To be successful in the workplace you need to have some basic skills.
These are: Time Management, Negotiation, Work with diverse groups, Decision Making, Listening and Clear Communication.
Let us explore in a little bit more depth each one of them.
Time Management
We need to think about Time Management in relation to every day working life.
In projects we often use Gantt Charts.
The first step of creating a Gantt Chart is to list out all the tasks that need to be completed. Then, they are put in order that they need to be completed. Then, the time is allocate to each task.
Just having a Gantt Chart, however, does not mean that the work gets completed. It means that there has been some planning and allocation of time for each task and there is a way of checking the tasks have been done on time. If one of the steps is completed late, than it might be necessary to review all the remaining tasks and reschedule them. This might involve completing some of the remaining tasks more quickly.
The benefit of having a Gantt Chart is that potential problems can be discovered quickly so that there is an opportunity to address them.
Having a Gantt chart can be a very useful in managing project time, but we also need to have some skills in time management to be successful:
* Having a daily to-do-list, so that we start the day with clear understanding of what to do;
* Complete one task before starting another;
* Minimise interruptions;
* Having a tidy desk;
* Do not avoid tasks that seem difficult and tackle the biggest, most important jobs first.
Negotiation
Negotiation is part of everyday life. It is a process of trying to reach agreement between two or more parties. To reach an agreement, there will need to be some compromise. If two parties disagree, then there is a need for each party to give some groups in coming to final agreement.
When we are negotiation, it is important to remember that there is a need to prepare to compromise, and there is a need to try to persuade the other person to your point of view.
With work projects, you are most likely will need to persuade some people to help you. Completing your project will be your priority, but might not be for the person helping you. Therefore, you need to prepare to negotiate:
* Offer to help them with something in return;
* Negotiate the time they are able to help you, therefore you need to have some flexibility about the deadlines;
* Negotiate exactly about what the person needs to help you in the format that most fits your needs.
Work with Diverse Group
Working in a team is not always easy. Teams are created containing a lot of different individuals. Sometime they will not work together well. Adding diversity to the team can make it even more difficult. However, increased diversity in a group leads to increased creativity and improved decision making.
There are also some arguments, that diversity is a good idea. This is because diverse groups may have a range of different opinions and therefore thee might be more solutions to problems. If there is too much diversity the member might feel insecure. Therefore, there need to be some balance. Diversity managed effectively can bring benefits to the project.
Different people will also take different roles in a group.
Decision making
Decisions need to be made all the time during a project. Sometimes these decisions are small issues, but big decisions need a careful considerations.
Before making a decision it is important that the situation is thoroughly analysed and all relevant information is considered. Before making decisions, analytical process need to take place. There are various approaches on how to bring data to be analysed in order to make decisions.
Listening
Listening is part of communication. It is important to listen to others. Other people might have very useful ideas, but we will never know if we don't listen. Listening is not just about being quiet, but thinking about what the person is saying.
Clear communication
As well as listening to other people, it is important that we communicate clearly:
* Speak clearly;
* Avoid jargon and abbreviations that the listener might not understand;
* Use appropriate language and avoid slang;
* Choose the appropriate communication method: speaking, e-mail, phone, face-to-face, presentation etc.;
* Think about the response and prepare for listening.
We need to reflect on these skills and our current abilities in each area. All of these skills are important for effective performance of a project. It is therefore imperative we continuously try to improve in them.
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