21st century

Two Magical Words for Best 21st Century People-Skills

Posted in Customer Service, inspiration, People-Skills, Soft Skills, Teamwork

Two recent experiences gave me insight to update this post (original was June 2010) to include even more value of the two magical words. Enjoy this post and the updates shown below in green.
As you read the title of this post, two magical words for the best people-skills (also known as soft skills or interpersonal skills), you might immediately think of please and thank you.  While these classics are still very valuable people-skills words, they are superseded by two words that are magical even when you just think them.

Could the two words be:

Trust & respect? Admittedly crucial yet just thinking them doesn’t necessarily produce great interactions.

Intuition & connection? Some people have little intuition yet they learn great people-skills.

What are the two magical words for the best 21st century people-skills?

Magical Words for Best People-Skills Source:Istock.com






“What If”










What if … helps you consider other people’s views.
What if … bonds with diverse customers.
What if … delivers unique customer care.
What if … engages and empowers employees.
What if … builds bonds on teams.
What if … leads people out of the fear of the unknown.
What if … frees you of the limits of your own perspective.
What if … encourages people to think outside-the-box.
What if … allows a fresh start after poor performance.
What if … opens people’s minds to constructive criticism.

What else does this magical two word phrase do? Or do you have another favorite two word phrase for the best 21st century people-skills?

Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach, brings her insights to your organization in workshops, webinars, and dvds on profitable people-skills for teamwork and customer care. See her in action Kate Nasser video footage.

For Effective Hiring in 21st Century, Engage Candidates in Action Interviews

Posted in Careers & Jobs, Hiring Talent, Leadership

Flickr:Djenan

Flickr:Djenan

Posing questions to job candidates in interviews, no matter how behaviorally based, doesn’t show you what they will contribute.  Perhaps this is one reason temp-to-perm positions became so popular even with the buy-out fee the employer pays.  The employer has seen the temporary staff in action.

Yet you can achieve a similar success by engaging job candidates in action interviews.  If you are looking for candidates with 21st century skills like creativity, conceptualizing, synthesis, re-invention, and true empathy/customer service, action interviews will get you there.  You can do them in-person or via videoconferencing.

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To find creative problem-solvers …

Hold a mock meeting on solving a generic problem.  Have the job candidate participate.  See if s/he offers out-of-the-box or safe ideas.  Does s/he contribute any ideas or simply listen?  You can assess the people-skills as well as creative problem solving. 

To spot empathetic staff for customer service …

Have your best customer service staff role play true-to-life scenarios with the job candidate.  Use blatant and subtle examples needing empathy and see what the job candidate responds.  It is one thing to discuss how you would handle a customer interaction and quite another to do it. 

To find synthesizers who can see new ideas in disparate details …

Pick a recent example that you solved through synthesis of different ideas. Give the different ideas to the job candidate and see how and what s/he synthesizes. 

To tap the pool of reinvention talent …

Give the candidate 2-3 everyday objects and ask them to make a new useful object out of them.  The useful object can be anything; it does not have to relate to work.  You are tapping innate abilities with this activity that you can later apply to work related challenges.

To find conceptualizers …

Have the team of interviewers and the job candidate play “What If We”.  You can use a hypothetical product or service that relates to your industry or customize it to relate to your organization’s products and service.   State the product or service in question.  Then each person states aloud “What If We …” to conceptualize a new angle or improvement.  This is also a great way to find out what the candidate knows about your industry and company.

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Remember: To find the best talent in the 21st century, engage candidates in action interviews.  Replace the bad surprises you get after hiring with happy surprises about job talent you find during action interviews. Combine them with resume/references and certain skill or interests tests where appropriate to get a fuller picture of the job candidate’s potential and interpersonal style.   

I welcome your comments, new ideas, and questions below. 

Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach