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Whether you are an employee, independent consultant, or entrepreneur, technical competencies are necessary, but not sufficient, for personal success and fulfillment. This observation applies whether you are in the private, public, academic, or volunteer sectors. Non-technical or “soft side” competencies enable you to work more effectively with supervisors, supervisees, colleagues, clients, customers, students, the public, other stakeholders, and members of your community, neighborhood, and family. Augmenting technical competencies with “soft-side” knowledge, skills, and attitudes is the key to earning career security which is a much more viable life strategy than chasing job security.
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You must have long-range goals
to keep from being frustrated by short-term failures.
-Charles C. Noble, writer |
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ARCHIVED WEBINARS: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) archives management and leadership webinars which I originally presented live to many sites. One or more of these 60 or 90 minute webinars may be purchased by using your ASCE email and password. By taking and passing a post-test, users receive CEUs based on the course length. For more information, click here.
THE LANGUAGE OF MARKETING: Your technical specialty has its terminology, so does marketing. Twelve key terms frequently used in the consulting engineering business, and adaptable beyond, are defined in this complementary marketing glossary.
CULTIVATE CREATIVITY: Encourage -- don't intentionally or unintentionally discourage -- creativity in your business or government unit. Then get out of the way! Great things will happen, first to your personnel; then to your clients, customers, and stakeholders; and finally to your organization. Click here for the complimentary article "Creativity: Killing or Cultivating?"
EASY TO BE "DOWN" IN THESE DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES, BUT... - Many potentially great ideas have fizzled, been crushed, or not seen the light of day because of but-phobia or but-neurosis. Reason: What we say or write, that is, the content, when offering an idea or making a proposal is important. So is how we say or write it, that is, the tone and the emphasis, which are often determined by our use of “but.” Interested? Click here for the complimentary article "Avoiding But-phobia: Get on the Other Side of But."
INDIANA BOARD OF REGISTRATION FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS APPROVES STU WALESH'S COURSES - The Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers approved 18 of Stu Walesh's short courses for your use in earning PDHs applicable to Indiana PE licenses. These 60 and 90 minute courses can be provided on-site or presented live, via webinars, to a large number of locations. Each individual completing a course will be provided with a certificate of course completion that can be used in Indiana, and possibly in other licensing jurisdictions, to earn CEUs or PDHs. Click here for additional information.
NOT YET EMPLOYED OR RECENTLY UNEMPLOYED? - If so, click here for 8 tips to help you find that job.
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So called nontechnical, “soft side” competencies are often devalued or diminished. They are said to be of little importance or easy. “Soft side” competencies are neither.
Too many professionals fail to advance in their careers – to acquire career security – because they lack “soft side” knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Sometimes they do not realize their liability. We need to know something is “broken” if we are to “fix” it. In other cases, individuals know they have “soft side” deficiencies but fail to see the value in taking corrective action. Either way, the result is the same – failure to realize individual potential, to find and release the leader within.
If you recognize the value of “soft side” competencies you also know that they are not necessarily easy to acquire. Mastering nontechnical competencies requires knowledge of best practices and then thoughtful application of them. This website provides resources to help you practice improved stewardship with your gifts and your personality profile and make better use of who you are and what and who you know.
You are responsible for the development of supervisees and others. You are also busy. Please consider two suggestions.
- If study of specific nontechnical or “soft-side” topics is likely to be of value to certain supervisees and others, refer them to this website or specific portions of it, such as the Managing and Leading Books.
- Some “soft side” needs or deficiencies may go beyond individuals, that is, many individuals at one or more locations need help. For example, individuals may be working extra hard but not achieving as much as you and they would like. In this case, perhaps an on-site, face-to-face seminar or workshop about time management, effectiveness and efficiency, goal setting, and/or team essentials would be appropriate. Another option, and often a very cost-effective approach for simultaneous delivery to two or more locations, is a webinar, that is, use of the internet and a telephone conference call for which no one needs to travel anywhere. If the group mode of education and training interests you, for examples, please refer to the web page Tailored Education and Training. If you would like to discuss the feasibility of tailoring a seminar, webinar, or workshop to your organization’s needs, please call me at 219-242-1704 or contact me at stuwalesh@comcast.net.
We seem to be under ever-increasing pressure to increase productivity, to accomplish more with what we have and, sometimes, to do more with less. At a deeper level, many of us aspire to be even better stewards of our time and talents. At the very deepest level, we yearn for more than personal success; we seek significance in what we do. We want to get beyond ourselves, positively affect others, and make a difference. This requires managing and leading ability.
You can improve your managing and leading knowledge, skills, and attitudes – your “soft side” competencies—so that you can remain employable, earn career security, and enjoy success and significance.
Stuart G. Walesh
Learn More About Stu Walesh | Clients Served | Testimonials & Reviews
Managing and Leading Books | Tailored Education & Training
News & Events | Online Feedback | Online Resources
Innovation Workshop | Communication: Writing and Speaking to Make Things Happen
Book Review: The Power of Place
Comparison Of The Essentials Of Strategic Planning And Basic Operations
Book Review: The Dumbest Generation | Thoughts for the Recent, Unemployed Graduate
Prop Up Your Presentations
7 Steps to Getting a Solid ROI from Your Internal Education and Training Events
The Leader Within You: Let It Come Out! | Boats Offer Lessons For Us and Our Organizations
Art for Engineers:Encouraging More Right Mode Thinking | Is Your Organization Healthy?
Thoughts for the Not Yet Employed or the Recently Unemployed Engineer
Price Based Selection: Three Costs to the Consultant
Five Suggestions for Engineering Students and Young Practitioners
Avoiding But-Phobia: Get in on the Other Side of But
Creativity: Killing Or Cultivating | The Language of Marketing: A Glossary | Archived Webinars
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