Features

Published September 2008

Lifestyle Learning: Improve the Bottom Line With Behavioral Education

Agatha Gilmore

Academic education and professional degrees can impart the technical expertise necessary for on-the-job success, but ultimately, work styles and techniques are what drive productivity.

In today’s knowledge economy, with lightning-fast Internet connections and an increasingly globalized marketplace, information reigns supreme. Modern, user-generated tools such as Wikipedia.com and blogs have not only made communication easier and faster, they have emphasized the importance we place on sharing knowledge.

For this reason and more, education is a hot commodity. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees help those in the workforce acquire the theoretical knowledge and technical expertise required to get a leg up on the competition. But even in today’s world, a degree can only take you so far.

“The notion of a degree or a certification or a certain educational level really is [just] the price of admission into a job or job function,” said David Collins, vice president and general manager of the training products division at Tracom Group, a provider of workforce performance solutions.

Once an individual has the knowledge, it’s the way he goes about doing his work — his organizational, time-management and behavioral skills — that ultimately drives results.

“Proven knowledge and skills are often necessary conditions for people to be high performers and to be successful. But the will-do, the motivation, the engagement facets really play a role in whether or not you will deploy what you’re capable of doing,” said Dr. Kenneth Nowack, a licensed psychologist and president and chief research officer of Envisia Learning.

Keeping this in mind, learning organizations can leverage the work styles, choices and techniques of successful employees to elevate curriculum and improve the overall productivity of the workforce.

Successful Social Styles
Nowack said success can be conceptualized as a scorecard that involves four independent elements: happiness, values, achievement and relationships. A successful person is fruitful in all four. But how does he or she do it?

“The most successful individuals possess a set of personality qualities and practice lifestyle behaviors that facilitate continuous growth and learning,” Nowack said. “Some of these include being conscientious and achievement-oriented; identifying and deploying signature strengths; practicing forgiveness and expending less energy [on] remaining angry; actively acknowledging stress and practicing stress-reduction techniques when experiencing work and life triggers to reverse the fight-or-flight response; utilizing support of others, as well as expressive writing to let feelings out; maintaining a regular sleep cycle; [and] taking time to become physically active.”

Nowack added that a recent Harvard Business Review article, titled “How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better,” also offered insight into this topic.

1 2 3 4 Next Page »

Tracom's Social Style Model

Agatha Gilmore

Organizations that focus strongly on interpersonal skills learning are on average 27 percent more productive, according to a recent study by Accenture.

Click to read more

Registered users are allowed to post comments. Login Register

Executive Search

Director, Learning & Development
06/23/2009
BAI, the premier provider of breakthrough intelligence, innovation and information for the financial services industry, seeks a Director to lead our Learning & Development business. BAI provides a comprehensive range of learning and development services to over 1,500 banks and credit unions. We are seeking a leader capable of leveraging this strong foundation to grow the business in BAI's St. Louis, MO office.

The World Bank Knowledge and Learning Coordinator Washington, DC
12/22/2008
The Latin America & Caribbean Region (LCR) of the World Bank serves over 30 countries, mostly middle-income which, despite having middle-income economies, still struggle with pockets of poverty and high level of inequalities.

Recruit the right prospects
03/19/2008
Reach the right prospects with Executive Search and improve your possibilities for fast, effective, successful executive recruitment.