The 5 most important SOFT skills to boost your bizz & personal growth. It’s not what you think!

What’s this article about? The intention of this content piece is to show you why - in my opinion – “traditional coaching and online business consulting” nowadays often isn’t enough. And why a new, holistic approach is needed to help modern entrepreneurs unlock their next level of greatness.

After sharing how I came to this conclusion, I’ll point out five essential skills, that have changed the (business) game for me and brought more success, ease, flow and overall job satisfaction into my life. In the last section of this article, I’ll gift you with a handful of questions you can use as “homeplay”. Enjoy!

The background story

Over the last years, I closely and intensively worked with 111+ consultants , mentors, authors, trainers, speakers, psychologists, and coaches, on their thought leader personal brands and online businesses. We focused on LinkedIn as a core platform and primarily worked with content marketing and free PR strategies to grow and expand their global network, impact and revenue.

As fun as this work was in the beginning, it didn’t take me long to understand that my clients needed more than just the theoretical and technical knowledge about these matters. Because

Their BUSINESS challenges almost always were rooted in PERSONAL challenges that expressed themselves in their career.

An example: Many people were afraid to create their first video. I did everything to provide them with the technical skills, “right” equipment, pragmatic step-by-step guides and accountability. And still many didn’t hit the record button. Or needed a looong time before they did so. Why? Because

The issue wasn’t the issue. The problem BEHIND THE PROBLEM was the issue: Overcoming the fears of being seen, humiliated or judged…?

If I wanted to be the best coachsultant I could be, I had to find a way to help them with a challenge, which in 99% of cases was either rooted in their teenage years or childhood. Ok, and how do I deal with that? I asked fellow “LinkedIn Coaches” if they faced the same challenges with their customers and many of them agreed. Hm…

A radical change & skill upgrade was needed

Once I understood the depth of what I just described, the more my clients mirrored back to me, that, yes, they were super grateful and excited about that they expanded their LinkedIn network, knew how to generate leads organically, and made more money. What they appreciated even more though were things like

• feeling more self-confident
• reaching out to a family member they haven’t spoken to for decades
• losing a lot of weight, which they’ve carried around for years

One of my former clients gave me the final “symbolic slap in the face” when she said: “I have no clue why you’re doing this LinkedIn thing. This is so below your intelligence. You should part of a global think tank, focusing on this world’s biggest problems.” Ouch. That hurt! But in a good way. ;-)

Something in what she stated was right. And to be radically honest, I got more and more bored with teaching people “the technical stuff” they could theoretically get from any qualified person working in this field. So, when my former “dream job” started to turn into a nightmare and a few personal issues were on the verge of escalating, I went on a sabbatical to get more clarity.

Lessons learned. What puzzle piece is missing?

I’ll make it short: The claim “mindset is everything” is not true if you’re aiming for long-term success, peace of mind and freedom.

The people I’ve worked with were NOT struggling with their personal brands and businesses only due to a lack of technical knowledge or “hard skills”. They were lacking fundamental “soft skills”.?

Hilariously enough, those skills, which I intensely trained and acquired during my sabbatical. This then led me to the conclusion that

"Traditional coaching and online business consulting" with a dash of accountability nowadays often isn’t enough. People who want sustainable results and more ease need a holistic approach.

Such an approach requires at least two further elements: 1. a “safe deep dive” into a core fear, to transform it 2. the acquisition of certain skills (or behavior) the person hasn’t learned yet.

Soft skills for business growth?!

Yes, especially in times when we can delegate “more mundane data crunching” to AI. What our current and future leaders need most is an upgrade in their humanness. Reconnecting to what it means to be a human. Being able to think and feel. Do and be.

So, I was allowed to pivot my work from marketing/career development to business analysis/professional development. In this process I’ve identified five competencies that make a big difference in the lives of my mentees: Decision making, communication, well-being and self-care, emotional intelligence and creativity. Let’s have a look at all these one by one

1. Decision making

Many individuals I’ve guided are unsure about their decision making. “Experts” on social media, podcasts, books, online conferences, etc. rarely preach the same. That’s when self-doubts creep in: Am I doing the best for my business? Should I do more? Am I doing it wrong?

Things change radically, when I remind my clients of how their unique intuition works, what their life’s work is about, and when I give them the permission slip to follow joy and do things their way.

2. Communication

Successful communication with our team, suppliers, and clients is only possible when we have clarity on where we’re heading towards and why. When we’ve learned to set healthy boundaries, know our values, needs and express them with grace.

?In this area, the topic of people-pleasing and false humbleness are regular challenges we work on. Self-compassion, and the inner dialogue fall into this category, too.

3. Well-being and self-care

You won’t believe how many people subconsciously believe that “they can rest when they’re dead”. Or that breaks are the opposite of work.

Together, we - amongst others - have a look at my client’s mindfulness and meditation practices, habits and routines, if and how they work out, if they spend enough time with friends, and on their own, and what their relationship to nature is.

4. Emotional intelligence

Most of us have been taught that feelings are irrational and that emotions are stupid. Ignoring and suppressing them is the best strategy. Especially in business and if you want to be taken seriously.

Guess what? That’s one of the major reasons why we feel low on energy und unhappy. This subcategory also focuses on nervous system regulation, and how to maturely deal with our emotions.

5. Creativity

Many entrepreneurs approach me because they feel uncreative and uninspired. Of course, they do, when their business reality looks like I’ve described in the last paragraphs.

Reconnecting my clients with their inner compass, the Universe and designing the space, and time to fully be, remove performance pressure and encourage childlike playfulness are game-changers.

Once we’ve tackled all the above-mentioned matters, we talk about aspects like personal (re)branding , content creation , the LinkedIn algorithm, how to get podcast interviews, and speaking gigs, and how to organically generate leads “without being annoying salid” (salid = sales idiot).

Mind-expanding questions and “homeplay” for you

If you’re now thinking. “Great, Natalia. And now what?” Gift yourself with contemplating on the following questions. Wishing you heaps of new insights.

1. On a scale from 0-5 (0 = I regularly doubt myself, 5 = I rarely doubt my decisions), how content are you with your decision making skills?
2. Are you aware how your unique intuition works? How does it express itself?
3. Are you capable of having a mature inner dialogue? Or is your inner critic still screaming at you and judging you harshly?
4. Can you set healthy boundaries, say no when you mean it, and express them with grace?
5. How does your self-care practice look like?
6. Do your current (work) routines still serve you? Or have you outgrown them?
7. Can you fully feel “negative emotions”? If not, why?
8. What limiting story do you tell yourself about emotions?
9. Do you feel creative and inspired? If not, why do you think that is so?
10. What does playfulness mean to you? And how do you weave it into your day(s)?
11. Do you feel you need a personal REbranding? If so, what aspect(s) do you want to upgrade?
12. What’s one thing that would make your content creation process more fun?
13. Is your LinkedIn (business) strategy getting you visibility, free PR and leads? If not, why?

Last thoughts and invitation

I hope this article inspired a few new thoughts and impulses in you. As always, reach out if you’d appreciate my personal guidance for a month (or three). I’m just one direct message away.

PS: Liked this article? Learned something new? Repost it or share it with someone you care about. Thank you.