SOFT SKILLS AND TEAMWORK Laura Bevans Talent Coach

SOFT SKILLS AND TEAMWORK Laura Bevans, Talent Coach Falmouth Employability Service

SOFT SKILLS AND TEAMWORK By the end of this session you will: • What do we mean by ‘soft skills’ • Consider the key pillars of teamwork • Understand the importance of communication skills when working in a team • Gain tips on communication techniques and best practice • Be able to provide constructive feedback • Be able to identify fixed and growth mindset when receiving feedback

SOFT SKILLS ……personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. • Communication • Interpersonal • Mindset

WHAT IS TEAMWORK? “Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a team to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. ” …. . bringing together different personalities with a range of skills and motivations.

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL TEAM? • Trust • Accountability • Commitment • Conflict • Results

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

COMMON CHALLENGES In groups, come up with 3 challenges you/a peer/your society etc have experienced. • Identify the issue • How many people were involved? • How did the challenge escalate? • Was the challenge rectified? • What were the outcomes?

TEAM DYNAMICS • Open communication to avoid conflicts. • Effective coordination to avoid confusion and the overstepping of boundaries. • Efficient cooperation to perform the tasks in a timely manner and produce the required results, especially in the form of workload sharing. • High levels of interdependence to maintain high levels of trust, risktaking, and performance.

COMMUNICATION Name the 10 key elements to positive & successful communication…… Listening Non verbal Clarity & concision Friendliness Confidence Empathy Open Mindedness Respect Feedback Medium of conversation

FEEDBACK • When have you received feedback? • Did you welcome the feedback? • What feelings did this cause you to have? • How did you react? • What was the outcome of the feedback?

WHY IS FEEDBACK IMPORTANT? #1 It’s there all the time #2 Just another word for effective listening #3 An opportunity to motivate #4 Essential to develop performance #5 A crucial way to keep learning

5 STEPS TO GIVING GOOD FEEDBACK With the person next to you, come up with 5 steps to giving good feedback. • Ask for permission • State what you observed • Explain the impact • Pause • Suggest concrete next steps

What Does Good Feedback Look Like? Role Play: Someone isn’t working in line with the rest of the team, they are deliberately doing the opposite of what everyone agreed. You are tasked with discussing this with the individual. Make sure you’re avoiding these common errors: • Choose one issue at a time. • Don’t be too critical or focus too heavily on the negative. But don’t avoid real problems, either. If there’s an issue, don’t be afraid to state it. • Avoid vagueness. • Leave plenty of time for the recipient of your feedback to ask or answer questions and respond to what you’ve said.

RECEIVING FEEDBACK

FIXED VS GROWTH MINDSET Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent. I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort. What if you fail—you’ll be a failure. Most successful people had failures along the way. If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity. If I don’t try, I automatically fail. Where’s the dignity in that? It’s not my fault. It was something or someone else’s fault. If I don’t take responsibility, I can’t fix it. Let me listen—however painful it is– and learn whatever I can.

RESILIENCE Turning disruptive changes and conflicts from potential disasters into growth opportunities. (Maddi and Khoshaba, 2005)

RECAP • Teamwork: working collaboratively towards a common goal • What makes a successful team • Team dynamics • Key elements of communication • The importance of feedback • Feedback tips and best practice • Fixed vs growth mindset • Importance of resilience

COME AND SAY HELLO Falmouth University Employability Service Exeter University Where? The Career Zone, The Exchange (Penryn) The Hub, (Falmouth) The Career Zone, The Exchange (Penryn) Falmouth. ac. uk/employability 01326 253735 employability@Falmouth. ac. uk Mycareerzone. ac. uk Exeter. ac. uk/careers 01326 253735 Cc-careers@Exeter. ac. uk

Questions?