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TLC at Work
Book

TLC at Work

Training, Leading, Coaching All Types for Star Performance

Davies-Black Publishing, 2004 more...

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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

If you are responsible for training or developing other people, if you are in a leadership role or if you simply want to accelerate your career development, getAbstract recommends Donna Dunning’s book as your personal study guide. The author utilizes her 20 plus years of experience in employee development to identify succinctly the five basic competencies everyone needs to succeed. Going a step deeper than the usual treatment, she recognizes that individuals who want to develop a particular competency may not understand what mastering that competency looks like. For example, what does "mindfulness" look like? Can you see mindfulness? Not really. But you can see the results of mindful behavior. Dunning focuses on identifying specific behaviors that demonstrate each competency so anyone who wants to develop a skill knows exactly what to do. Then she takes the process still further, identifying how personality types and preferences have an impact on the development of each of the five basic competencies. She shows facilitators how to work most effectively with each personality type to develop individuals to their full potential in a collaborative manner with the least amount of frustration and resistance.

Summary

Make Your Relationships Real

To help other people develop their workplace skills and competencies, build real relationships with them. Take a genuine interest. People can see through fake, insincere or half-hearted efforts. Be real. Conduct yourself professionally and demonstrate the behaviors you want to see. Set a good example by focusing on your self-development. Maintain confidentiality and be clear about how you will use – or not use – anything you learn during the development process. Explain who else will have access to that information. Balance the personal issues affecting your clients with their job responsibilities.

Learn as much as you can about your own – and your client's – personality type and natural preferences, so that you can truly understand both perspectives and appreciate the client's inherent strengths and weaknesses. Capitalize on his or her strengths by developing the client's five basic competencies. Aligning the way you work to fit the individual's preferences will increase your effectiveness, foster the client's development and help the organization.

Identify Specific Behaviors

The best way to develop a particular competency...

About the Author

Donna Dunning is a certified human resources professional with more than 20 years of experience in employee development. She is the director of Dunning Unlimited, a consulting firm that specializes in work performance, learning and career development. She is also the author of What’s Your Type of Career? and a member of the APT MBTI® International Training Faculty.