Power Skills: A New Era of Leadership Excellence
Rúna Bouius
Unlocking Leaders Highest Potential & Authentic Power for Positive Impact & Purposeful Growth | TruePower Leadership Coach | Advisor | Facilitator | Speaker | Author | Host
Unlocking the Power of Human Skills: Beyond Traditional Leadership
In the realm of leadership development, we often hear about the importance of acquiring leadership skills. However, I would like to introduce you to a concept beyond conventional leadership skills?—?“human skills.” These skills encompass a combination of intelligences that, when harnessed, can propel us to be the best versions of ourselves.
Beyond M.B.A. Programs: The Hard Skills?Focus
Traditional leadership development, including M.B.A. programs, tends to place a significant emphasis on hard skills. These hard skills are quantifiable competencies and abilities that equip future leaders with analytical prowess and technical proficiency. While these skills are undoubtedly valuable, they can inadvertently create a disconnect when interacting with others.
I recently talked with a successful corporate professional who shared his experience as an M.B.A. graduate. He told me, “I was constantly told to ‘focus on the people,’ but I was measured on numbers. Incentives and how people are assessed need to be aligned.” This disconnect between the emphasis on people-centric leadership and the measurement of quantitative outcomes can be a significant challenge in leadership development.
The Soft Skills Conundrum: Grappling with Challenges
Conversely, what we often refer to as “soft skills” are left for M.B.A. students to grapple with themselves once they enter the workforce. These soft skills encompass interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities, such as communication, empathy, and self-awareness. However, the stark reality is that life is brimming with interpersonal challenges that require these very skills.
The lack of fluency in soft skills can pose significant obstacles to leadership effectiveness. It’s not enough to excel in hard skills alone; integrating soft skills is essential. In fact, your hard skills can feel almost meaningless when your soft skills are lacking.
Redefining Soft Skills as “Power?Skills”
We should reframe our perspective on soft skills. Let’s call them what they truly are?—?“Power skills.” These are skills that empower us in our personal and professional lives to make better decisions, solve our pressing problems, and improving our overall relationships with others. Beyond this, I suggest a broader term to encapsulate the harmony of hard and soft skills?—?“Human skills.”
While hard skills predominantly focus on intellectual intelligence (IQ), human skills encompass a more comprehensive view of our capabilities. They include not only intellectual intelligence but also emotional intelligence (EQ), body intelligence (BQ), and spiritual intelligence (SQ). This holistic approach allows us to draw wisdom from our minds and hearts, bodies, and the quantum field.
Leadership in the Modern Era: A Call for Holistic Leadership
The present times are calling for leaders who possess more than just a sharp mind capable of data analysis. The modern era demands leaders of strong character, integrity, and ethics. It craves knowledgeable, kind, and caring leaders who transcend their own needs and work tirelessly for the collective good.
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This form of leadership, often described as “leading from the inside out,” can profoundly impact our organizations and the individuals within them. It’s about tapping into all dimensions of our intelligence, making choices not only guided by the intellect but also by our heart’s wisdom, body’s wisdom, and our connection to a higher purpose.
Cultivating Inner Leadership: The Key to Unlocking Human?Skills
Leaders who connect with the multi-dimensional aspect of their intelligence often possess an inner knowing cultivated through self-discovery. They ask age-old questions like “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” These profound inquiries lead to a sense of purpose that goes beyond professional success.
So, I invite you to reflect on your own leadership journey. What are you doing to cultivate all dimensions of your intelligence and foster inward leadership as much as outward one? The answers to these questions hold the key to unlocking your full leadership potential and, in turn, significantly impacting your organization and all the people it serves.
In conclusion, it’s time we recognize that true leadership goes beyond the confines of hard and soft skills. Human skills encompass the depth of our intelligences, and leadership that integrates these skills can create a ripple effect of creativity, innovation, and positive change. So, as you navigate your leadership journey, remember that it’s not just about managing people; it’s about leading with your whole self.
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Rúna Bouius is a former CEO and serial entrepreneur from Iceland and the founder of the True Power Institute. As a speaker, author, and mastermind convener, she guides purpose-driven and successful business leaders to amplify their personal and business power, leadership mastery, and well-being.
She is on the vanguard of the new-business paradigm thinking, creating better workplaces, and developing the leaders of the new era. Rúna specializes in facilitating conscious leadership, promoting emerging business and leadership trends, and evolving leaders’ relationships to power -- TRUE Power