How Can We Improve Workplace Skills Without Formal Training Courses?

Addressing Workplace Weaknesses Without Formal Courses

If we have the following weaknesses, how can we address them without sending a person for a course:

- Adaptability
- Analytical Skills
- Apply Learning
- Build Working Relationships
- Communication
- Conflict Management
- Continuous Learning
- Creative Thinking
- Customer Focus
- Decision Making
- Developing Others
- Drive for Results
- Emotional Intelligence
- Following-Up
- Hard Work
- Influence
- Initiative
- Interpersonal Skills
- Job Knowledge
- Lead Change
- Learning Capability
- Meet Performance Goals
- Negotiating
- Planning & Organizing
- Receptive
- Results Orientation
- Risk Management
- Safety Awareness
- Seek Challenges
- Set Clear Goals
- Strategic Focus on the Big Picture
- Stress Management
- Team Leadership
- Teamwork
- Time Management
- Values and Ethics

Appreciate your suggestions.

Regards

Dear Najam,

It appears that you have copied a list of training courses from some training company's website and pasted them here as weaknesses. Why do you think these are weaknesses? Whose weaknesses are these if they are indeed weaknesses? Based on what parameters have you conducted the measurement?

If you do not wish to nominate the staff for some training courses to address these "weaknesses," then why not inform the training department to eliminate these weaknesses from the staff?

The Importance of Feedback and Mentorship

Sir, if removing weaknesses or developing skills were that easy, the world would be far different and simpler to live in. Merely reading books on a particular subject, browsing articles on the internet, or watching videos on YouTube is not sufficient. One needs a guide or mentor to assist in correcting the learner. Feedback is absolutely essential. Nobody has developed without feedback.

Calculating the Cost of Weaknesses

If your company is dealing with numerous weaknesses among the staff, have you calculated the cost of these weaknesses? Please consider nominating someone for a training course on how to calculate losses caused by these weaknesses. Such a realization can be more than sufficient.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Dinesh, this is not a copied list from any website. This list does not mean all these exist in our staff. In developing the IDP, we have placed these in a drop-down list to select the weaknesses. The question now is: is taking a course the only solution to eradicate these weaknesses, or can anything else be done?

Thank you.

Identifying Weaknesses in the Workplace

Identifying one's weaknesses is not easy. People often have the false assumption that "they know _____" or "they have experience in _____." If you provide the above list, what happens if people refuse to accept their weaknesses?

Secondly, even if they accept their weaknesses, what if they wish to live with them? The removal of one's weaknesses requires a lot of hard work. How many are ready to put in that effort?

In your company, how many examples do you have of senior managers who identified and later worked on their own to remove those weaknesses?

Circulating Competency Lists

Whose brainchild is it to circulate the list of competencies to the staff and tell them to identify which competencies they lack? Is it yours or your boss's? Assuming the average staff member has ten weaknesses from the above list, how much time will it take to address all ten? Has anyone calculated that?

Though your company knows that your staff lack certain competencies, this lack could be resulting in under-performance. Yet, there is no willingness to calculate the cost of under-performance. Instead of investing in staff training, your organization prefers to live with their under-performance and save money on training. Is this not your organizational weakness? First, try to address the organizational weakness rather than focusing solely on the employees.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Addressing Weaknesses through Strength Development

Firstly, I would like to inform you that these traits are strengths of people. A lack of one or more skills is called a weakness. To "remove" any "weakness," you have to generate strength in the related field.

Steps to Identify and Develop Strengths

Firstly, one has to "know" the field where he/she needs more strength. Secondly, is he/she ready to change? If yes, why? What is the motivation for change? Is that motivation strong enough to imbibe a change? In the absence of the "analysis" of goals and methods, even if they go for a course, they will fail to "apply learning."

Thirdly, they should start acquiring knowledge in their specific field of change. They may join a course or start self-learning. Self-learning will need stronger motivation to "continue learning." Also, it will pose more difficulties as there is no feedback, and no one is there to correct if wrong messages are being learned. On the other hand, learning from incompetent trainers will not bring the desired result. Their "decision" to start where and how will decide the outcome of their effort.

So, Najam, let them decide if they want to change for the better and how. If you want to help them as your team member, the BEST way is to go for a course that will take care of theory as well as practice or the application of the "learning." If you don't want to spend a lot of money on it, let them learn from free courses available on the net.

Regards,
Bandana Sen Gupta
Wellness Coach
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Hi Dinesh & Bandana, Dinesh, well, this list was not circulated to each staff. It was sent to their managers for them to fill in. Don't worry about how many weaknesses one has and the time for correction, etc. My question was to look for alternatives. Also, my company never denied anyone to save money and not send them for courses.

Regards