11 Vital People Skills for Future Career Success

"The most important skills I had to learn to be successful were people skills," declared businessman Richard Branson. Dr. Daniel Goleman calls these skills our Emotional Intelligence. They are more important than IQ and involve personal and social competence.

The future workforce also needs business and digital skills. However, people and business skills are closely inter-related. When combined they determine the creativity and ethical application of all of a person's abilities.

In addition, consider the following:

• high levels of management failure,
• exorbitant employee discontent,
• poor customer service levels,
• the overall lack of civility in the workplace.

All of these points describe a lack of people skills. Furthermore, they spell a greater catastrophic potential (dishonesty, temper tantrums, blaming, abuse, manipulations etc.) for any manager or employee. Why? In the future, all of us will be confronted by intense competition, while under pressure for even better results. This is where many compromise ethics and how to treat other people.

What are the most important People Skills?

1. Integrity: Distrust of leadership abounds. As a result, employee dissatisfaction and loyalty are taking a dive. Yet, honesty by management bucks that trend by significantly contributing to a happier and more productive work climate.
2. Communication: Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn says, "Communication is the No. 1 skills gap across those major cities in the United States." This is no surprise. The #1 issue on employee engagement surveys tends to be the lack of communication from management or across an organization.
3. Teamwork: About two-thirds of teams fail. Thus, if you know how to work well with people you can make a real difference in a company. To quote the late and well regarded Minnesota senator, Paul Wellstone: "We ALL do better when we ALL do better."
4. Conflict resolution: Conflict isn't necessarily bad. Managers and employees have to be adept at handling it in a fast-paced world. Bad news can go viral in a heartbeat. How we handle difficult situations and people often determines the depth of our career success. The best leaders encourage divergent views, control their emotions, and maintain the self-esteem of others. We need to remember that we can respect others' right to ideas or opinions different than our own without agreeing with them.
5. Change Management: This challenges our ability to constructively adapt and be flexible. Change is especially crucial on a condensed globe that daily involves changing priorities, ambiguous standards, diverse workplaces and disruptive marketplaces.
6. Influence: By definition, this is a person's capacity to affect how others behave, think, feel and act. Positive influence tends to change the world for the better.
7. Empathy: Listening with sensitivity to others is the highest form of courtesy and the quickest way to build rapport. Most of us want to do all the talking. This is a top priority among all people skills.
8. Discipline: People respect others who can get things done while "keeping their cool". Are you known as one who can be counted on or one that has an excuse? Personal time management and a focus on action separate the best from the rest.
9. Optimism: Mayo Clinic research shows that people with an optimistic view of life live longer. Furthermore, others are more attracted to individuals that have a positive, hopeful and uplifting perspective. Without this, other people skills impact is dimmed.
10. Problem-solving: This is the ability to identify, analyze and fix problems. In this day and age that's a manager's job as well as any employee's. A good problem-solver balances data and creative-driven approaches. Identify a problem, don't complain, and help fix it.
11. Negotiations: Are you willing to ask for what you want to get more or better? Are you willing to say it and go for it boldly but constructively? Also, is your goal a win/win scenario? There are other definitions of negotiations that favor combativeness and Win/Lose. Remember, we are talking about people skills here.

Why are these Skills so Important Today?

With the technological revolution that we all are experiencing, there is less emphasis on social skills and team-building. The drive is to improve technological and digital skills. Employees today are bombarded with social media, chat boxes, and apps of all kinds (for employee recognition, communication and engagement). Most human resource procedures are connected to online tools. This has sadly become the impersonal, ineffective way that many folks are now "trained" for their jobs.

Technology has decreased the quality of communication in the workplace. Of course, this is true for friends and family networks, too. This is particularly noticeable in the younger generations. Overall there are more connections, but with less emotional depth and truth. Superficial communication becomes the standard.

So, according to an analysis of nearly one million job openings, the #1 in-demand quality of new hires revolves around people skills. The capability of a job seeker's people skills has become a powerful differentiator to recruiters. A person's people skills' effectiveness is becoming more important for better pay increases and potential promotions. Finally, most people-friendly companies are more profitable. DO YOU HEAR THAT, CEOs? And they have better service, retain the best talent, and are the ones most trusted and admired.

The Challenge of Improving

Companies spend ten times more money on technology than on the overall training of their employees. This disparity is even greater when you consider that technical skill training consumes 31% of all training budgets. While investments in both areas are up, this stat reinforces where executives put their priority.

Consequently, employees and managers have to take initiative, and those who regularly pay for their own personal skill development are the chosen ones. Their skills will improve while others stagnate. Many will become the leaders of tomorrow. Over time they will have the opportunity to fast-track to bigger jobs and higher pay.

How do you Rate on your People Skills?

Emerson said, "Self-awareness is the first step to success". So, which of the above eleven areas are a plus for you, and in which two or three do you need the most help? Why not make it a priority to improve in each?

Businessman and author Bob Conklin said it wisely: "Help other people be successful and you will be successful." Notice how he said it. It isn't all about you. Employees aren't assets, they are real people. The goal is collaboration, cooperation, consensus and care. These require the human touch, and an investment in time. This is a radical idea for many leaders, let alone the rest of us.

Do you want a great read to stimulate your thinking for self-development? Go here: The Extraordinary Employee.

In addition, are you looking for practical management advice to fast track your success? If so, check out the Superstar Leadership book.

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