Episode #208: A Soft Skills Revolution Required

The Spa magazine in Japan released the results of a survey of 1,140 male full-time employees in their 40s, about what they hated about their jobs. The top four complaints were salaries have not risen because of decades of deflation; a sense of being underappreciated and undervalued and a lost sense of purpose.

Apart from not enough money, in a time of massive corporate profits, the other issues are all about leadership soft skills. Dale Carnegie Training did a global study of engagement. The results for Japan were consistent with the global trends. Japan’s scores were also consistent with every survey I have ever seen on the subject of engagement in this country. The percentages of those who are not engaged are always gob smacking.

Why would staff feel underappreciated? The reason is obvious. No one in a leadership position has shown them any sign that they are important, that what they are doing is important and that they have a future in the organisation. Part of the reason is cultural. Japanese prefer understatement and subtlety not passionate plights of appreciation. A boss coming back from a training course suddenly telling staff how great they are and how much they are appreciated would be viewed with distinct suspicion that something odorous was about to descend and this was some smoke screen before all hell breaks loose.

This says a a lot about entrenched ideas about leadership and expectations about leadership in Japan. The bar is so low here that any deviation toward something approaching more normal western management styles is viewed in a negative light. That means we have some work to do.

That global study said the gateway drug to gaining higher levels of engagement was to have staff feel they are valued by their managers. Often, work can become routine and parts of it can be tedious. The lower down the totem pole you descend the harder it is for those at the bottom to recognize that what they are doing has any great relevance for the organization. This is where the boss has to re-connect them to the machine. They need to see how what they do is important and where it fits into the overall picture. The essence of the job itself has to be established as having relevance, for them to feel they have relevance.

Their work may or may not be perfect but very few people in life try to do a bad days work. They may not be geniuses but they are usually doing the best they can. If we want higher skills we need to train them. If we want greater productivity we need to help them become motivated. How can that happen? Well telling people “be motivated’ won’t do it. This is an inside out, not outside in process.

The boss’s job is to have such good levels of communication that the individual aspirations of the team members are known and the work can be related to how this will help them achieve their aims.

For the boss to be able to do that with any credibility takes training in communication skills and understanding people. Barking orders at plebs is not the type of communication skill set about to unleash hitherto latent high enthusiasm levels for work.

Even bosses finding the time to actually speak about these things with their team are difficult. Flatter organisational structures has pushed a lot of work onto the boss’s plate. If the boss can manage time properly (know any?) and if they can delegate effectively (know any?), then this flat structure ordained busyness will be counterbalanced to some extent. So boss effectiveness in managing themselves, sets up the organisation to help them manage others in a more professional way.

Japan needs to address these failures of leadership in the soft skills area and tap into the full strength of the working population. They are not making as many Japanese as they used to, so we have to make sure we allow all of our staff the chance to shine. In this regard, bosses have a bigger responsibilty than ever before to get this right.

Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com

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About The Author

Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan

Author of Japan Sales Mastery, the Amazon #1 Bestseller on selling in Japan and the first book on the subject in the last thirty years.

In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.

A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcasts “THE Leadership Japan Series”, "THE Sales Japan series", THE Presentations Japan Series", he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.

Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.