Life Skills for your Core Values in Business
Everyday of your life is another Lesson. If you learn the lesson well and apply it; whether (+/-), you determine what happens in your tomorrow on the path to success.
Topics: Making Friends, Empathizing, Feedback, Time Management, Apologizing, Saying “No”, Keyboard Shortcuts, Body Language, 2nd Language
Life is a Challenge. No one gets a hand book upon turning 21, complete with all the Core Values they’ll need to memorize and competencies they’ll need to acquire. Somehow you’re just supposed to know that you should have more money coming in than going out and you shouldn’t wear a T-shirt to a Job Interview in your profession. Fortunately, we’ve put together our own handbook of sorts, which lists many of the skills you’ll need to survive as an adult in the modern world. “What are some of the most useful skills to know?” as well as scientific research and expert opinion.
We can’t promise we’ve outlined every skill you might need, but if you’ve mastered these, you’re off to a good start and ahead of the pack:
1. Empathizing with others
The importance of learning to empathize with others; to listen to them and try to see things from their perspective. Psychologists say that empathy is a fundamental part of human inter-action Core Values. In fact, people who lack the ability to empathize and take an interest in other people are often narcissists.
2. Making Friends in any environment
Forming relationships as a skill, as opposed to leaving things to chance. That skill is especially important to develop during young adulthood, once you’re off the campus, where it’s generally easy to forge close friends. One way to make friends as a grown-up is to trade confidences. Research suggests that “self disclosure” predicts liking, closeness, & relationship-building. Another, surprisingly simple, tactic is to simply spend more time with the people you’d like to be-friend. According to the “mere exposure effect,” we tend to like things and people we’re familiar with.
3. Accepting Feedback gracefully.
For most of us, it is hard to hear how we made a mistake or could have done something better. An amazing skill (which you can learn through practice) is to set aside your emotional response in the moment and focus on the information presented to you. Some of it will be valid and some of it not, but let your brain decide that, not your ego.
4. Managing your Time wisely.
There will probably never be a time in your life when you aren’t juggling multiple personal & professional priorities. One of the Core Vales of Time-management is a must – unless you want to feel constantly frazzled. Perhaps the most important time-management lesson is that you should stick with one task at a time. Research suggests that multi-tasking is generally counter-productive, because the brain expends energy as it readjusts its focus from one activity to another. You’d be wise, too, to limit the hours you spend working. Decades ago, Henry Ford discovered that productivity started to decline after employees logged more than 40 hours per week. Other research suggests that, after three weeks, 60-hour workweeks become less productive.
5. Apologizing Sincerely.
To err is human, but to craft a believable apology isn’t a universal skill. The apology needs to be sincere, not qualified, not quantified, and also needs [to] outline how X will not happen again. According to one CEO, there’s a six-step strategy for successfully saying you’re sorry:
1) Act quickly, 2) Apologize in person, 3) Explain what happened, 4) Show how you are going to avoid the problem in the future, 5) Apologize, 6) Make restitution,
6. Saying ‘NO’ respectfully.
Many of us fear the word “no” because we don’t want to let other people down. But when you’re already swamped and someone asks you to take time to help them or are making a request you don’t think has value, It might sound a cliché, but saying NO when needed, can save you lot of time, confusion, guilt, attachment, commitments, stress & other social evils. The best way to muster up the confidence to turn down a request is to recognize that there “are some things you can never have back. Your time, your health, your virtue, your life. Don’t mess around with those things.
7. Using Keyboard Shortcuts.
Since most of the work we do nowadays involves computers, using keyboard shortcuts definitely gives you an edge and saves you a lot of time. Do a little research and find the Shortcuts that would work best for you. Keep the list somewhere close to your computer to learn and increase your productivity.
8. Communicating through Body Language.
“Sometimes your body language tells people everything they need to know before you ever open your mouth. Experts have highlighted specific body-language techniques that can make you more likable. For example, don’t break eye contact with your conversation partner, even after they’ve finished speaking. And make sure not to fidget or touch your face too much, which can give the impression that you’re lying or anxious.
You can also read other people’s body language to help figure out what they’re thinking & feeling. For example, if they mirror your body language, the conversation is probably going well. If they smile, but there are no crinkles around their eyes, they might be faking it.
9. Speaking a second language
Learning a second language “opens up the mind to an entirely new way of thinking,” says Noe Villela. You’ll notice and appreciate parts of the world you never before experienced.
It’s also possible that learning a new language can make you smarter — though the jury is still out on this issue. Some studies have found that being bilingual can improve cognitive skills, but more recent research disputes these findings.
One of the best ways to learn a new language is through immersion. Get started with this free online tool that replicates the immersion experience.
Comments: more Skills shared in Part 2.
from Independent Co. UK 19 April 16 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz
For more info, go to Link on Core Values, Success.