discuss with your mentor the strategy / strategies that helped you in that moment.
Reflect on 2-3 occasions when you felt upset or angry at work. Discuss with your mentor your inner dynamics and what helped you to deal with those situations. What would you differently next time?
Explore 2-3 website about giving constructive feedback. Discuss with your mentor the techniques that you need to practice more.
Observe how your mentor gives advice. What concrete tools can you learn from him/her?
Have a conversation with a colleague from another culture about the most significant questions they were asked in their life and why those were so impactful. Discuss with your mentor what you can learn from that conversation.
Find out how people from another culture show respect. Reflect on how it is different from what you are used to. Discuss with mentor.
Reach out to get to know better a new person at work.
Find out how to express appreciation and affirmation in different cultures. Discuss what is relevant for your context with your mentor.
Find out about tools to resolve conflicts in different cultures. Discuss what is relevant for your context with your mentor.
Take a look at a list of values that drive behaviours and attitudes. Discuss with your mentor your 2-3 top core values and how they influence your attitudes and relationships at work.
How do you deal with differences at work that stem from differring top values?
Assess your work-life balance. Do you have a healthy rhythm? Reflect on how you might need to make changes.
Discuss with your mentor any areas in your time management and prioritisation of tasks that might need improvement. Set a SMART goal to work on it.
Make a plan for pursuing personal development in the coming year. Discuss with mentor.
Discuss with your mentor who the people are to whom you can be accountable. Why? How?
How can you maximise on your strengths to serve more effectively?
Set 1-2 SMART goals for the year ahead that you would like to pursue in your personal development.
Get together with someone you work with. Discuss your strengths and weaknesses in social skills. Give each other helpful feedback. Identify one area of growth.
Discuss with your colleagues how one gives advice in different cultures you know. Talk to your mentor about what you learned from that conversation.
Read 1-2 articles about the use of questions in cross-cultural situations. Discuss your takeaways and points of application with your mentor.
Discuss with your mentor what concrete steps do you need to take to achieve a better work-life balance?
By asking insightful questions, help someone grow in their responsibility and commitment at work.
Discuss with your mentor how you are accountable to 1-2 people at work and whether you need to make adjustments.
Facilitate group discussions and training events about self-awareness and impact-awareness and their importance in cross-cultural settings.
Having learnt from your own journey of growth, help another person reflect on their unique contributions and their areas of growth.
Through mentoring and training help others grow in their social skills.
Through mentoring and training help others grow in their responsibilities.