FREE online courses on Change Management - Change Management - The Skill
Requirements - People Skills
As stated earlier, people are the sine qua non of organization. Moreover, they come characterized by
all manner of sizes, shapes, colors, intelligence and ability levels, gender,
sexual preferences, national origins, first and second languages, religious
beliefs, attitudes toward life and work, personalities, and priorities - and
these are just a few of the dimensions along which people vary. We have to deal
with them all.
The skills most needed in this area are those that typically
fall under the heading of communication or interpersonal skills. To be
effective, we must be able to listen and listen actively, to restate, to
reflect, to clarify without interrogating, to draw out the speaker, to lead or
channel a discussion, to plant ideas, and to develop them. All these and more
are needed. Not all of us will have to learn Russian, French, or Spanish, but
most of us will have to learn to speak Systems, Marketing, Manufacturing,
Finance, Personnel, Legal, and a host of other organizational dialects. More
important, we have to learn to see things through the eyes of these other
inhabitants of the organizational world. A situation viewed from a marketing
frame of reference is an entirely different situation when seen through the eyes
of a systems person. Part of the job of a change agent is to reconcile and
resolve the conflict between and among disparate (and sometimes desperate)
points of view. Charm is great if you have it. Courtesy is even better. A
well-paid compliment can buy gratitude. A sincere “Thank you” can earn respect.
