A growing number of VAA’s are running their own internal research projects to gain new insights and to “own” the findings they share with clients. Peter Meyers, through this case study, describes eight characteristics of strategically oriented mid-level leaders.
This white paper discusses the brain’s response to our DNA 23 workplace soft skills assessment. One of the major takeaways is that our self-perceptions of skill development is directly tied to emotional brain reactions that can be captured to triangulate and help explain participant responses.
Of the 23 competencies surveyed, all are below national means and their mastery. There are a few exceptions, as a group, is extremely low but please keep in mind that they are being compared to a national workforce mean and not other first-year college students. Nebraska’s College of Engineering was one of the first programs in the nation to gather this data. So, comparison to similar groupings is nearly impossible. More importantly, while documenting student entry levels is useful, what is crucial is identifying what skills our students gain as a result of their programs of study. This study opens many questions that only longitudinal studies can address.
Higher education is being challenged to improve work-related soft skill development. TTI SI is playing a major role by providing tools that help document skill level and acquisition over time. This article includes a published cross-walk showing how our DNA 23 assessment and the US National Research Council’s 21st-Century Skill list overlap.