Hard truths about soft skills

What happens when you have a difference of opinion with a coworker? Can you successfully pitch an idea to a boardroom of executives? What about your ability to effectively negotiate resources in a competitive workplace?

These are difficult situations, and you can’t always learn how to navigate them by reading a book or watching a Youtube tutorial. It takes time, practice and experience to hone your response and language. That’s why soft skills such as intellectual openness and conflict resolution, creativity and innovative thinking, and resilience and flexibility to name only a few  are becoming increasingly sought after by employers across all industries.

Skills such as public speaking and writing can seem less important than knowledge-based hard skills like research or coding but in a competitive job market, soft skills make a dramatic difference.

Writing an important email or cold-calling a new client may seem easy in theory, but once you’re in the moment nerves, anxiety or simply lack of experience can derail even the best-made plans. It's skills like leadership, empathy, and teamwork that get people to progress throughout their career.

I recently heard someone say they’re not soft skills, they are hard skills. They’re difficult to practice, learn and keep doing.You can watch a video or read blogs to learn about it but it requires practice, consistency and building confidence.