The Three Most Important Competencies For Successful Leadership In University Of New South Wales Students Are Communication Skills, Problem-solving Skills, And Collaboration Skills

Why effective communication is important for leadership

The three most important competencies that the students of University of New South Wales should develop so that they can become successful leaders are communication skills, problem solving skills and collaboration skills. It can be said that effective communication is intertwined with effective leadership. Effective communication can help in developing an organization and it helps managers in performing basic functions pertaining to management like planning and organizing. The leaders should act as skilled communicators that can be effective for the growth of an organization. The reason behind choosing this competency is that it can help an individual in connecting with other people in the organization that is of crucial importance for the growth of the organization. It is important to communicate in a clear manner the strategy of the organization that can help the organization in reaching the goal and make profits. The problem solving skill is important for a leader as it can help them in anticipating problems (Lounsbury et al. 2016). It can help an individual in having a positive attitude that can effectively help them in solving important problems as a leader within the organisation. This competency was chosen as it can help the leaders in accepting problem and face reality pertaining to a situation.

 The problem solving skills of a leader can help them in seeing the bigger picture so that they do not get overwhelmed by any kind of emotion when they are working as a leader within the organization. Problem solving skills can help a leader in tackling problems so that they can make important decisions easily within the company (Losko and Cekada 2015). People can be equipped with a logical mindset that can help them in assessing situations in a quick manner. The problem solving skill however can help an individual in using the skill in different kind of situation that can help them in staying mentally alert which is an important competence of a leader in the present age. With the help of collaboration a leader will be able to learn from other employees of an organization.

Collaboration can enable a leader in enhancing the knowledge along with skills while working for an organization. Collaboration will help the leader in getting consistent feedback which they can then use for improving their professional efficiency (Vila, Perez and Coll-Serrano 2014). This feedback can help the leader in understanding his flaws and it can help them in getting better at the work. The collaborative skills will help a leader in working with other members of team. This competency is important as it can help an individual in growing within the organization and it can sharpen the professional skills of the leaders. Collaborative skills will help the leader in connecting workers across the various departments and it can help the employees in reaching their organizational goal. With the help of collaborative skills, workers will be able to get better support from the leader. Collaboration can help a leader in having a sense of purpose that can help them in moving towards the organizational goal. This competency is crucial for an organization as it can help a leader in working with other people that can effectively help in the growth of the organization.

Why problem-solving skills are important for leadership

In an organization, productivity can be said to be related to effectiveness pertaining to communication. The communication skills training can help in the aspect of organizational along with personal development. The communication skills training will be able to able to help an employee in dealing with people and understanding oneself in a better manner. The training methodology will include instructor led training, role plays and games along with group activities (Robertson et al. 2015). Hand outs would be provided to the participants that can help them in understanding the topics in a better manner. LCD projector along with audio speaker will be utilised in the process of training so that it can attract the attention of the participants. The instructor led training will focus on the importance of structuring of communication that can enable individuals in creating powerful result pertaining to business relationships. This part will focus on the importance of having clear objective that can guide an individual regarding how to conduct communication in an organization. It shall focus on the importance of active and passive listening that can enable an individual in learning important aspects within an organization. It shall enlighten an individual regarding how to deal with the difficult conversations and how the receiving of feedback can help an individual in training the communication skills (Bell et al. 2017).

The role plays simulations would enable an individual in building confidence that can help in the personal growth of an individual. The simulations will be based on challenges that the employees face in their everyday life. Many participants would be involved in this part of training that can develop the communication skills of the employees. The feedback from facilitator along with peers will be made use of as a learning tool that can help in sharpening the communication skills of the participants. The game of “Two truths and  a Lie” can be played in the organization in which each team member shall write two truths along with one lie about themselves on paper (Massenberg, Spurk and Kauffeld 2015). After the completion of this step, there will be open conversation among the employees in which every participant shall quiz other employees about the three questions. This game can prove to be useful in training the communication skills of an individual in an organization.

It has been found that there are three barriers pertaining to problem solving in an organization- faulty definition, wrong level in relation to complexity and negative bias. The training program will focus on the fact how the identification of the available options can enable an individual in the aspect of problem solving. It shall talk about the importance of establishing of useful time frames that can help an individual to solve problems in an organization (Kogan et al. 2015). The 5 Step Dialectical Method will be taught to the employees that can help them in solving dilemmas arising in an organization. The five steps would be taught to the employees of an organization:

Why collaboration skills are important for leadership

Step 1: issues along with challenges

Step 2: definition pertaining to core dilemma

Step 3: strategic modelling

Step 4: gap analysis

Step 5: resolution planning

The DSM model would be applied to the business that can help the participants in learning important skills relating to problem-solving in an organization. The training program will focus on brainstorming along with action planning. During the process of brainstorming, the assumptions have to be uncovered so that the underlying problems are revealed clearly. This process can help in the process of collection and analysing of data. The employees will be trained regarding how to develop the action plan that can help in the execution pertaining to solution process (Eichhorst et al. 2015). The training program will focus on the fishbone diagrams that can help the employees in learning about techniques in relation to problem solving. Refresher training that are given to the workers from time to time can help them in reminding workers about the techniques of problem solving that can be useful for employees in an organization.

Collaborative skills can help in the formation of employees who are trustworthy along with being accountable. This can prove to be beneficial for a company as it can help in advancing mission along with focus. This competency can help individuals in managing conflict and finding better solutions in relation to the problems. It can help them in facing challenges that can increase the motivation of the individuals (Hyman 2017). A workshop would be provided to the employees where there would be a frank assessment in relation to the current level of the co-operation of a group. The participants can identify the changes that should take place in the workplace that can help in encouraging the aspect of collaboration.  Collaboration exercises would be given to the workers in an organisation (Sitzmann and Weinhardt 2018). The participants would have to tackle challenges when they would be working together for solving problems. The employees would then discuss about observable behaviour that is associated with that of collaboration. The training program would focus on behaviours along with conditions that pave the path for dysfunction of a team. It would focus on trust, self-awareness, communication and reflection (Walton et al. 2015). The program would also focus on the techniques that can help in improving the manner of conducting meetings and it would introduce the participants to actions that can help in transforming the meeting into an effective collaboration session. The participants would also be taught to develop a new perspective towards conflict (Manuti et al. 2015). They would be able to view more options that can help them in getting over personality-driven along with issue-driven disagreements. They would be taught techniques that can help in improving the aspect of idea generation along with decision making. The participants in this part of the training program will learn to use different tools like affinity diagrams, scoreboards along with decision matrices (Gamrat et al. 2014).

References:

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Eichhorst, W., Rodriguez-Planas, N., Schmidl, R. and Zimmermann, K.F., 2015. A road map to vocational education and training in industrialized countries. ILR Review, 68(2), pp.314-337.

Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H.T., Dudek, J. and Peck, K., 2014. Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. British journal of educational technology, 45(6), pp.1136-1148.

Hyman, J., 2017. Training at Work: Critical Analysis of Workplace Training and Development. Routledge.

Kogan, J.R., Conforti, L.N., Bernabeo, E., Iobst, W. and Holmboe, E., 2015. How faculty members experience workplace?based assessment rater training: a qualitative study. Medical education, 49(7), pp.692-708.

Losko, J.M. and Cekada, T.L., 2015. Key Competencies: Preparing Graduates for the Global Workplace. Professional Safety, 60(12), pp.45-49.

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