5 Keys to Overcoming the Power Skills Gap

Just a few weeks ago, I attended two different meetings that spoke about the struggle to train people in what are now being called “Power Skills.” These used to be referred to as “soft,” but as companies continue to grow and change more and more we recognize just how vital these skills are to doing business.

I spent the last four years learning, growing, and training in these skills and how to teach them to others only to find that the lack of skills in those searching for work is only half of the equation. While employers continue to bemoan the fact that the incoming workforce lacks the skills to succeed in the modern world of high touch business, employees continue to claim their managers, CEOs, and board members don’t treat them with these same skills.

While some claim the issue isn’t a “skills gap” at all, the whole truth is that the gap simply exists on both sides of the equation. Therefore, if organizations are going to overcome this gap, create thriving cultures, reduce turn-over, and increase profits they will need to change. The problem is that most companies are starting in the wrong places.

Here are 5 keys to overcoming the power skills gap and optimizing the leadership potential in your organization:

1. Look in the Mirror - Far too many people continue to point fingers at the deficits they see in others rather than beginning by assessing their own failings. When we make the choice to look in the mirror, we not only become the change we want for our world, we draw others to those changes. 

We also must be willing to have others point out blindspots. You have character traits that make you hard to live with. We all do, but if we are not willing to have others show us those spots, we will continue to create struggle for those around us.

If we are going to optimize the leadership potential of our organizations, we must first optimize our own leadership. This will require us to look at ourselves, and let others point out what we can’t see.

2. Find Your Framework - Most organizations were created to solve a problem in the world, but as they grow complexity grows with them. When we find ourselves at a crossroads where our systems have broken down not because of a lack of ability to create a solution, but because of a lack of team dynamics that work efficiently, we often begin to turn our focus to creating policies and procedures to fix the problem. 

Don’t reinvent the wheel! Leadership and power skills training organizations exist to solve this problem. Use us.

“But what system should I choose?” you may ask.

To be honest, it doesn’t matter that much. As a system creator that is hard to admit, but having a system for training power skills is more important than having the perfect system. 

A few keys to consider:

• Is the language memorable? (Common language helps to create better communication.)

• Is the system scalable? (While a leader must start with themselves, everyone needs to learn the same system.)

• Is the system adaptable? (Every organization will have unique quirks. Find a system that can adapt to multiple situations.)

3. Invest in Training - If you are going to begin making power skills work in your organization, you have to train people in power skills. First, the leaders of any organization should train in the chosen framework. Then, a small group of trainers should become experts in the chosen framework. Finally, the trainers should begin training the organization in the power skills framework you have chosen.

All of this requires an investment of both time and resources. If you are not willing to invest your time and resources in the process of change, you can quit reading. No change comes without sacrifice. If you are not willing to pay the cost of optimization, the results you have now will continue or fail, but do not think you can make this change without a significant investment.

That being said, the investment doesn’t need to be as large as you may think. With the right system, trainer, and platform that time can be as little as four hours a month, and more often than not employers discover that the money invested in this training not only saves money in retention, but actually adds to the bottom line of profit.

So, take the plunge and invest.

4. Set-up Mile Markers - Seeing progress on the growth of power skills can be difficult, so we need to create intentional markers for our teams.

• Leadership team trained

• Trainers trained

• Teams training

• Leaders repeating common language

• Teams using common language

• Celebrating the growth of individuals

• Celebrating the shift in team dynamics

You can choose your own markers, but once you have them set, you will begin to see how to better measure and celebrate success.

5. Adapt Your Systems - Once training is complete, leaders need to continue at every level of the organization to adapt systems to allow for the continued expectation of power skills growth. 

In one organization, their personality type is required to be kept on their office wall, so that people coming in understand each other’s different tendencies and needs. In another organization, the CEO has these same notes available in a spreadsheet to allow him to “review the room” before he enters a meeting. He knows who he has in that meeting and what their tendencies and needs are. Still one other CEO began using a “gratitude ledger” that allows him to see in raw data, who he has celebrated, when, and how. With this information he is able to intentionally celebrate everyone in the organization.

Secret Bonus Key - Like a hidden album track, there is a secret bonus key that will continue to take the five keys above and make power skills the norm for your team.

Repeat - The work to become good at power skills and mold them into your organization never ends. So, continue to return to the first five keys and do the work again and again. This may be another system change that becomes necessary to build. When will you evaluate and repeat the process to make sure veteran employees don’t forget and new employees aren’t left out.

In the end, power skills are not hard to learn or teach, but they can be hard to live if we don’t understand the keys to overcoming the gap, and optimizing our leadership potential.