1. Leading printing executives into the future
Interpersonal Skills Influence Job Performance
By Jerry Scher
Published: June 11, 2013
I challenge you to find a well written job description for management, sales, marketing and even IT positions
that doesn’t mention the importance of having strong interpersonal skills as a pre-requisite. But as I continue to
ask what those skills/competencies consist of, too frequently folks struggle with a comprehensive response. And
to a certain degree they even have difficulty explaining why these competencies are important. So I would like
to shed some light on both of these issues – why one needs them, what they really consist of and how we can
measure them.
Why
In your personal or business life your ability to interact with others may be a big differentiator in how successful
you are. Frequently referred to as interpersonal or soft skills, one’s ability to communicate effectively, handle
conflicts, sense and respond to others needs and diplomatically persuade others to your point of view are critical
behavioral competencies. While in most jobs it is essential that you have a pre-determined degree of knowledge,
technical expertise and skill, without interpersonal skills you certainly will struggle with those all-important
relationships. These struggles can negatively impact your career as well as your ability to function as part of a
team. Most jobs today require that you be able to engage others, both internally and externally and it’s your
social skills that can make all the difference.
As the job market continues to progress, our multi-generational workforce and dramatic changes in technology
will continue to result in the creation of different kinds of jobs. One’s ability to solve problems, make critical
decisions, communicate effectively – verbally and non-verbally and manage diverse working relationships will
require that candidates and employees strengthen their interpersonal skills. Whether we are focused on executive
or management positions, customer facing jobs, operational positions or creative IT jobs –the people skills that
are so difficult to define and develop are becoming increasingly more vital.
What
Whenever we want to manage behavioral change we first have to measure the attributes we want to manage or
coach. And while we can identify specific traits and competencies it is important to note that individual traits
alone do not tell the whole story. If we can identify traits that are either gentile or dynamic and assess the degree
of balance that exists between them we are able to relate these traits to how effectively one interacts with others.
Measuring one’s ability to function as a productive team member as well as the degree of behavioral versatility
they possess is critical information when considering a candidate for a job as well as how you design an
individualized coaching strategy for an existing employee. And keep in mind that if we are attempting to change
our own behavior or coaching an employee, we must first begin with self-awareness.
Based on extensive research and the need to focus on developing interpersonal skills, Harrison
Assessments™ has identified a range of traits and competencies that represent one’s interpersonal skillswhich
can easily be measured. These competencies include both essential and desirable traits:
2. Diplomatic – the tendency to state things in a tactful manner
Helpful – the tendency to respond to other’s needs and to assist or support others to achieve their goals
Optimistic – the tendency to believe the future will be positive
Outgoing – the tendency to be socially extroverted and the enjoyment of meeting new people
Assertive – the tendency to put forward personal wants and needs
Influencing – the tendency to try to persuade others
Self-acceptance – the tendency to like oneself
Self-improvement – the tendency to attempt to develop or better oneself
Frank – the tendency to be straightforward, direct, to the point and forthright
Warmth and empathy – the tendency to express positive feelings and affinity towards others
Tolerance of bluntness – the level of comfort related to receiving abrupt or frank communications
Flexible - the tendency to easily adapt to change
Collaborative – the tendency to collaborate with others when making decisions
Open-reflective – the tendency to reflect on many different viewpoints
Manages stress – the tendency to deal effectively with strain and difficulty when it occurs
Relaxed – the tendency to fell at ease or calm while working
In addition they have identified traits that should be avoided when interpersonal skills are important:
Blunt – the tendency to be frank while lacking diplomacy or tact
Defensive – the tendency to focus on self-acceptance while avoiding self-improvement
Dogmatic – the tendency to be certain of one’s own opinions while at the same time not open to
different ideas
Harsh – the tendency to be overly strict or punitive when enforcing rules and procedures
Dominating – the tendency to be assertive with one’s own needs while failing to respond to other
people’s needs
Permissive – the tendency to be overly empathetic, failing to enforce necessary rules or make necessary
corrections to subordinate’s behavior
Authoritative – the tendency to make decisions without collaborating with others
Each of the traits described above play an integral part in how an individual will build and maintain
relationships and work as a creative contributor to a team.
How
So how can we actually assess all of these traits and competencies so that we can predict an individuals’ degree
of interpersonal skills? The SmartQuestionnaire™ designed by Harrison Assessments™ measures more than
150 traits, competencies, work preferences and interests. The questionnaire is administered on-line in less than
30 minutes. Utilizing cross-referencing technology, it provides the equivalent amount of information of 2700
multiple choice questions and the questionnaire has a built-in lie prevention system that ensures test validity and
consistency. By identifying the critical traits related to one’s interpersonal skills and creating a behavioral
competency template, Harrison Assessments™ can predict an individual’s strengths and challenges related to
their degree of interpersonal skills. Consider how valuable this information could be when recruiting, hiring or
developing your valuable employees.
If you are interested in learning about your own interpersonal skills; use this link
http://www.peakfocuscoach.com/product/interpersonalskills and follow the directions.
Or if you would like more information about how to more effectively identify and assess your all-important
interpersonal skills, contact Jerry Scher at jerry@peakfocuscoach.com or 404-931-9291. For information about
Harrison Assessments™ – the highly acclaimed assessment technology – visit
3. http://peakfocus.harrisonassessments.com/index.html
Stay tuned to this continual series – as we continue to focus the challenges of building an effective team.
Email | Print | Order Reprints
Jerry Scher has been engaged in the graphic communication industry for over 35 years, Jerry's primary goal -
make those around him more successful.
