Business Professionals, to be Truly Effective and Advance intheir Careers, Must Master their People-Centric Skills.People-Centric Skills: Interpersonal and Communication Skillsfor Auditors and Business Professionals is a comprehensiveguide to the "soft skills" that make technical professionals moreeffective. People-Centric Skills aim to improve all aspectsof personal interactions, relationship development, andcommunication. These skills are as essential to success as aretechnical capabilities. This is the story of a leading internalaudit department taking that next step to becoming a world-classaudit organization in a fictional company. The foundation of thatnext step is developing their People-Centric Skills. The bookdemonstrates the impact that interpersonal and communication skills whether good or bad - have on an auditor'seffectiveness, job, and career. Readers will be able to empathizewith the characters, and relate to the real-life situations inwhich they find themselves. Each chapter features a summary of keyPeople-Centric points and guidelines that will help readers applywhat they've learned to their own projects and departments.In a 2013 study sponsored by the Institute of Internal Auditors("IIA"), the seven key attribute areas identified to be asuccessful auditor include relationship building, partneringcommunications, teamwork, diversity, continuous learning andintegrity. Unfortunately, most professionals never obtain theseskills as part of their college degrees, certifications and otherongoing training. They are left to their own devices when it comesto developing these talents. The book follows an easy-to-readfictional narrative to highlight areas for improvement, and usescommon scenarios to illustrate how to apply the lessons.People-Centric Skills: Interpersonal and Communication Skillsfor Auditors and Business Professionals focuses on many ofthese critical attributes. Topics include:* Conflict Management* Coaching and Mentoring* Building an Effective Team and Team Dynamics* Team Leadership* Partnering and Relationship Building* Effective Meeting Practices* Brainstorming and Multivoting* Assessing Corporate Culture* Active Listening* Non-verbal Communications* Consensus BuildingThese skills apply not only to internal auditors but alsotransfer across a broad range of business professions andindustries, and from professional to personal life. They opendoors, establish effective relationships, improve effectivenessand can turn a "no" into a "yes." They are the true differentiatorin advancing a career. For an auditor to be truly effective, greatpeople skills are one of the most important tools in the box.People-Centric Skills: Interpersonal and Communication Skillsfor Auditors and Business Professionals is astraightforward guide to getting along, getting what you want in aconstructive manner, and becoming a world-class professional.

Foreword ixPreface xiAcknowledgments xvChapter 1 The People-Centric Journey Begins 1People-Centric (P-C) Skills aim to improve all aspects of personal interactions, relationship development, and communications. These skills are as essential to success as are the technical skills. The People-Centric Skills include, but are not limited to: communication in all mediums, conflict resolution, active listening, leadership, mentoring and coaching, establishing business relationships, effective teaming and team dynamics, consensus building, nonverbal communications and body language, assessing corporate culture, etc.Chapter 2 Agreeing to the Plan 11Generating and prioritizing ideas within a groupBrainstormingMultivotingAvoiding GroupthinkChapter 3 Corporate Culture Mentoring 33MentoringAssessing Corporate CultureChapter 4 Managing Conflict with Difficult Executives 45Conflict ManagementEffective MeetingsChapter 5 Coaching a Leader to Form a Team 73CoachingLeading Special-purpose TeamsSituational Leadership ModelFacilitator RoleTeam Sponsor RoleTeam Member RoleChapter 6 Team Dynamics: Setting the Foundation for Success 95Team DynamicsStages of Team DevelopmentTeam Ground RulesTeam Mission StatementBuilding ConsensusChapter 7 Communicating to Build Relationships 131Relationship BuildingPromoting the Role of Internal AuditOptimized Listening SkillsActive ListeningBuilding TrustNonverbal CommunicationsChapter 8 Continuing the People-Centric Journey 157About the Authors 165