(83a) A Recipe to Excel: Beyond Technical Competency

The presentation will highlight the fundamental soft skill sets needed to be successful in managing diverse work forces in an organization. The skill sets are invariant of the type of organizational environment. This could span R&D driven organizations to manufacturing & production to engineering, procurement and construction driven organizations and to other service industries.

To be successful, it is taken for granted for any technically driven project or organization, that to carry out his/her assigned responsibility, the manager needs to have technical skills and understanding. The factor that differentiates a truly successful manager, however, is the manager’s extraordinary strength in soft skills, sometimes referred to as people skills.  The necessity of these skills is becoming more important and pertinent than ever before. The reason behind this special requirement is the diversity of groups involved in any work environment. Such diversity is due to rapid globalization. Challenges associated with diversity, when managed properly, bring strength rather than weakness.

In this presentation the importance of effective communication will be emphasized. Effective communication is the most difficult skill to acquire and practice but the most rewarding when a manager/leader acquires and proficiently applies it. Through effective communication the leader brings team spirit and trust. Trust in turn brings success.