Soft Skills Revolution: A Guide to Connecting with Compassion for Trainers, Teams, and Leaders -- Copyright -- Contents -- Tables, Figures, and Activities -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Questions and Tips -- Activities -- The Leader's Role -- About the Chapters -- 1. What Are Soft Skills? -- A Simple Definition -- The Importance of Soft Skills in Business -- Why the New Emphasis on Soft Skills? -- Soft Skills in Practice -- A Change in Perception -- A Progressive Definition of Soft Skills -- The Evolution of Soft Skills -- Who Got It? -- Teaching Soft Skills -- Soft Skills for the 21st Century -- Team Training Approaches -- The Leader's Connection -- 2. The Hidden Side of Communication -- Behind Our Human Interactions -- Intention -- Perceived Injustice -- Results of Clear Motives -- The C Shield Theory -- Aligning and Clarifying Your Motives -- The Light Bulb -- The Cynic -- The Heart -- The Spirit -- The Leader -- Unpleasant Organizational Players -- Bullies, Sociopaths, and Narcissists -- How to Deal with Bullies, Sociopaths, and Narcissists -- What Is Clear Communication? -- Source/Speaker -- Channel -- Decoding -- Receiver -- Response -- Removing Communication Barriers -- Message -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Activity 2.1. Values Ranking -- Activity 2.2. Forced Choice -- 3. The Power of Positive Intentions -- The Law of Attraction -- You Get What You Give -- Key Principles -- Kindness, Positivity, and Self-Esteem -- The Reciprocity Effect -- Men Are from Mars -- Why "Yes" Is So Powerful -- Body Language -- The Rewards of Altruism -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Activity 3.1. Higher Self -- Activity 3.2. What Do You Want? -- Activity 3.3. An Attitude of Gratitude -- Activity 3.4. Gifts from the Universe -- Activity 3.5. From Negative to Positive -- Activity 3.6. Thoughts That Serve.

Activity 3.7. From Me to You -- Activity 3.8. Random Acts of Kindness -- 4. Tact and Diplomacy -- What Diplomacy and Tact Accomplish -- Ten Ways to Invalidate Others -- It's Me and Not You -- The Language of Acceptance -- Five Steps to Effective Listening -- Step 1: Focusing -- Step 2: Encouraging -- Step 3: Paraphrasing -- Step 4: Reflecting Feelings -- Step 5: Summarizing and Supporting -- The Power of Questioning -- Leading Questions -- Socratic Questions -- Solution-Focused Questions -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Activity 4.1. Tact and Diplomacy Baseline -- Activity 4.2. Validation or Invalidation? -- Activity 4.3. Dialog -- 5. The Challenge of Problem Solving -- A Model for Problem Solving -- The Nine Steps to Effective Problem Solving -- Step 1: Problem Awareness -- Step 2: Gather Data -- Step 3: Define Problem -- Step 4: Generate Options -- Step 5: Evaluate Options -- Step 6: Make Decision -- Step 7: Develop Plan -- Step 8: Implement -- Step 9: Evaluate -- The Role of Intuition in Decisions and Problem Solving -- Other Elements to Consider -- More Than Just Following Steps -- Legal Issues -- Cultural Issues -- Beliefs and Values -- Personality -- Who Should Make the Decision? -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Overview of the Problem-Solving Model -- Activity 5.1. Practice the Model -- Activity 5.2. What Is the Problem? -- Activity 5.3. Tech Confusion -- Teaching Ways to Gain Group Agreement -- Brainstorming -- Nominal Group Technique -- Delphi Technique -- Scenario Notes -- 6. Soft Skills and Teams -- Types of Teams and Their Uses -- The Two Sides of Teams -- Determine Ground Rules and Process -- Four Stages of Team Growth -- 1. Forming -- 2. Storming -- 3. Norming -- 4. Performing -- Interventions That Encourage Results -- Team Member Roles -- The Facilitator -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities.

Activity 6.1. Why Teams? -- Activity 6.2. Determine Ground Rules -- Activity 6.3. What Is Not for Teams to Decide? -- Activity 6.4. Initial Team Assessment -- Activity 6.5. Your Trust Factor -- Activity 6.6. Team Functioning Questionnaire -- Team Assessment -- Activity 6.7. Brainstorming -- Activity 6.8. Transportation -- 7. The Personality Factor -- Understanding Personality Styles -- Finding Your Source of Energy -- The Extravert Experience -- The Introvert Experience -- A Personality Type Demonstration -- Soft Skills for Extraverts and Introverts -- Discovering How You Gather Information -- More on the Sensing Experience -- The Intuitive Experience -- Soft Skills for Sensors and Intuitives -- Identifying How You Make Decisions -- Thinkers -- Feelers -- Soft Skills for Thinkers and Feelers -- Describing Your Personality -- Judging -- Perceiving -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Activity 7.1. Your Personality Type -- Activity 7.2. Types and Teamwork -- Activity 7.3. Relationships -- Activity 7.4. Your Ideal Work Environment -- Activity 7.5. Demonstrate Differences -- 8. Taking the Sting Out of Feedback -- The Challenges of Feedback -- Types of Feedback -- Feedback at Work -- Giving Helpful Feedback -- Give Feedback in Person -- Use "I" Statements -- Make an Observation -- Describe the Value -- Let the Other Person Respond -- Lend a Hand -- Offer Confidence -- Receiving Feedback -- 1. Recognize Your Strengths -- 2. Be Open to Improvements -- 3. Listen -- 4. Acknowledge the Feedback -- 5. Clarify -- Make a Plan -- Say Thanks -- Making Feedback Positive -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Activity 8.1. Giving Feedback -- Activity 8.2. Team Feedback -- Activity 8.3. Feedback Wanted -- Activity 8.4. Just What I Need to Know -- Activity 8.5. Appreciation -- Activity 8.6. The Appreciation Cape -- Activity 8.7. "I Appreciate You!".

9. Conflict and Cooperation -- The Stages of Rage -- Physiological Factors of Stages of Rage -- Powerless -- Frustrated -- Enraged -- Reasons for Anger -- What Pushes Your Buttons? -- Dealing with Difficult or Angry People -- Difficult Behaviors -- Hostile Aggressives (Sherman Tanks) -- How to Deal with Sherman Tanks -- Hostile Aggressives (Snipers) -- How to Deal with a Sniper -- Hostile Aggressives (Exploders) -- How to Deal with Exploders -- Complainers -- How to Deal with Complainers -- Negativists -- How to Deal with Negativists -- Expert Know-It-Alls -- Dealing with Expert Know-It-Alls -- Unresponsive Clams -- How to Deal with an Unresponsive Clam -- Super-Agreeables -- How to Deal with Super-Agreeables -- Indecisive Stallers -- How to Deal with Indecisive Stallers -- Assertive Behavior Techniques -- Sorting -- Take Care of You -- Journals -- Be Firm and Tactful -- Take a Break -- Is It Personal? -- The Leader's Connection -- Activities -- Activity 9.1. Button-Pushers -- Activity 9.2. Common Reactions -- Activity 9.3. How I Learned -- Activity 9.4. What I Will Do -- Activity 9.5. Skills Test -- Activity 9.6. Stages of Rage -- Activity 9.7. Practice Sorting -- Activity 9.8. Angry Person -- Activity 9.9. Role Plays -- Activity 9.10. Appreciating Personalities -- Activity 9.11. Insights and Endings -- Activity 9.12. Be Good to Yourself -- 10. Conclusion -- How Philosophy Grounds Practice -- Your Purpose -- Content Review -- Soft Skills -- Motives -- The Law of Attraction -- Tact and Diplomacy -- Problem Solving -- Soft Skills and Teams -- Personalities -- Feedback -- Conflict and Cooperation -- Parting Thoughts -- References -- About the Author -- Index.