INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

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INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
 Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to communicate and interact with other people, both
individually and in groups.
 People who have worked on developing strong interpersonal skills are usually more successful in both their
professional and personal lives.
 Employers often seek to hire staff with 'strong interpersonal skills' - they want people who will work well in a
team and be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers and clients.

List of Interpersonal Skills

 Verbal Communication - What we say and how we say it.
 Non-Verbal Communication - What we communicate without words, body language is an example.
 Listening Skills - How we interpret both the verbal and non-verbal messages sent by others.
 Assertiveness - Communicating our values, ideas, beliefs, opinions, needs and wants freely.
 Negotiation - Working with others to find a mutually agreeable outcome.
 Problem Solving - Working with others to identify, define and solve problems.
 Conflict handling - Exploring and analyzing options to resolve differences

Definition of Interpersonal Communication

 Interpersonal Communication is a process of delivering a message or meaning through verbal or non-verbal
means and also eliciting desired response.
 In interpersonal communication there are more than one person that is two or more people in interaction for a
purpose.

Perspective of Interpersonal Communication

 The quality of our Interpersonal Communication determines the quality of our life.
 Interpersonal Communication strengthens interpersonal Skills

Components of Interpersonal Communication

1. Conversation
 Mention Their Names
 Use Suitable Language
 Tone Of Voice
 Simplify Your Message
 Give Other People The Chance To Talk And Do Not Control All
 Try To Control From Telling Too Much About Yourself
 Use Closed And Open Questions Properly
 Contents Of Your Sentence
 Suitability Of Topics To Talk
 Winning People’s Heart
 Be Interesting Vs. Be Interested

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The Way to Converse

 Be confident, cool and relaxed
 Be yourself – do not belittle yourself but at the same do not be arrogant – must show respect to all parties
 Be assertive – do not let other people step on your head
 Give your opinion if you don’t agree – with full of diplomacy and respect

2. Listening
 Look at the eyes and give attention
 Show your interest
 Concentrate
 Show that you are actually listening to them with full interest
 Ensure that you really understand what you have just heard
 Give encouragement for people to keep on talking
 Listen to ideas
 Do not interrupt or try to finish his sentence
 Do not be too fast to conclude
 Do not focus on what you are going to say

3. Body language
 Give space so that you both are comfortable
 Nod your head as a sign of agreement wherever apt
 Smile during conversation
 “Mirroring” is you create the same body posture with those you are talking to – if they are standing with one
leg up, you do the same, if they are holding cup, you do the same. This is called mirroring. “Mirroring” will
create a more friendly and relaxed atmosphere between you and the other person.
 Avoid from:
1. Yawning,
2. Scratching your head,
3. Drilling your nostrils,
4. Digging your ears, and all sort of inappropriate actions

4. Environment
 Try to understand their mood (are they tired, have many problems, after getting scolded from their boss,
feeling sad, mixed feeling etc.)
 Look at suitability of topic at that moment (talking about marriage to women who haven’t got married,
talking about child birth with the couple who don’t have kids yet etc.)
 Find suitable place (eg. quite, not many people around) for the topic you want to discuss. To discuss multi-
million dollar business deal, must find a suitable place.
 Find suitable environment (cold, not smelly, refreshing, clean)

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5. Self-appearance
 The way you dress - dress you wear express your involvement
 Cleanliness - mark of your importance
 Color of your dress - dressing is your outer personality
 Ornaments - ornaments must be apt
 Body smell - any deodorant mild & pleasing

Challenges in Communication
Misunderstanding in communication might happen in:
 When talking always want to win or be superior
 When talking, emotion is more than facts
 When giving opinions, very fast in finding other people’s faults
 When asking questions, the intention is to test the people
 When talking, always want to make other people feel guilty
 When talking, very arrogant, big talk and belittle other people.

Normally, most people don’t want the following:

ONE WAY COMMUNICATION – do not give chance to other people to talk.

 Pestered – just like being pushy.
 Dictated – like to control.
 Imposed – give one-sided point of view.
 Insisted – do not give much choices.
 Manipulation– salesmen, bad leaders
 He feel he’s the only one who’s right and other people do not know anything.

Discussion
 Discussion to hurt other people’s feelings
 Arguments just for fun – no objective, waste of time, hurt the feeling

IMPORTANT TIPS ON INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

MANKIND WANTS MANKIND DON’T WANT

 To be respected  To be ridiculed
 To be appreciated  Belittled
 To feel important  Neglected
 To play some roles  Segregated
 To be friends with others  Cruelled
 Win-win – enjoy their rights  Underestimated
 Mistreated

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RELATIONSHIP

SPOILERS ENHANCERS
 Have strong vested interest  Good intention
 Like to take advantage  Always helping
 High expectation  Keep his dignity
 Blame without investigation  See the good aspects than the bad aspects
 Lying when speaking  No hidden agenda
 Back biting  Telling the truth and be trustworthy
 Take his rights  Give priority to a friend

Building Positive Relationship

1) Use of I must be appropriate to the extent of taking responsibility for your statement;
Like “I want to give you a feedback”
“I want to ask you…”
otherwise” I “ will be viewed as blowing one ‘s trumpet; may be liked
2) Issues that crop up need to be solved then & there; focusing on problem solving is important
3) Be honest; never have hidden agenda & make the person feel deceived
4) Empathy is stepping into the shoes of the person; understanding from their angle
5) Listening is important; when you listen make your mind silent

Use of Praise
Sincere praise will strengthen the bond.
 Be specific
 Praise progress
 Sincere
 Don’t overdo
 Timing

NETWORKING

What is Networking?
Networking is the deliberate process of exchanging information, resources, support, and access in such a way as to
create mutually beneficial relationships for personal and professional success.

Why networking?
Many people have agreed that it’s all about who you know in the working world. Networking with the right people in
your industry can open doors for you and help your career flourish. Consider this your guide to networking.

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What can networking do for college students?

For starters, networking helps you acquire contacts, information and helpful advice surrounding your industry, which
is exactly what you need to do when job hunting.

If you’re quite shy, start small; make a list of everyone you know; family, friends, neighbours, classmates and anyone
else you can think of – the more contacts you have, the more information you’ll gain. Try to stick to people who are in
some way connected to your chosen career field – that way you’ll always be kept in the loop about job openings, if you
play your cards right.

6 Degrees of Separation
Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet
through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in 1929 by
the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy

After checking 30 billion electronic messages, Microsoft researchers say the theory stands up

By studying billions of electronic messages, they worked out that any two strangers are, on average, distanced by
precisely 6.6 degrees of separation. In other words, putting fractions to one side, you are linked by a string of seven or
fewer acquaintances to Madonna, the Dalai Lama and the Queen.

Misconceptions about Networking

 “I do a good job, I shouldn't have to network at work. My work should stand for itself.”
 “I tried networking last Thursday,” It doesn't work.”
 “Networking is fine for the junior folks who are still struggling to climb the ladder, “But I don't need to
network anymore.”
 Networking is manipulative, “I don't like the idea of arm twisting someone to do something for me
 Networking is boring and … uncomfortable.”
 “I'm not looking for a job right now, "I don't need to network.”
 Networking has never done a thing for me or my career
 “I wasn't born with the gift of gab, "I'll never be any good at networking.”
 “Networking is a waste of time, “I leave networking events asking myself, ‘Why did I come?’”

Develop Your Relationship:

 Develop Trust-Move from Taking to Trusting Trust is the outcome of several (research indicates six to eight)
conversations in which you provide examples of your trustworthiness and observe your contact's behavior
and listen to what he says to determine if he can be trusted.
 As people begin to network, they typically focus on trying to get something for themselves. There's nothing
wrong with wanting your efforts to bear fruit. But, that's only part of the story.
 Networking is not just about TAKING
 To build trust, you must convince your contact of your Character, as well as your Competence
 Nothing destroys relationships quicker than one party feeling manipulated by the other

Your contacts will begin to trust you if you:

 Show That You can be trusted.
 Do what you say you will do.

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 Meet deadlines.
 Go for the win/win solution.
 Treat everyone you meet fairly.
 Be unfailingly reliable.
 Speak well of people even when they are not present.
 Come from a position of abundance, not scarcity.
 Collaborate rather than compete.
 When something goes wrong, ostentatiously make it right or compensate generously for your failure.
 Go the extra mile.
 Respect other people's time and possessions.

Write down the list of 10 people you know

Six Stages Model

Accidents. In your lifetime, you will bump into thousands of people. These casual,
unplanned, random encounters are Accidents. They probably will never be
repeated. They are one-time-only meetings. You are thrown together for some
period of time. So you talk to each other—in line for tickets to the hit play, in the
emergency room waiting area, when you are 14C and she is 14B on the plane. Any
person you meet outside a common context is an Accident. Networking
relationships sometimes grow out of Accidents if you can find a reason to stay in
touch.

Acquaintances. People that you run into because of who you are and what you do
are Acquaintances. They have something in common with you. An Acquaintance
may be a person who is a friend of a friend. You meet at your neighbor's daughter's
wedding, for instance. You might see an Acquaintance again. Then again, you might not. There's enough of a
connection there that, if you had to, you could probably find an Acquaintance again.

You may be able to recall an Acquaintance's name, but you haven't really begun to learn about each other.

Associates. People you come in contact with on some regular basis for some period of time are Associates. You are
both part of the same system. You've both joined the alumni association, or the swim club, or a professional
association, or you work for the same employer. Because you see each other every week or every month—or even
every year—you have the chance to learn each other's names and reconnect often enough to learn a bit about each
other. But unless both of you work at the relationship, it will never develop. You will continue to see each other, chat
briefly, and part, without providing any assistance to each other.

Advocates. People who believe in each other's Character and Competence are Advocates. You know that your
Advocates will come through, and they know that you will help them. You have developed a high level of trust with
each other. Your antenna is up for information and resources for these people. And they, likewise, feed you
opportunities. You speak well of them.

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Allies. People who are experts on you, your business, your career, your needs, your aspirations, and your vision are
Allies. They know where you've been and where you're headed—and they want to help you get there! They are your
senior advisors, and you are theirs. Because you talk about core life and business issues, you have established
confidentiality as a ground rule of your relationship. You both are so committed to your mutual success that you serve
on each other's unofficial Board of Directors. These are the people you turn to for sage advice—on how to climb the
corporate ladder, on whether it's time to open a branch office in Denver, on how to deal with a difficult client. Allies
commiserate with you when the going gets rough and celebrate with you when success is sweet.

Networking skills
 Know the “skills”
 Avoid the Turn-Offs
 Don't tell all the details
 Don't do monologues and interrupt others
 Don't interrogate people
 Don't hide
 Don't give unsolicited advice
 Don't be a bigot
 Don't whine
 Don't confuse contacts with friends
 Don't be so eager to provide resources that you pass along names of people or organizations that you haven't
thoroughly checked out
 Don't burden others with inappropriate or intimate information
 Don't expect to get without giving
 Don't forget to enjoy the journey
 "Who Are You?"
Give Yourself a Tagline
 Geography Tagline. "Hi, I'm Lois. I'm in the office across from the elevator." Use "geography" to make a
connection. I'm here because I work across the hall.
 History Tagline. "Hi, I'm Suresh. We played on the company volleyball team together last summer. .Use your
history together to make a connection
 Relationship Tagline. "Hi, I'm Maya, Hari’s Team member." Clarify your relationship to indicate the
connection.
 Title/Role Tagline. "Hi, I'm George. I'm the editor of the company newsletter." Explain what your job is to
create a connection.
o Reason-for-Attending Tagline. "Hi, Logan. I'm new in town and interested in meeting people in
healthcare." Use your reason for coming to the event to make a connection. That will signal to people that
they can help you by introducing you to people in healthcare
 “What Do You Do?”
 Why Most Answers Bomb?
 When people ask, “What do you do?” most people respond with:
 Their occupation, job type, or category? “I'm a lawyer”

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 Their title? “I am the Manager”

 Their industry? “I'm in real estate”
 The name of the organization they work for? “I'm with Dell”
 Use the BEST/TEST formula—to construct your answer.
 The first sentence of your reply tells the one thing of all your many talents and skills you do BEST.
 The second sentence gives a brief example and is a TESTimonial to your talents. It should briefly show how
you saved the day, served the client, or solved the problem.
 “What Are We Going to Talk About?”
To be an effective networker, have a clear purpose in mind before you begin talking with people. That purpose
comes from knowing what's on your ever-changing Agenda. As you focus on your Agenda, you'll feel eager and
excited about connecting with people.
Your networking Agenda is a mental or written list of what you have To Give and what you want To Get.

What do you have to give?

 Think to yourself, “Give MORE.”
 M = Methods. Can you make life easier for your contacts?
 “My expertise
 O = Opportunities. Can you alert people to an opportunity?
 “An apartment to sublet for six months.”
 “A job opening at Allied Sciences.”
 R = Resources. Can you offer someone or something?
 “The name and phone number of a great band for weddings and parties.
 “E = Enthusiasms. Are you excited about something?
 “That’s very interesting, I am excited to hear that all the very best”

What do you have to get?

 R = Results. What outcome do you want?
 “Office furniture I can afford.”
 “Training so I can get up to speed on my computer graphics software.”
 E = Expertise. What do you want to know about?
 “The best way to find good employees for my start-up.”
 A = Access. Who or what do you need to find?
 “A part-time secretary with a background in the health field.”
 “A publisher for my book.”
 L = Leads. Who do you need to meet?
 “Someone who knows about careers in training and development

Listen for Your Cue

 Two cues should prompt you to say to yourself, "Time to use my Agenda."
 One cue is hearing, "How are you?" or "What's new?"

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 The other cue is the pause, as you and your conversation partner search for something to talk about. Often that
pause comes just after you've finished talking about what you both do—and just before the conversation about
the weather or the ball scores!

Figure Out Your Agenda

 To be an effective networker, have a clear purpose in mind before you begin talking with people. That purpose
comes from knowing what's on your ever-changing Agenda. As you focus on your Agenda, you'll feel eager and
excited about connecting with people.
 Your networking Agenda is a mental or written list of what you have To Give and what you want To Get.

Begin with the Right Side

 There are two sides to networking: giving and getting. You are only in control of one side—guess which one. It
only makes sense to work on the side you control 100 percent.
 Giving—not taking—is the way to build your network. It's not just a nice thing to do. It's the smart thing to do.
 Psychologists have discovered a quirk of human nature that we call The Reciprocity Principle. It goes like this:
If you give somebody something, he will try to give you something back. It gets even better. If you give
somebody something, he will insist on giving you more than you gave him.
 Doesn't that sound exactly like what you want to happen when you're networking? So, to plug into The
Reciprocity Principle, give first, give freely.

Be Seriously Curious
Learn more about being Seriously Curious
 Organize some openers
o Are you a first-timer like me or a long-time member?"
o "This speaker made a good point about career security. What do you think of her ideas?"
 Ask about origins and history
o “How did you get into marketing?"
o "How did you come up with this unusual packaging idea?"
 Notice other people
o “You seemed to really enjoy giving that presentation. Have you always felt comfortable talking in front of
groups?”
 Appreciate other people
 Encourage dialogue

Follow Through
All too often, networkers spend lots of energy making initial contacts and then don't know how to cultivate them so
that the relationships pay dividends down the road.
The best Follow Through is based on the other person's Agenda, not yours.
Ideally, you'll suggest another meeting during that first conversation with someone.
For example You might say, “I'd like to talk with you more about that. How about if I call you on Monday to set up a
time to get together?”
“I’ll give you a call next month so that we can get together for lunch.”
You'll want to set up a chain reaction of six to eight encounters to establish a networking relationship.

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PERSONAL BRANDING
Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. While previous
self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal-branding concept suggests instead that
success comes from self-packaging. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in a 1997 article by Tom
Peters.

Personal branding is essentially the process of creating a powerful, well-defined, positive idea about an individual that
would come to mind whenever any person thinks of that particular individual. So, a Personal brand is the public
perception of a person’s personality, skills or values.

How is Personal Branding Valuable?

Personal Branding allows individuals to differentiate themselves by consistently articulating and leveraging their
“unique value proposition”

Value proposition

 Your value proposition is the amount of value that you as a brand hold.
 This means that your value proposition is what you stand for.
 This includes several factors such as your appearance, personality, competencies and strengths.

3 Steps to Start Personal Branding

1. Discover Your Core Identity

 Who are you?
 Yours tasks & activities
 Your passion

2. Differentiate Yourself
 Identify your target audience
 What makes you different for them?
 What is your value to your customer?

3. Show Your Brand

 Keep online visibility
 Build credibility
 Tell your customer how you can help them

Role of Personality in Personal Branding

 Different traits in a person help shape their complete personality
 Hence, Personality = Qualities + Abilities + weakness
 Personality plays a vital role in building a personal brand because it is the complete personality of an
individual that ultimately become the brand

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How to Build a Personal Brand?

The various strategies that you can use to build a personal brand are as follows:
Know what you want: Impress: Give value for money:
What is your purpose in impressing Impress others through your charm Money is always a motivator. It may
others? In order to persuade others, and speech patterns. Remember that be the easiest and quickest way to
you must have the end in mind. people want to work with someone get what you want, but your
they admire and respect services should give them their
value for money.

Personal branding important 5’s

 5 Questions
 What are your goals?
 What do you value?
 What are you passionate about?
 What motivates you?
 What makes you remarkable?

 5 Rules
 Be Diligent
 Be Consistent
 Be Relevant
 Be Interesting
 Be Yourself

 5 Steps (Building lasting, effective personal brands takes time and there is no one-size-fits-all process)
1. Take Inventory
2. Develop a (Brand) Plan
3. Craft Your identity
4. Choose the Right Tools & Channels
5. Measure & Repeat

Characteristics of Good Personal Branding

An individual who has built a good personal brand is that who:
 Has a good image
 Has a good attitude
 Takes ownership and responsibility
 Is prompt and orderly
 USEs proper speech
 Follows office etiquette, rules and policies
 Has Integrity and honesty
 Is a good communicator

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Persuasive Language
• Any language that triggers an emotional response in, or attempts to change the attitude of the viewer, reader or
listener
• Advertisements very deliberately use persuasive language to get positive response in the audience

A strong personal brand is dependent on a strong narrative. Take a second to think of celebrities you know who have
a strong personal brand. They are have a very clear story and a consistent brand.
In other words, what’s your story?

DELEGATION & COMPLIANCE

Delegation

“The action or process of delegating or being delegated.”

• Delegation is the assignment of any responsibility or authority to another person (normally from a manager to
a subordinate) to carry out specific activities.
• However, the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work.
Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e. it is a shifting of decision-making authority from one
organizational level to a lower one.
• Delegation, if properly done, doesn’t result in abdication. In general, delegation is good and can save money and
time, help in building skills, and motivate people.
• On the other hand, poor delegation might cause frustration and confusion to all the involved parties.
• Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal development - and seeking and encouraging
promotion. It's how we grow in the job - delegation enables us to gain experience to take on higher
responsibilities.
• Effective delegation is crucial for management and leadership succession.

Importance of delegation

Delegation of authority is the ground on which the superior-subordinate relationship stands. An organization functions
as the authority flows from top level to bottom. This in fact shows that through delegation, the superior-subordinate
relationship become meaningful. The flow of authority is from top to bottom which is a way of achieving results.

Delegation of authority in a way gives enough room and space to the subordinates to flourish their abilities and skill.
Through delegating powers, the subordinates get a feeling of importance. They get motivated to work and this
motivation provides appropriate results to a concern. Job satisfaction is an important criterion to bring stability and
soundness in the relationship between superior and subordinates.
Delegation also helps in breaking the monotony of the subordinates so that they can be more creative and efficient
Delegation of authority is not only helpful to the subordinates but it also helps the managers to develop their talents
and skills. Since the manager get enough time through delegation to concentrate on important issues, their decision-
making gets strong and in a way they can flourish the talents which are required in a manager. Through granting
powers and getting the work done, helps the manager to attain communication skills, supervision and guidance,
effective motivation and the leadership traits are flourished. Therefore it is only through delegation, a manager can be
tested on his traits.

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SMARTER-Delegation rule
 A simple delegation rule is the SMARTER acronym. It's a quick checklist for proper delegation. Delegated tasks must
be:
 Specific
 Measurable
 Agreed
 Realistic
 Timebound
 Ethical
 Recorded

Traditional interpretations of the SMARTER acronym use 'Exciting' or 'Enjoyable‘. It is not always possible to ensure
that all delegated work is truly 'exciting' or 'enjoyable' for the recipient. More importantly, the 'Ethical' aspect is
fundamental to everything that we do, assuming you subscribe to such philosophy.

The steps of successful delegation

1. Define the task

Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating?

2. Select the individual or team

What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to get out of it? What are you
going to get out of it?

3. Assess ability and training needs

Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? Do they understand what needs to be done. If
not, you can't delegate.

4. Explain the reasons

You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated. And why to that person or people? What is its
importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things?

5. State required results

What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will the task be
measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being successfully done.

6. Consider resources required

Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money,
materials, other related activities and services.

7. Agree deadlines
When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates? When are the reports due?
And if the task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the priorities?
At this point you may need to confirm understanding with the other person of the previous points, getting ideas
and interpretation. As well as showing you that the job can be done, this helps to reinforce commitment.

Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the other person. Failing to agree this in advance will
cause this monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust.

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8. Support and communicate

Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and inform them. Involve the other person in considering
this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new
responsibility. Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol. Inform your own boss if the
task is important, and of sufficient profile.

9. Feedback on results

It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you
must review with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the problems. You must absorb the
consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success.

Levels of delegation
Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can
confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable the other person is, then the more freedom you can
give. The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a lot of freedom, especially if
your job or reputation depends on getting a good result.
Be creative in choosing levels of delegated responsibility. People are generally capable of doing far more than you
imagine.

Levels of delegation – examples

These examples of different delegation levels progressively offer, encourage and enable more delegated freedom.
Level 1 is the lowest level of delegated freedom (basically none). Level 10 is the highest level typically (and rarely)
found in organisations.
1. "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I say." or "Follow these instructions precisely."

• This is instruction. There is no delegated freedom at all.

2. "Look into this and tell me the situation. I'll decide."

• This is asking for investigation and analysis but no recommendation. The person delegating retains
responsibility for assessing options prior to making the decision.

3. "Look into this and tell me the situation. We'll decide together."

• This is has a subtle important difference to the above. This level of delegation encourages and enables the
analysis and decision to be a shared process, which can be very helpful in coaching and development.

4. "Tell me the situation and what help you need from me in assessing and handling it. Then we'll decide."

• This is opens the possibility of greater freedom for analysis and decision-making, subject to both people agreeing
this is appropriate. Again, this level is helpful in growing and defining coaching and development relationships.

5. "Give me your analysis of the situation (reasons, options, pros and cons) and recommendation. I'll let you know
whether you can go ahead."

• Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before deciding.

6. "Decide and let me know your decision, and wait for my go-ahead before proceeding."

• The other person is trusted to assess the situation and options and is probably competent enough to decide
and implement too, but for reasons of task importance, or competence, or perhaps externally changing
factors, the boss prefers to keep control of timing.

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7. "Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to."

• Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle increase in responsibility saves time. The
default is now positive rather than negative. This is a very liberating change in delegated freedom, and
incidentally one that can also be used very effectively when seeking responsibility from above or elsewhere
in an organisation, especially one which is strangled by indecision and bureaucracy. For example, "Here is my
analysis and recommendation; I will proceed unless you tell me otherwise by (date)."

8. “Decide and take action - let me know what you did (and what happened).”

• This level of delegation also enables a degree of follow-up by the manager as to the effectiveness of the delegated
responsibility, which is necessary when people are being managed from a greater distance, or more 'hands-off'.

9. “Decide and take action. You need not check back with me.”

• The most freedom that you can give to another person when you still need to retain responsibility for the activity.

• A high level of confidence is necessary, and you would normally assess the quality of the activity after the
event according to overall results, potentially weeks or months later. Feedback and review remain helpful
and important, although the relationship is more likely one of mentoring, rather than coaching per se.

10. "Decide where action needs to be taken and manage the situation accordingly. It's your area of responsibility now."

• It's the delegation of a strategic responsibility. This gives the other person responsibility for defining what
changes projects, tasks, analysis and decisions are necessary for the management of a particular area of
responsibility, as well as the task or project or change itself, and how the initiative or change is to be
implemented and measured, etc.

Elements of Delegation

Authority - in context of a business organization, authority can be defined as the power and right of a person to use
and allocate the resources efficiently, to take decisions and to give orders so as to achieve the organizational
objectives. Authority must be well-defined. All people who have the authority should know what is the scope of their
authority is and they shouldn’t misutilize it. Authority is the right to give commands, orders and get the things done.
The top level management has greatest authority.

Authority always flows from top to bottom. It explains how a superior gets work done from his subordinate by clearly
explaining what is expected of him and how he should go about it. Authority should be accompanied with an equal
amount of responsibility. Delegating the authority to someone else doesn’t imply escaping from accountability.
Accountability still rest with the person having the utmost authority.

Responsibility - is the duty of the person to complete the task assigned to him. A person who is given the
responsibility should ensure that he accomplishes the tasks assigned to him. If the tasks for which he was held
responsible are not completed, then he should not give explanations or excuses.

Responsibility without adequate authority leads to discontent and dissatisfaction among the person. Responsibility
flows from bottom to top. The middle level and lower level management holds more responsibility. The person held
responsible for a job is answerable for it. If he performs the tasks assigned as expected, he is bound for praises. While
if he doesn’t accomplish tasks assigned as expected, then also he is answerable for that.

Accountability - means giving explanations for any variance in the actual performance from the expectations set.
Accountability can not be delegated. For example, if ’A’ is given a task with sufficient authority, and ’A’ delegates this
task to B and asks him to ensure that task is done well, responsibility rest with ’B’, but accountability still rest with ’A’.
The top level management is most accountable.

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Being accountable means being innovative as the person will think beyond his scope of job. Accountability, in short,
means being answerable for the end result. Accountability can’t be escaped. It arises from responsibility.

Delegation of authority

For achieving delegation, a manager has to work in a system and has to perform following steps: -

• Assignment of tasks and duties

• Granting of authority

• Creating responsibility and accountability

Delegation of authority is the base of superior-subordinate relationship, it involves following steps:-

Assignment of Duties - The delegator first tries to define the task and duties to the subordinate. He also has to define
the result expected from the subordinates. Clarity of duty as well as result expected has to be the first step in delegation.

Granting of authority - Subdivision of authority takes place when a superior divides and shares his authority with
the subordinate. It is for this reason, every subordinate should be given enough independence to carry the task given
to him by his superiors.

The managers at all levels delegate authority and power which is attached to their job positions. The subdivision of
powers is very important to get effective results.

Creating Responsibility and Accountability - The delegation process does not end once powers are granted to the
subordinates. They at the same time have to be obligatory towards the duties assigned to them. Responsibility is said
to be the factor or obligation of an individual to carry out his duties in best of his ability as per the directions of
superior. Responsibility is very important. Therefore, it is that which gives effectiveness to authority. At the same
time, responsibility is absolute and cannot be shifted.

Accountability, on the other hand, is the obligation of the individual to carry out his duties as per the standards of
performance. Therefore, it is said that authority is delegated, responsibility is created and accountability is imposed.
Accountability arises out of responsibility and responsibility arises out of authority. Therefore, it becomes important
that with every authority position an equal and opposite responsibility should be attached.

Compliance

• “The act of obeying an order, rule, or request”

• Compliance is either a state of being in accordance with established guidelines or specifications, or the process
of becoming so.

• In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law.

For example:

Software may be developed in compliance with specifications created by a standards body, and then deployed by user
organizations in compliance with a vendor's licensing agreement.

The definition of compliance can also encompass efforts to ensure that organizations are abiding by both industry
regulations and government legislation.

Need for compliance

Compliance is part of your organization’s duties to its community and stakeholders. The first reason is most
basic. If you run a business (whether for-profit or non-profit), you benefit from your community’s basic services. In
return, you owe duty to comply with the law.

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Without a compliance function, you cannot reliably build or maintain trust with others.

If you have no compliance function, you invite reputational damage. I like to note Warren Buffett’s adage that it
takes 20 years to build a reputation and about five minutes to lose one.

• Compliance can serve as a driver of change and innovation.

• Compliance enhances consistency.

• Compliance can reduce unforced errors. I end with an important risk management concept. Unforced errors
are the most common risks to organizational performance, and compliance helps prevent unforced errors.

Every workplace will have written procedures that list the organisations daily operating requirements. It is likely that
a workplace will have procedures or policies for legislated compliance requirements related to:

• access and equity

• anti-discrimination

• ethical standards

It means that you actively cooperate and demonstrate appropriate workplace attitudes and behaviour that allow the
workplace to meet compliance and work policy requirements.

• How can you progress to being considered a valuable employee?

• How can you “go the extra mile”, when you are just a young person starting your career?

• Look carefully at those that have been given opportunities and are progressing in their job. It is because they
are completing their daily tasks, but they are always adding something “extra”.

• Within the confines of your own work tasks, you can consistently demonstrate that you are a “special
employee”.

• Always ensure your work is of the highest quality and standard possible. If a mistake occurs, accept
responsibility immediately and honestly and have a plan for fixing the error.

• Always apply appropriate compliance documentation relevant to the work activity.

• Always plan your work from an analysis of the required outcomes i.e. standard required, available time and
resources.

Example

• The Anti Ragging policy of your college

Who participates in How is compliance What paperwork is Who do I report

compliance monitored? completed to ensure breaches of compliance
procedures? compliance?

All the bonafide Through a student anti During admission Student Grievance cell or
students of the college ragging committee Students sign an affidavit the Anti ragging
assuring compliance to committee
the policy

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RESPONSIBILITY
Never point a finger where you never lent a hand.” – Robert Brault

RESPONSIBILITY is one of the most desirable character traits. It means being accountable, dependable and
trustworthy. Once acquired, it nurtures other character traits such as respect, peace ability, cooperation and caring.
Responsibility is the backbone of solid citizenship, .employability, friendship and self-reliance. It is vital for success in
the home, school, neighbourhood, workplace, and everywhere in the world.

What is responsibility?

A duty to satisfactorily perform or complete task (assigned by someone or created by someone) that one must fulfil,
and which has a consequent penalty for failure i.e., the state of being responsible, accountable, or answerable

Responsibility means feeling it’s your duty to deal with what comes up, being accountable, and/or being able to act
independently and make decisions without authorization.

Importance of responsibility

Someone’s irresponsibility can be not only irritating, but in some cases it can be dangerous.

There are certain kinds of jobs which demand from a person responsibility, jobs where lack of responsibility can lead
to tragic consequences or even to a catastrophe.

When a student was to write an essay but he did not manage to complete this task in time. A professor would
definitely call the student irresponsible. In this case there is no damage from irresponsibility, except for the student’s
personal harm.

But let’s also imagine another situation. An employee of a Nuclear Power Plant was not attentive enough, pushed a
wrong button and it led to an explosion. This catastrophe caused by lack of responsibility as terrible consequences. Of
course these examples are exaggerated but the last one shows how much important responsibility is.

Dimensions of responsibility
• Responsibility for actions and their results
• Task and role responsibility
• Universal moral responsibility
• Legal responsibility

Types of Responsibilities
• Personal Responsibility
• Social Responsibility
• Environmental Responsibility
• Collective responsibility

Personal responsibility
Personal responsibility is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission,
in accordance with one's personal/moral obligations. Deciding what (if anything) counts as "personal obligatory" is a
principal concern of ethics.
Personal responsibility helps you do the right thing and requires courage and self-confidence. Personal responsibility
allows Confidence in one's abilities generally enhances motivation, making it a valuable asset for individuals with
imperfect willpower. Considering the fact that no one has perfect willpower it can be helpful to all. The stronger an
individuals will power, the stronger the courage and self-confidence.

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Sometimes being confident and responsible in class can be the difference between passing and failing. Personal
responsibility is a formidable tool for a student to acquire. With personal responsibility a student will organize his or
her notes and details for every assignment and test.
Personal responsibility leaves no room for excuses. Personal responsibility can even motivate students and discipline
them to perform better in classes. With mastery of personal responsibility students can advance and improve their
skills to better themselves and their future.

Social responsibility
Social responsibility is one of the components of citizenship, of relations between man and man in society. According
to Wikipedia, social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be it an organization or
individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has
to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems.
Social responsibility is important and plays a great role in every sphere of our life. So if we want to live in a
prosperous and developing society, we all should be conscious not only about personal but also about social
responsibility. Each member of a community has his own responsibilities and duties towards himself and towards
others which he has to fulfil to keep cooperative spirit and to keep a balance not only between people, but also
between people and nature.
Social responsibility, as it applies to business, is known as corporate social responsibility (CSR). Many companies,
such as those with "green" policies, have made social responsibility an integral part of their business models.
Social Responsibility can be “negative,” in that it is a responsibility to refrain from acting (resistance stance) or it can
be “positive,” meaning there is a responsibility to act (proactive stance). Being socially responsible not only requires
participating in socially responsible activities like recycling, volunteering and mentoring, but to actually make it a
lifestyle. Only through a commitment to embrace and embed social responsibility into your personal value and belief
system can you truly become socially responsible in all you do.

Collective responsibility
Collective responsibility refers to responsibilities of organizations, groups and societies. Part of it is the concept
known as collective guilt by which individuals who are part of such collectives to be responsible for other people's
actions and occurrences by tolerating, ignoring, or harboring them, without actively engaging.
Collective responsibility in the form of collective punishment is often used as a disciplinary measure in closed
institutions, e.g. boarding schools (punishing a whole class for the actions of one known or unknown pupil), military
units, prisons (juvenile and adult), psychiatric facilities, etc.
The effectiveness and severity of this measure may vary greatly, but it often breeds distrust and isolation among their
members, and is almost always a sign of authoritarian tendencies in the institution or its home society. For example,
in the Soviet Gulags, all members of a brigada (work unit) were punished for bad performance of any of its members.

Collective responsibility is widely applied in corporations, where the entire workforce is held responsible for failure
to achieve corporate targets (for example, profit targets), irrespective of the performance of individuals or teams
which may have achieved or overachieved within their area.

Personal responsibility
• make and keep agreements;
• set goals and create ways to achieve them;
• accept consequences of personal choices; and
• acknowledge personal accomplishments.

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Social Responsibility
• communicate with others in a way that empowers them, not demeans them;
• honour others' rights, dignity, and worth,
• work together toward common goals,
• negotiate problems and conflicts successfully; and
• create opportunities for others.

Environmental Responsibility
• become conscious of the various contexts in which we function;
• respect property and take care of equipment, the classroom, the school, and the community;
• recognize the importance of the individual taking care of the environment as well as influencing others to take
care of the environment.

How to start taking Responsibility

• In order to accept personal responsibility you need to develop the ability to:
• Accept responsibility for your responses to the people, actions, and events in your life
• Accept that you are completely responsible for your own choices
• Be open to change, new ideas or concepts about life and the way life is.
• Get help from others
• Let go of fear and irrational beliefs
• Release anger, fear, blame, mistrust, and insecurity.
• Take some risks, be prepared to become vulnerable to change and growth in your life.
• Open Up.
• Use positive affirmation
• Being responsible refers to our ability to make decisions that serve our own interests and the interests of
others. We first need to be responsible for ourselves before we can be responsible for others. In learning to be
more responsible it is important that we know our limitations.
• It is also important to remember that we are not responsible for things that are out of our control, for example,
how other people feel or how they react to ourselves or others.

Types of Workplace Responsibility

For a workplace to function, both employees and employers must live up to their responsibilities. While some of these
responsibilities are formal and easy to understand or enforce, others are more difficult to conceive and enact.

By understanding workplace responsibilities and working to meet them in all areas, a workforce can keep its
members safe and productive.

Job Responsibility

Some of an employee's more basic and important responsibilities involve meeting job expectations and fulfilling daily work
duties. As a related workplace responsibility, employers must find ways to communicate what each worker's job entails.

Formal job descriptions spell out employees' responsibilities clearly and in written form for future reference.
Performance evaluations help leaders ensure that employees are living up to their work responsibilities, or provide
discipline or training when they aren't.

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Self-Responsibility

Another type of workplace responsibility is self-responsibility, which refers to each employee taking responsibility for
his own actions outside of normal job duties. Self-responsibility is related to accountability, which requires workers to
accept blame for their errors or omissions and acknowledge the successes and contributions of others.

Accountability is especially important among business leadership to establish a positive workplace culture. Workers
are responsible for dealing with their colleagues and superiors honestly and with integrity.

Mutual Responsibilities

An extension of self-responsibility in the workplace is the list of mutual responsibilities that all members of a
workforce share and have to one another. Workers are responsible for reporting illegal or suspicious behavior and
policy violations.

Everyone who works for a business has the responsibility of living up to the corporate code of ethics, which should
appear in an employee handbook or training materials to establish consistency. Compliance with anti-discrimination
laws is another mutual workplace responsibility.

Responsibility for Safety

Employers have legal responsibilities to provide safe work environments for their employees. Federal and state labor
departments oversee workplace safety guidelines and perform inspections to enforce them.

Workers also bear some of the responsibility for a safe workplace. This includes reporting safety violations, following
prescribed safety methods and using safety equipment as directed. Employers are also responsible for providing
safety training to employees whose job duties require it.

Accepting Responsibility

Once you accept total responsibility for everything that happens to you in life, you will soon discover that this also
enables you to find solutions to life’s difficulties far more quickly.

In accepting responsibility, you are accepting a willingness to develop your character and in doing that, the stronger
your character will become and your life will be improved as a consequence.

Do You Accept Responsibility for Your Actions?

Accepting responsibility has two basic components. Let’s discuss the first one, accepting personal responsibility
– which is taking ownership of your own behavior and the consequences of that behavior. Until you accept responsibility
for your actions or failures, it’ll be very difficult for you to develop self-respect or even have the respect of others.

The second component of accepting responsibility is indirect responsibility. It involves moving beyond yourself and
taking action to help people or situations around you that call for assistance. While this component – indirect
responsibility – may not rise to the level of personal responsibility, it does reveal something about your character and
the type of person you are.

The real difference between being responsible and being irresponsible is an indication of how effectively we’re
managing our lives when the opportunity to make a good or bad choice presents itself.

Accepting responsibility – both personal and indirect responsibility – is one of the most important factors in defining a
person’s true character. When that responsible moment comes, what you do – or don’t do – is an indication of the type
of person you really are.

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Responsibility And Accountability

Responsibility and accountability are two reliable indicators of maturity. Saying you are going to do something and
then actually doing it is a sign of responsibility. This builds trust between yourself and those they rely on you and it
encourages others to seek your counsel and assistance.

Holding yourself accountable for your actions is one of the most difficult things to do, both professionally and personally.
This is also a crucial element of conflict management. When conflicts arise between yourself and others, or when you have
made a mistake or at fault, that is when accountability becomes difficult. Admitting to your mistakes isn’t enough. You
have to understand the situation fully and respond in a way that addresses the issue comprehensively.

Responsible people deliver on their promises and live up to their word. Being responsible means you stick to
deadlines and produce work to high standards. This builds trust between you and those who rely on your work – your
colleagues and managers. Once you prove yourself as a responsible team member, people will not only seek your
assistance but regard you as a valuable contributor.

Accountability entails not only responsibility for your actions but, most importantly, answerability for them. It is
something you can hold people to only after they performed a certain task. While responsibility can be shared,
accountability cannot.

Example: It is Tom's responsibility to make sure there are supplies in the office room. So Tom will be aware of this task
and keep bringing in more supplies before they run out. At this point, you cannot say Tom has been held accountable
(answerable) for performing this task. Tom is responsible for the office supplies, but he is only held accountable — owes
an explanation for his actions — if the supplies ever run out.

Differences between Authority and Responsibility

Authority Responsibility
It is the legal right of a person or a superior to It is the obligation of subordinate to perform the work
command his subordinates. assigned to him.
Authority is attached to the position of a superior in Responsibility arises out of superior-subordinate relationship
concern. in which subordinate agrees to carry out duty given to him.
Authority can be delegated by a superior to a Responsibility cannot be shifted and is absolute
subordinate
It flows from top to bottom. It flows from bottom to top.

Being Responsible…..

Once upon a time there was a Grasshopper was hopping, chirping and singing to its heart's content in a field in hot
summer's day. There was an ant staying nearby the grasshopper’s nest. They were good friends. It was springtime and
the grasshopper was having a lot of fun playing, singing, and dancing in the sun. But the ant was hard working. It was
collecting food grains and storing them in its house for the winter.

The grasshopper did not understand why the ant was doing so much hard work and keeping for winter. He asked,
“Hey,’ Ant! Why don’t you come outside and play with me?” The ant replied, “I cannot. I am storing food for the winter
when there won’t be anything to eat!” The grasshopper only laughed at the ant and said, “Why are you worrying now?
There is plenty of food!” and continued to play, while the ant worked hard.

When winter came, the grasshopper did not find a single grain of food to eat. It began to starve and feel very weak.
The grasshopper saw how the hardworking ant had plenty of food to eat and realized its foolishness.

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