RobertSanson

The Skills That Actually Matter (And Why We Ignore Them)
Here's another uncomfortable truth: most of the skills people desperately need at work are never taught in professional development programs.
How to manage up when your boss is incompetent. How to get resources for your team when budgets are tight. How to maintain quality standards when everyone's cutting corners to meet deadlines.
How to have difficult conversations without destroying relationships. How to say no without seeming uncooperative. How to deliver bad news without causing panic.
These are the skills that separate high performers from everyone else. Yet we spend our development budgets on generic leadership competencies and communication theory.
Why? Because the real skills are messy, context-specific, and often involve navigating organisational politics. Much easier to teach sanitised versions that avoid any controversy.
I remember facilitating a session for middle managers at a retail chain where the biggest challenge they faced was dealing with unrealistic demands from senior leadership. But the approved curriculum focused on "positive communication strategies" and "collaborative problem-solving approaches."
Completely useless for their actual situation.
So we went off-script. Spent the day working through real scenarios these managers faced. How to push back on impossible deadlines without getting labeled as "not a team player." How to protect your staff from unreasonable demands while still meeting business objectives.
The feedback was incredible. Finally, training that connected to their daily reality.
But I never got invited back to work with that company again. Apparently, teaching people to navigate organisational dysfunction isn't considered "positive" professional development.
Why Communication Training Fails (Even When It Shouldn't)
Let me pick on communication training specifically because it's where I see the biggest gap between good intentions and terrible execution.
Most communication skills programs teach people to communicate like they're in a university debate. Logical arguments. Respectful dialogue. Win-win solutions.
Beautiful in theory. Completely inadequate for workplace reality.
Real workplace communication often involves dealing with people who are stressed, defensive, or actively hostile. It means having conversations when you don't have complete information. It means persuading people who fundamentally disagree with your position.
These situations require emotional resilience, strategic thinking, and sometimes the ability to stand your ground when everyone else wants you to back down.