Skills Development Flashcards
What is a skill
A learned ability to do something competently. It is a developed aptitude or ability which means that it is something that can be improved on with practise and repetition.
What are the three competencies
Practical, foundational, and reflexive
What is a practical competency
The ability to perform a set of tasks
What is a foundational competency
The ability to understand what you are doing and why you are doing it
What is a reflexive competency
The ability to integrate what you done, learn from your actions’ and adapt to changes or unforeseen circumstances
What are the 4Cs
Critical thinking
Communication
Creativity
Collaboration
What are the 4Cs needed for
Skills needed For todays world of work
What is critical thinking
Being able to think about problems in depth and detail and analyse the best solutions. This involved solving problems.
What is communication
Being able to share your thoughts and ideas and listen to those of others
What is creativity
Being innovative, finding new approaches to things and thinking out of the box
What is collaboration
Being able to work with other people towards a common goal; being able to work as part of a team.
What is the best way to apply the 4Cs
By having conversation which challenge you how to think
What are examples of controversial topics
Sexuality, race, gender, privilege, abortion vaccines etc
What does part of living effectively entail
- being willing to consider other peoples thoughts and opinions on a topic, even if they differ from your own
- being willing to have your opinion challenged and be open to the idea of changing perspectives
- having a well-considered opinion on a topic
- listening effectively, and actively trying to understand alternative perspectives
- having a calm, engaging discussion without losing your temper or shutting down
How do we apply the 4Cs to a conversation
Critical thinking: engage with multiple different perspectives and actively challenge your own thoughts on a topic. Source credible information
Communication: ensure that you engage in active listening. Rather than aiming to win the argument/ discussion, seek to develop and communicate a well informed opinion.
Creativity: think out of the box by sourcing articles and opinions that differ from yours. Aim to gain rich understanding of the topic before finalising your own opinion
Collaboration: engage in the discussion with empathy and an open mind
What is needed for effective cross-culture communication
The skill to understand, respect and work with others regardless of their race, culture, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, political or religious beliefs.
What are the benefits of cross-cultural communication skills
It facilitates inclusivity, greater productivity, and successful relationships
What are some tips to assist in cross-cultural communication
Acknowledge the differences: never assume that the message you want to send across will be received in the way you intended. Acknowledge that they are cultural differences at play that impact communication
Develop awareness: educate yourself on the cultures different from your own and understand the differences in communication. Certain gestured that are normal in your own culture may be disrespectful in others. For example learning greetings in different languages shows people that you are making an effort in understanding their culture.
Dont be afraid to ask for help: ask questions if you need clarity, and get help when required. People will be more relieved that you have thought about their culture in advance than just assuming you know everything about them
What is self serving bias
A persons tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors.
What is perspective taking
The ability to look beyond your own point of view, so that you can consider how someone else may think or feel about something. This can be a challenging skill, especially if you feel strongly about a topic
What are the factors to consider when engaging in an effective conversation where people have different viewpoints
- Remove self-serving bias
- Finding comfort in discomfort
- Willing to be vulnerable
- cognitive dissonance
- intellectual humility
- critical thinking
Explain finding comfort in discomfort
It can be uncomfortable to step out of your comfort zone however, the more you do so the better you will get at communicating with people who are different from you or hold different perspectives
Explain willing to be vulnerable
In order to communicate with people on topics that tend to be polarising. It is critical to accept that you will need to be vulnerable but engage with them anyways
What is cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is when you take on a perspective that challenges the way in which you view the world. It is uncomfortable to do this, because you may be challenging a belief you had for a long time.
Who introduced cognitive dissonance
Leon Festinger
What is intellectual humility
Recognising that ones beliefs and opinions might be incorrect. It’s about developing respect for other peoples opinions and ideas that are different to yours and having the maturity to be open to challenging your opinion on the matter.
What are tips for engaging in controversial conservations
- listen to understand
- focus on what is being said not who’s saying it
- reiterate what is being said to prevent miscommunication
- don’t not go in defensive mode you are only voicing your opinion not defending it
- contemplate. Take time to think about what you want to say
- avoid you statements as you start pointing fingers
- keep and open mind
- be aware of when it’s time to wrap up a conversation and bring it to an end
What do you always need to consider about information from social media
Wether it’s credible or not
What is the echo chamber effect
When a user is only surrounded by information that supports their previously or currently held beliefs. Companies like Google and Facebook design algorithms that tailer content to our interests meaning we run the risk of having our current political or social views constantly reinforced without ever being challenged
What is the fourth industrial revolution
A term used to describe the change to the way we live, work and relate to each other which are being driven by technology and the internet
How can we make ourselves marketable in the fourth industrial revolution
Embrace failure
Develop skills you will need to succeed in the workplace such as :
- literacy skills
- life skills
- transferable skills
- hard and soft skills
- scarce skills
What does it mean to embrace failure
To learn any new skill you need to put yourself out of your comfort zone and risk messing up. This may be nerve wrecking but it’s part of the Learning process
What are literacy skills
Literacy skills include information, media and technology literacy. Our world has become digitalised and in order to survive and succeed you need to understand and analyse information, know how to access and publish it, and know real from fake information.
What are life skills
Skills that are essential to master an develop as you move through your school life and into your career. This includes FLIPS- flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity and social skills.
What are transferable skills
Skills that employers value, regardless of the industry. For example interpersonal, problem solving, leadership and communication skills
What are hard and soft skills
Hard skills are technical skills that you need in order yo perform a job. These skills can usually be evaluated and measured and are learnt through training and practice eg computer skills
Soft skills are interpersonal, intangible skills that typically come naturally to you. This does not mean they cannot be improved on ,however there is a level of natural aptitude for many of them. Eg communication
Employers generally value soft skills over hard skills as soft skills are harder to train
What is a scarce skill
A skill held by an insufficient number of qualified people in an area. This is detrimental for a countries economy as in order to ensure economic growth it is essential that industries employ people with scarce skills where needed.
Scarcity of a skill can occur when a new job is being created or when a job requires a challenging qualification or vast number of years
