teamwork - Blog - Global Risk Community2024-03-28T19:01:14Zhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/teamwork7 Essential Skills for Proficiency in Knowledge Workhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/7-essential-skills-for-proficiency-in-knowledge-work2023-05-21T18:20:48.000Z2023-05-21T18:20:48.000ZMark Bridgeshttps://globalriskcommunity.com/members/MarkBridges<div><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}11134142271,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11134142271,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11134142271?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a>In today's Knowledge-Based Economies, the capacity to acquire and implement knowledge is crucial for both personal and economic success.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Knowledge acquisition and application can be divided into 4 basic categories. Each category of knowledge represents a distinct aspect of knowledge: Know-what, Know-why, Know-who, and Know-how.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">The importance of knowledge work to the success of an organization has grown in recent years. The struggle between competing organizations has shifted from tangible to intangible resources, in which knowledge and the capacity to apply knowledge play a crucial role. Having <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/knowledge-management-km-strategy-3801">a solid Knowledge Management Strategy</a> has become increasingly important for sustaining a competitive advantage.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Knowledge workers—employees who are valued for their ability to think analytically, <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/marketplace/analytics--data-analysis-guidelines-4319">analyze data</a>, solve problems, and make decisions based on data-driven insights—now play a crucial role in steering innovation and progress within their organizations by creating, sharing, and utilizing knowledge. Their knowledge and abilities are crucial to their organizations' creativity, <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/workplace-productivity-primer-3975">productivity</a>, profitability, and competitive advantage.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Multiple studies on the subject have been analyzed and synthesized to produce the following 7 skills that are essential to the success of a knowledge worker.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">The work of Cochran and Ferrari (2009) served as the basis for selecting these skills, with the addition of "Personal Management" based on the researchers' own insights.</span></p><ol><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Thinking Skills</strong></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Communication</strong></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Teamwork and Leadership</strong></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Lifelong Learning and Self-direction</strong></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Technology Use</strong></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Ethics and Professionalism</strong></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Personal Management</strong> </span></li></ol><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/7-skills-of-knowledge-work-7067" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11134141490,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11134141490?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Each of these abilities is necessary for knowledge workers to prosper in their positions and contribute to the success of their organizations. Through policies, procedures, and <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/marketplace/organization-structure-6116">organizational structures</a>, organizations and their leaders should facilitate the acquisition and application of each of the 7 skills for knowledge work.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Let's delve somewhat deeply into a few of the skills.</span></p><h3><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Thinking Skills</strong></span></h3><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Thinking abilities are the capacity to employ information effectively in order to solve problems, create solutions, and complete duties.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Thinking skills encompass critical thinking, systems thinking, analysis skills, problem resolution, creativity, and design.</span></p><h3><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Communication</strong></span></h3><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Communication skills are the capacity to comprehend and convey ideas effectively. In addition to verbal and written communication, there is also nonverbal communication.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">The 1st component of effective communication skills is the ability to comprehend and decipher complex information from a variety of sources and media. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">The 2nd component is effectively and appropriately communicating this information in multiple formats.</span></p><h3><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Teamwork and Leadership</strong></span></h3><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Teamwork and Leadership refer to the capacity to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Teamwork and leadership entail collaboration, motivation, and efficient management to attain shared objectives and maximize the team's effectiveness.</span></p><h3><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Lifelong Learning and Self-direction</strong></span></h3><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Self-direction and lifelong learning refer to the process of acquiring new skills, knowledge, and expertise in one's field of work or interest. Learning Organizations equip their employees with this capacity.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Interested in learning more about 7 Skills of Knowledge Work? You can download <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/7-skills-of-knowledge-work-7067">an editable PowerPoint presentation on <strong>7 Skills of Knowledge Work</strong> here </a>on the <a href="https://flevy.com/browse">Flevy documents marketplace</a>.</span></p><h3><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Do You Find Value in This Framework?</strong></span></h3><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the <a href="https://flevy.com/pro/library">FlevyPro Library</a>. <a href="https://flevy.com/pro">FlevyPro</a> is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://flevy.com/top-100/strategy">Top 100 in Strategy & Transformation</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://flevy.com/top-100/consulting">Top 100 Consulting Frameworks</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://flevy.com/top-100/digital">Top 100 in Digital Transformation</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://flevy.com/top-100/opex">Top 100 in Operational Excellence</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://flevy.com/top-100/organization">Top 100 in Organization & Change</a></span></li></ul></div>4 Traits of Exceptional Leadershttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/4-traits-of-exceptional-leaders2021-12-24T09:00:00.000Z2021-12-24T09:00:00.000ZMark Bridgeshttps://globalriskcommunity.com/members/MarkBridges<div><p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2209 align-right" src="http://powerpointing-templates.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Lead1-300x199.jpg" alt="Lead1" width="300" height="199" />Evaluation and onboarding of outstanding leaders is anything but straightforward. Almost all organizations have set up testing mechanisms or assessment centers to distinguish senior leadership candidates having traits that make up for <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/exceptional-leadership-5906">Exceptional Leaders</a>. These assessment centers shortlist leaders based on certain indicators and criteria.</p><p>However, these assessments are not always accurate in predicting the best leaders. At times, the entire evaluation exercise results in drafting mediocre leaders and fails to select top influencers and role models for the organization. The traditional methods of gauging senior leaders prove inadequate based, typically, on 3 common flaws:</p><ul><li><strong>Granularity</strong> – Gauging the candidates for leadership positions using the profiles of successful leaders from the past. Those profiles are not meaningful considering the pace of change today and the future needs of the organization.</li><li><strong>Long-term Focus</strong> – Assessment of candidates based on the traits required to reap the fruits of Business Strategy in 5 years’ time is another ground for not identifying the right leaders.</li><li><strong>Emphasis on finding typical leadership traits</strong> – Instead of looking for traits that separate exceptional leaders from the pack, most assessments are geared towards finding typical leadership traits.</li></ul><p>Research by PwC—spanning over a period of 10 years with a sample size of 2500 senior executives, who remained a part of C-suite successions in large organizations—reveals that the common flaws in leadership assessment methods can be confronted methodically. To find the best C-level executives, leadership evaluations should focus on identifying candidates possessing the following 4 key traits that are typical only of the top C-level executives:</p><ol><li><strong>Simplification & Operationalization of Complexity</strong></li><li><strong>Drive Enterprise-wide Ambition & <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/stream/change-management">Change</a></strong></li><li><strong>Strong Teamwork</strong></li><li><a href="https://flevy.com/browse/stream/leadership"><strong>Leader Building</strong></a></li></ol><p><a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/exceptional-leadership-5906"><img src="https://flevy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Exceptional-Leaders.png" alt="" width="595" height="450" /></a></p><p>Let’s dive deeper into these traits.</p><h3><strong>Simplification & Operationalization of Complexity</strong></h3><p>In today’s world of disruption, organizations face new challenges on a day-to-day basis. Exceptional leaders have the ability to process tremendous volumes of information and simplify things fairly easily. Leaders who truly standout are well-versed in tackling confusion and learn promptly. They are great at:</p><ul><li>Interpreting complexities and creating simplified operational descriptions around them for others’ understanding.</li><li>Developing visions to influence people and rally them around the shared objectives.</li><li>Developing & implementing actionable plans to achieve objectives.</li><li>Developing functional and dynamic storylines encompassing the agenda that demonstrates how the company will execute its strategy. These storylines consistently remind the people to concentrate on the things that matter most to the company (e.g. customers, products).</li><li>Creating and disseminating robust communication plans—highlighting how their company is best suited to face the challenges of disruption—that are consistently analyzed and improved upon.</li></ul><h3><strong>Drive Enterprise-wide Ambition & Change</strong></h3><p>People in an organization often operate in groups. These groups consider people outside their circle as competitors or “outsiders.” This tribal mentality is detrimental for an organization and inculcates individual thinking—focusing only on personal / group targets—and debilitates the ability to operate outside one’s comfort zone. Exceptional leaders have the skills to:</p><ul><li>Make people come out of this tribal or siloed mentality and think collectively in terms of realizing organizational objectives.</li><li>Understand different mindsets and know how to influence them constructively.</li><li>Make people realize their contribution towards the bigger, organizational perspective and work towards achieving their business unit targets rather than personal performance objectives.</li></ul><h3><strong>Strong Teamwork</strong></h3><p>Nobody can undermine or deny the importance of teamwork. Much has been written on the subject. However, in reality, most teams do not quite understand the spirit and commitment fundamental to develop teamwork.</p><p>Exceptional leaders:</p><ul><li>Are aware of the importance of teamwork and collective leadership. They consistently challenge their people to ponder over ways to achieve not only personal but also the strategic organizational objectives.</li><li>Work with teams to uncover prioritized initiatives critical for organizational growth.</li><li>Lead their teams and make informed <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/strategic-decision-making-4011">strategic decisions</a>.</li><li>Focus more on the Strategic Planning front than tactical way before they reach the C level.</li><li>Emphasize to the teams the significance of spending time discussing / <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/stream/strategy-development">developing strategy</a> and devising plans.</li><li>Focus on maximizing the effectiveness of each individual to benefit the organization.</li></ul><p>Interested in learning more about the traits of outstanding leaders? You can download <a href="https://flevy.com/browse/flevypro/exceptional-leadership-5906">an editable PowerPoint on <strong>Exceptional Leadership </strong>here</a><span style="text-decoration:underline;"> </span>on the <a href="https://flevy.com/browse">Flevy documents marketplace</a>.</p><h3>Do You Find Value in This Framework?</h3><p>You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the <a href="https://flevy.com/pro/library">FlevyPro Library</a>. <a href="https://flevy.com/pro">FlevyPro</a> is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here’s what some have to say:</p><blockquote><p>“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”</p><p>– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”</p><p>– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”</p><p>– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd</p></blockquote></div>Roles Playedhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/profiles/blogs/roles-played2021-11-23T00:04:32.000Z2021-11-23T00:04:32.000ZBryan Whitefieldhttps://globalriskcommunity.com/members/BryanWhitefield<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9834463066?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><div class="post-body"><p class="bard-text-block style-scope">It’s interesting how so many things scale in unison. In large organisations there is often talk about silos. But silos exist in small organisations as well. Even for my organisation of three. Me, my EA, Paula and my Relationship Manger, Wendy.</p><p class="bard-text-block style-scope">And as you and I know, enterprise risk management is a great tool for breaking down silos. Helping the left hand to know what the right hand is doing through well designed, integrated performance and risk reporting.</p><p class="bard-text-block style-scope">And so last week we did some enterprise risk management on our small practice. We looked at the roles each of us play and re-defined the silos we operate in.</p><p class="bard-text-block style-scope">You see, silos are great for getting stuff done. They allow us to focus on the objectives of our silo and to be clear on what is in and out of the silo. However, when focusing on our silo we tend to ignore what is happening in the other silos.</p><p class="bard-text-block style-scope">After re-defining the roles we each play we then thought about our communication needs. What information needs to flow between the three of us. And therein lies one of the biggest challenges in any organisation, getting the right amount of communication, of the right content, delivered in a way that is as easily digestible and actionable as possible.</p><p class="bard-text-block style-scope">Anyone involved in the design of your risk framework should think hard about this challenge. <a class="bard-text-block style-scope" href="https://rmpartners.keap-link007.com/api/v1/click/5019546369785856/~Tokens.Link~" target="_blank">Because getting communication right is the hardest thing to do in life</a>. Period.</p></div></div>