Secondary Catalogue

Competence – Answering the phone properly sends a professional and customer-service focused message to your customer or stakeholder Answering the phone is a skill. In the workplace environment it’s not the same as picking up a FaceTime call from your friend. You need to use your best verbal customer service skills. This may be the first human interaction a customer has with your organisation – and first impressions count. If it’s a warm and professional greeting, chances are the customer feels comfortable and is likely to take the next steps towards purchasing. If the greeting is awkward or unprofessional, say goodbye to your new customer. Even though we have many tools which help customers move along the sales journey (websites, social media, chat bots, FAQ’s etc.), many of us still want to talk to a human. This makes that first interaction critically important as your customer is already likely to be close to a purchase or using your organisation’s resources in some way. It’s like going fishing but someone hands you a rod with a fish already on it – you just need to get it in the boat. Also, you may have to speak to one of your organisation’ s key stakeholders – perhaps a sponsor, supplier or local government official. Once again, the need to be courteous and professional exists in this situation too. The video will give a how-to guide to properly answering and speaking on the phone. Show Less

Character – Active listening requires conscious decisions and mindfulness to show the sender your respect Listening is one of the most critical aspects of communication and leadership. You cannot effectively communicate and lead if you don’t actively listen. What is active listening? Active listening includes comprehending what the communicator is saying. This goes beyond just being respectful and quiet. It's no coincidence that listen and silent have the same letters. Effective listeners listen with an open mind, available to have their opinions or thoughts updated from the speaker’s information. Self-awareness and listening go together. If your mind has wandered to the game on the weekend, what’s for dinner, the next assignment you have to hand in or your upcoming camping trip – you're not actively listening. It’s important to note that this is normal and happens to us all. Noticing how you are listening or rather, not listening, can allow you to consciously switch into an active listening state. This skill will also help you detect when others are not listening and allow you to better gather the attention of others. Practice and develop your active listening habits now in different contexts with your teachers, coaches, family and friends. Keep in mind your field of experience and the sender’s field of experience as these both impact your listening ability. This animation will give you tips to be a better active listener. Show Less

Confidence – Understanding how different types of noise can interfere with communication can help you develop strategies to combat this Noise is anything that interferes with the communication process. Think of it as a distraction from receiving or sending the message. Imagine a young adult working in a bakery who is trying to figure how to tell the boss that it’s time for a pay raise while a customer is asking questions as they are checking out and the phone starts to ring. Not only is the worker experiencing noise from the phone ringing and speaking customer, but the stress of the upcoming conversation about a pay raise could be distracting the worker from fully listening to the customer. The customer is experience noise interference because the worker cannot communicate effectively with the distractions of an upcoming conversation and ringing phone. Noise can be present throughout the process of communication and can impact both the speaker and the receiver. There are four types of noise: Physical – a sound or an environmental factor that distracts you from communicating Physiological – a bodily function causing a distraction from processing the communication Psychological – our mental processes and emotions causing an interruption of the communication Semantic – not understanding the words or visuals being communicated The first step to overcoming noise interference is being aware that it’s happening. This takes self-awareness to say to yourself maybe I am having hunger pains and therefore, not communicating effectively. Or understanding that the argument you just got in with your friend is now affecting how well you communicate the next day at school. Watch this animation to learn more about the specific types of noise and how to overcome interference. Show Less

Connectedness – Creating positive changes requires communication that is empathic, respectful and culturally aware As a leader, you want to create positive change, but to be an effective leader, you must acquire the proper communication skills to be able to create change. Creating change is about bettering your school, workplace, community and personal life for ALL aspects involved. Progress requires deliberate actions over time. Changes in systems and people’s behaviours do not happen over night. This means that effective communication skills are necessary to properly convey your message to your intended audience so that they actually listen and are inspired to act. When looking to create positive change, keep your personal values, empathy, respect and cultural awareness at the forefront of your action plan. In the video, you will listen to Asanga speak about the ways to go about effectively communicating your change action plan in the workplace setting. Show Less

Competence – Understanding the differences between the virtual workplace and the in-person workplace will help you overcome the woes of the virtual environment During the COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of jobs went into the home in a virtual manner. Some of these changes to workplace practices are likely to stay as organisations realise the upside of allowing work from home. In the virtual environment its importance to recognise a great deal of face-to-face communication we normally take for granted is changed due to the way you interact with your colleagues. There are different prompts and rules that guide us when we communicate in the virtual environment. In the virtual world you can’t pop over to your friend in another department or swing around on your chair to ask your colleague a question. Similarly, tone, emotion and context can be misinterpreted in virtual communication, which is extremely important for understanding the full brevity of the message. Think if your boss sent you an email that read “We need to talk.” Because you have no context of tone and voice, you will not know if this message is good or bad. Perhaps you are getting a promotion and that’s why your boss needs to speak to you. Or maybe they want your opinion for a project? Show Less

Connectedness – Communication is how we connect with one another, build relationships and convey emotion The Australian Banking Corporation that funds Westpac, a Businesses of Tomorrow, has developed ‘Skills for Life’ program based on the future workforce research and planning to ensure they develop their workers with the skills to be effective in the future. Deloitte Insights says that written communication, verbal communication and active listening are critical skills that most jobs need, yet there is a shortage of workers who possess these skills. That means by developing these skills now will exponentially increase your employability opportunities in the future workforce. The research estimates that 70% of Australian-based jobs require verbal communication skills and 97% of jobs in Australia require customer service skills, making customer service the most demanded skill in the Australian economy. Customer service goes beyond retail and hospitality to interacting with and building relationships with clients and stakeholders in a range of industries. Effective communication and being able to pick up on emotional data will help you build a skill set that enables you to be great at customer service and build strong client relationships. Effective communication will allow you to mitigate and resolve conflict, understand the needs of customers and stakeholders and present information in a way that your costumer or stakeholder will be receptive to. This video will further explain the role customer service plays in all workforce professions. Show Less

Confidence – Fully taking on responsibility for your communications will allow you to be an assured communicator with a foundation of strong values When you are self-aware, you will understand that the words you say (and don’t say) carry meaning. Your messages have an impact on the people around you meaning you have the responsibility to communicate truthfully and justly - using your emotional intelligence and cultural competence as guides. Understanding your responsibility as a communicator means taking note of the impact that your communication has in that moment and what it could mean in the future. This may require you altering some communication strategies to better serve the people around you. Taking responsibility over your communication isn’t just about the messages you are sending out into the world but taking responsibility for the messages you are receiving as well. This could be as simple as acknowledging what you are hearing through a mindful response or as critical as standing up and speaking out against harmful messaging. In the professional workplace setting, taking responsibility means recognising the impact of your communication actions – good, bad or indifferent – and learning from this experience. It’s important that you realise the workplace environment has different standards than your personal life and that you have a responsibility to communicate in a manner that is safe and respectful to all. For example, certain types of jokes or language are not appropriate in the workplace and the type of banter you share with your friends may not get the same rise out of a colleague. Being mindful of what you say is an important first step in taking responsibility of your communication in the workplace. Our guests will provide insight about taking responsibility over your communication in the workplace in this video. Show Less

Connectedness – Getting to know our guests builds a connection and an understanding of their experience, story and advice Our guests come from all over the world, bringing their unique experiences and backgrounds of communication. Some of our guests were just recently in your shoes so their communication insight will be very relatable to your journey. We want you to hear the voice of young people who are only just starting their own journey in the workforce to know that it’s possible to find success with communication early on in your career. In this course, we also bring you some expert guests who have had years of technical, professional and clinical experience to bring you the best advice. To be an effective communicator, it is crucial that you find ways to learn from all those around you no matter their experiences or backgrounds. We believe that these guests will guide you to better communication that will inspire not only your future professional life, but your everyday interactions. Show Less

Competence – Digital literacy is required to be an effective communicator in the workplace due to its increase in use as the preferred method of communication for onsite and remote teams Digital literacy is the ability use communication technologies to search, evaluate and create information. Digital communication is one of the most common ways we communicate across our world. Digital communication combines verbal, non-verbal and written communication in one package, making it an extremely dynamic method of communication. Being digitally literate is important to finding work and being successful in the workforce. Digital literacy is having the ability to synthesize and understand the thousands of pieces of digital messaging you come across every day. Using digital literacy to your advantage should be a focus for every worker but especially young people who have grown up with technology changing rapidly and are therefore more prepared to experiment and use it effectively. Magazines were once only in print format, the written form. Now magazines are digitalized. Videos pop-up, you see sound and visuals. There are interactive elements that allow you to insert yourself into the magazine. That’s taking digital communication to the next level. Just as learning never stops, you must continue to stay across new digital trends, apps and technologies. Use technology, don’t let technology use you. So, we’ll use digital technology in this video to further unpack the different ways you can use digital platforms to communicate effectively in the workplace. Show Less

Confidence - Being able to give and receive feedback is critical to improving and developing as a young professional This topic focuses on feedback, not the type of feedback from the Dynamic Transactional Communication Model but information about reactions to a product or a person's performance of a task which is used as a basis for improvement. Mindset is critical when giving and receiving feedback to enhance performance. When receiving feedback, we must harness a growth mindset in order to recognise learning moments, whilst when we are giving feedback, we must be clear, concise and empathetic. Think back to our first lesson when we discussed emotional intelligence, self-awareness, respect and empathy. You need to focus these skills when receiving and giving feedback. Keep in mind that not all feedback is verbal. Often in the workplace, you will receive feedback in the form of an email or a typed message. It’s still important to be aware of how you are positioning and digesting this feedback. When giving and receiving feedback, be mindful of your non-verbal cues. Think of your body language, do you seem defensive, are you giving that person your full attention? How are you positioning yourself in the environment? Rocking back on your chair or leaning into the table? Which shows more engagement and focus? As a young person entering the workforce these are the types of things you need to be aware of – because your manager will notice. If you are the person delivering the feedback, build a rapport first in the conversation. Start with the positives, then explain area to work on and then close with the strengths that the person has. Be encouraging through the conversation that they can develop and improve. Be aware of why this conversation is important and what you want your receiver to get out of the conversation. Go into the conversation or messaging with the intention of helping others improve – this is the core purpose of feedback. Being able to give and receive feedback is an important aspect of your ongoing communication development and a critical element of being a leader. Show Less

Confidence – Believing in your abilities as a communicator and leader will allow you to welcome new methods of communication and adapt to change Our world is constantly changing with technological advancements and we must adapt to new methods that can help better serve our communications. Sometimes we get comfortable and set in our ways. However, leaders cannot become stagnant. Leaders must embrace change and move with it. This isn’t just adapting to technological change, it’s overcoming adversity. The entire world has had to climb over the mountain the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed in our way. Communication dramatically changed from this, pushing everyone to their homes, and relying on technology to bring us human interaction. But we just didn’t stop communicating! We used the technology to best serve us as we could. As technology continues to advance, use the technology, don’t let the technology use you. Continue to use your mindful tendencies to uplift empathy, respect, cultural awareness and overall emotional intelligence levels. Your communication abilities are invaluable not just in the workplace, but in life. Show Less

Competence – Being culturally aware will help you communicate more effectively across the global diverse workforce As communication is an innately human skill, effective communication requires cultural awareness and sensitivity -especially in the move to a global workforce. For example, here at Leaders of Evolution, our co-founders Damian and Jon are from Australia. Our IT manager, Bong, is from the Philippines and our Communications & Marketing Coordinator, Emma, is based in the United States. We must work across language barriers and cultural barriers, which require extra awareness and sensitivity. Cultural awareness is understanding of the differences between yourself and people from other countries or other backgrounds, especially differences in attitudes and values. Moving one step ahead of cultural awareness, in today’s global workforce you must have cultural sensitivity which is having knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. This will bring you to cultural competence, the skills needed for effective communication with people of other cultures. Cultural competence is an invaluable skill that will help you throughout your entire career. Watch the video below to gain a better understanding on what cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity look like in real life. Show Less

Character - Having a digital footprint that represents your values and professionalism is a great first impression for a new employer What is your digital footprint? Your digital footprint is the information about you that exists on the internet as a result of your online activity. This could be the posts you put on your social media or the websites that mention your name. Often when an employer first views your candidacy, they will search your name, so your digital footprint becomes the first information they can get about you. That means page one of Google could be their first impression of who you are – whether this is a true reflection or not doesn’t matter, it is often the first impression that will last. So, you must be mindful of developing a digital footprint that is in line with who you are. Your self-awareness and values help drive this and hopefully influence your decision making when you’re posting online. This is about discipline and showing leadership – even when you want to post something that might be controversial. To keep your social media appropriate think of that person that you really respect and consider what would they think of this post? This is always a good test of whether you should hit ‘post’ and a great way of having a filter for your social media presence. When posting something, think ‘what value does this give to my follower?’ Is it the aesthetics, timely information, fun, important, interesting, controversial? But most importantly, ask yourself does this post represent my personal and professional brand accurately? Social media and digital technologies can be powerful, inspiring forces in the workforce and are used most often for good. Learning how to harness these tools for a positive outcome is a great skill set to develop early in your working career – starting now! Show Less

Character – We must take responsibility and accountability when communicating because culturally unaware communication holds consequences for all parties involved Character – Taking responsibility to learn about different cultural backgrounds and stories, allows you to communicate in an authentic and respectful manner In the video, you will hear from Antwon Bailey, who was on the NFL Washington Football Team in the States. When Antwon played for the Washington Football Team in 2012, their name was the Washington Redskins, which is an extremely offensive word used to describe Native Americans. The word Redskin comes from a long, racially-charged history of systemic oppression of Native Americans from white settlers. This word is deeply offensive to Native Americans as it represents their suffering and violence inflicted upon their culture. This case study is an example of how our words and language have a history that cannot be ignored. Even when we use our language to make a mascot in sport, these derogatory words and images carry harmful consequences for that culture. You might think that making a mascot can be honoring Native people, but rather this word isn’t honoring Native people - the opposite in fact. The Redskin name and mascot was a caricature that perpetuates negative stereotypes of Native Americans. In 2020, after pressure from advocacy groups, the general public and financial loss, the team dropped their name and the logo. To learn more about this moment in history, click here. Show Less

Connectedness - The strength of relationships is based on connectivity In all of life, clear communication helps to promote improved relationships, whether personal or professional by improving clarity and mutual understanding. In the workplace good communication is essential to achieve productivity and to maintain strong and effective working relationships. Ultimately, employ morale and satisfaction. Connecting with your colleagues over a common goal, purpose and mission in the workplace will help you develop strong relationships. Workplace relationships are also built on empathy, respect, cultural connection, humour and finding common ground Even as a young professional you can’t wait for relationships to form and happen -you must intentionally work towards creating connectivity with your colleagues. So, how do you do that? You need to give and earn respect in the workplace and this can be enhanced using verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Non-verbal: appropriate eye contact, pleasant look on your face, engaged body posture Verbal: Acknowledge and engaging in the conversation, well-spoken, appreciative of opportunity to learn Of course, much of the respect you earn in the workplace will also come down to your work ethic, commitment to tasks, relationship development and ability to deliver on your goals and you will harness verbal and non-verbal skills during all of those activities. If you aren’t sure about how to properly develop appropriate relationships in the workplace, as a rule of thumb, pick someone you admire in your personal life- someone who you look up to and are impressed by. Maybe it’s your favorite teacher or coach, or an artist? How would you communicate with that person? Most likely you would be interested in what they have to say, you would ask thoughtful questions. Use these communication cues to help establish and build upon relationships in the workplace. Strong workplace relationships enhance collaboration, creativity and team building and will help you springboard your development, especially early in your career as you learn the ropes of what day to day working life is all about. Our guests will explain in the video... Show Less

Character – Your emotional intelligence is built on your ability to have empathy and respect for others which in turns demonstrates sound character values Emotional intelligence - the capacity to be aware of, manage and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another Respect - due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others Self-awareness - the skill of being aware of our thoughts, emotions, and values from moment to moment. Vulnerability – Being open to uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure Your emotional intelligence, ability to recognise and manage our own and others’ emotions, will help you navigate the uncertainties of communication and problem-solving. This is an invaluable skill that can scarcely be replaced by technology. This requires an ability to be vulnerable, to build relationships and treat another human being with empathy and respect. Being aware of your own and others’ emotions allows you to be in a better position to use body language, facial expressions, words and tone effectively. Being angry doesn’t mean that you should jump up and down and scream at whoever is in the room. In fact, the very best communicators can execute their message to achieve their outcomes, regardless of their emotional state. While emotional intelligence is extremely helpful in the workplace, it’s also a life skill. Having consideration for others will help you make better decisions leading to more successful results. Emotional intelligence stems from your own self-awareness. To fully be present and understanding of how others may be feeling or reacting, you must understand that you also have feelings, thoughts and reactions that in turn affect the people around you. This translates to the bigger picture of communication we will discuss in the next topic. But first, watch the video below on how emotional intelligence is necessary for success in the workplace. Show Less

Confidence – Creative communication means having the courage to try something out of your comfort zone with a clear outcome in mind Creative communication is about having a sense of wonder and awe that inspires you to consider new or alternative methods of communicating a message. For example, can you send a 2-minute video from your phone instead of a writing an email? Could you hand write a card to say thanks instead of sending a text message? Could you create an animation for your presentation rather than use PowerPoint? Creativity starts with the mindset of ‘I wonder if...’Creativity also often involves collaboration from your peers and team members by engaging in a discussion on innovative means of delivering your message. Not only should you look at opposing perspectives with empathy and compassion, be kind and accepting of your own thoughts and ideas. Being creative can often mean you have to put yourself in a vulnerable position. Having the courage to be vulnerable demonstrates effective leadership and an ethos that trying new things is welcomed and celebrated. Show Less

Connectedness – Mindful communication allows you to be able to deeply connect with yourself so you can connect with others Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Self-awareness is the basis of mindful communication - you must be in tune with yourself. Mindful communication is taking the idea of being acutely aware of your messaging in the moment and how this is likely to impact the receiver. Being mindful while communicating is asking thoughtful questions, listening intently and listening more than you speak. Being mindful with your message means choosing your words and delivery in a calculated, directed manner that has been thought over. Be Present Be Intentional Be Respectful Be Empathic Don’t assume. Mindful communication translates to being a mindful leader. Show Less

Competence - Communication in problem-solving and conflict resolution can determine the success of overcoming the issue Miscommunication is commonly a reason for conflict and unfortunately miscommunication happens often in the working environment. Despite everyone’s best attempts, sometimes things just don’t come across the way they were meant to. Effective communication mitigates conflict. To resolve conflict, take care to not jump to conclusions or make assumptions. This requires making sure that all aspects are clearly communicated when you notice the problem arising. You cannot control the other person in the conversation, but you can control how you approach it and respond. Understanding where this conflict is coming from and the context of the issue is most important. Be rational during conflict resolution. Active listening during conflict resolution is critical also. During conflict, it’s natural to feel defensive. But if you are constantly thinking of the next argument point, you can’t be fully listening to the other person and this is an example of where being mindful is very helpful. Rather than thinking about your response, focus on the message you’re receiving instead. Be aware of the messaging your body language is sending and be mindful of the other person’s body language too. At all costs, avoid resolving conflict over electronic methods. Conflict resolution is best in a face-to-face environment. You lose human emotion and your ability to be empathic is decreased when you are not present with the person or people who are involved in the situation. In the video below, Dr. Henzes will explain a step-by-step guide to problem-solving and conflict resolution. Show Less

Confidence - When you are respectfully assertive your workplace self-confidence will increase as your requests are met appropriately Assertiveness is a communication skill where you directly, honestly and appropriately state your thoughts, feelings, needs, or wants in a calm and positive way that is respectful of the views and rights of both yourself and others. Positive, direct, effective, and constructive communication includes taking responsibility, being an effective problem-solver, and having self-awareness. Think of being assertive as making respectful requests. When you are being assertive, you are attempting to have a respectful exchange because you are setting a tone for receiving respect in response. You are setting up an expectation that you will receive respect back. Asserting yourself eliminates the opportunity for assumptions to be made. Since assumptions only have a 50/50 chance of being correct, you only have half a chance of people understanding you and responding to you in the way with which you are seeking. Often young professionals lack confidence in themselves due to limited work experience. It is important that early in your career you aware of this. As you become more assertive you will improve your self-confidence. As your requests are met you will feel more respected in the workplace. In the video, Dr. Henzes will teach you tips for developing positive assertiveness. Show Less

The skills needed to be successful in the future workforce are changing – quickly. As we move through an age where technology dominates so many aspects of our life, it is the skills we develop as humans which are going to be much sought after. This course focuses on developing the tools which will assist you to be an effective learner within the workplace and someone who is an independent and autonomous worker. With less structured management likely to be in place in the future workplace, employers will require their staff to be independent and be able to pick things up quickly in order to do their job well. This course will also assist you in developing your self-awareness as it relates to your future work opportunities. By the end of the course, you will have self-assessed in a number of areas and developed various plans which will assist you as you seek to tackle your future in an evolving workplace. Show Less

One of the things we are proud of at Leaders of Evolution is to provide opportunities for young people to build their professional skill set within a small business environment. We have engaged with school leavers and university students across the globe to help us develop video content for marketing and learning pieces and numerous communications pieces that sit on our website. Not only does this provide a part time income, working flexible hours from home, we are also invested in improving their performance and highlighting both areas of success and continued growth. Emma Henzes has been following the LoE journey since 2018 when on a study tour to Australia and her engagement over the following two years landed her a full-time role at the back end of 2020. In this video Jon and Damian discuss the skills that made her a seamless fit for the LoE team. Show Less

Some of the biggest and most progressive organisations in the world (think Google, Facebook et. al.) are hiring people on their ability to demonstrate the skills that will make them effective members of the team. Their high school or university score is less relevant – they want to see they have the people who will slide into a team and have the mindset and drive to succed. The technical stuff can come later. LoE Co-founders Damian Hecker and Jon Shepherd jumped on a call to discuss this shift to skills over scores and how Jon’s recent presentation to senior executives in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the US focused on this. Show Less

Every element of the Roadmap is purposeful and aimed to enhance the outcomes of students, teachers and school communities. Our anecdotal research however indicates that schools who find ways to provide authentic learning opportunities within the school or wider community often see the greatest improvement in student outcomes. This can be slightly trickier with the Future Skills courses as the truly authentic environment is the workplace or a volunteering scenario, which not all students necessarily have to fall back on. So, we encourage four different ways for teachers to encourage application in different authentic contexts. Skills for the present – Encourage students to see a wide variety of environments to apply their knowledge – hobbies, passion projects, sport, school etc. Personal Experience – Teachers role modelling or discussing their own experiences of developing work ready skills can be helpful for students to recognise the transfer between knowledge and skills development Student Guidebook – This is where students can reflect on, or strategise, for real or hypothetical workplace situations Authentic Application – Wherever possible we want to encourage truly authentic application. Ideally this is in the workplace or a volunteering capacity but tying this in to ‘Skills for the Present’ will deliver sound outcomes also In this video Damian discusses these four pillars in further detail. Toolkit – Head to Page 12 to map out how you can make the learning authentic when using the Future Skills courses Show Less

The shift in preparing young people for their futures should be reimagined. The research that points to a more globalised, connected workforce of 2030 also clearly identifies the skills required to be successful – skills we rarely see explicitly taught in the upper secondary level. It has been dubbed ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and ‘The Third Renaissance’, whichever way you look at the shift that is occurring before our very eyes, it is clear that technology is already playing a huge role in the way we work. The research shows that as jobs become automated our ability to ‘be human’ will be more crucial than ever. Independent and autonomous thinkers, self-directed and lifelong learners, problem solvers, effective communicators, emotionally aware leaders and the myriad skills that come with these behaviours will be what is needed for success. In this video Damian explains this concept in more depth and challenges all of us as educators to think differently about preparing our young people for their futures. Toolkit – Head to Page 7 of your Toolkit to reflect on two key areas identified in the video Show Less