Soft Skills Aren’t Hard (To Learn)

Great leaders build great organizations – this is a simple fact. And great leaders understand that the triple-benefit of an effective soft skills training program enables great organizations to 1) invest prudently in their people, 2) develop future leaders, and 3) scale up successfully.

Soft skills are not hard to learn - and soft skill training is considered effective if it transfers to and improves the workplace and increases performance outcomes.

So, what is the link between soft skills training and scaling up, you ask? Well - understandably a scalable infrastructure and the ability to navigate market-dynamics helps to grow strong organizations, however a significant barrier to scaling up and managing growth can be seen in weak leadership capacity and ineffective soft skills. Soft skills are not hard to learn - and soft skill training is considered effective if it transfers to and improves the workplace and increases performance outcomes.

(A) barrier to scaling up and managing growth can be seen in weak leadership capacity and ineffective soft skills…

HR Knows Soft Skills Are Important ...

How often have you heard your HR team stress the importance of “soft skills” when evaluating potential candidates? Or have you heard other leaders lament about how great technical employees lack the minimum soft skills necessary to be considered for further promotion? Perhaps you are working in a STEM organization and the term “soft skill ” has a less than positive meaning - or the abilities that encompass soft skills are considered less important, than say the traditional hard or technical skills needed to accomplish the job.

Across a variety of industries, the combination of effective leadership and the abundance of soft skills are recognized as key to making organizations more profitable and better places to work.

Across a variety of industries, the combination of effective leadership and the abundance of soft skills are recognized as key to making organizations more profitable and better places to work. Why? Because increasingly, great organizations are assessing their employees on a whole host of soft skill competencies around how well they relate to and communicate with others. Furthermore, leadership competencies such as soft skills include the ability of people to balance the commercial needs of their organization with the individual needs of their workforce.

…leadership competencies such as soft skills include the ability of people to balance the commercial needs of their organization with the individual needs of their workforce.

Research Proves That long-term Success Depends On Soft-skills

Based upon my previous executive assignments across a global portfolio – and in my current role as an Executive Leadership Coach and Corporate Trainer, I have witnessed how important soft skills are in achieving professional success and remaining influential and relevant, because these are the critical ‘non-technical’ competencies that can make or break your career. In fact, the American Management Association reports that:

? Research conducted with Fortune 500 CEOs by the Stanford Research Institute International and the Carnegie Melon Foundation, found that 75% of long-term job success depends on people skills, while only 25% on technical knowledge.

? A survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council found that although MBA’s were strong in analytical aptitude, quantitative expertise, and information-gathering ability, they were sorely lacking in other critical areas that employers find equally attractive: strategic thinking, written and oral communication, leadership, and adaptability.

Soft-Skills Allow Us To Effectively Work With Others

Having the technical skills to successfully execute your job is only one part of being the best you can be in the workplace

Having the technical skills to successfully execute your job is only one part of being the best you can be in the workplace. In addition to these hard skills, we also need soft skills, such as those skills which allow us to effectively work with others. No matter what your position, organization, or industry, you work with people! You may be an engineer, a scientist, a program manager, or a medical professional by trade – but you are in the people business. Therefore, taking the time to build effective soft skills can contribute to a more efficient, more harmonious, and more productive workplace, as well as to your own overall job happiness and satisfaction.

… taking the time to build effective soft skills can contribute to a more efficient, more harmonious, and more productive workplace, as well as to your own overall job happiness and satisfaction.

Soft skills are personal attributes that allow us to effectively relate to others. Applying these skills helps us build stronger work relationships, become more influential, work more productively, and maximize our career prospects. Because soft skills are talked about as traits of a person’s personality, it may seem as though you must be born with them. While some soft skills come more easily to one person than they might to another, soft skills are not inborn. Like all skills, they can be learned.

Soft-Skills Are Learnable

We develop soft skills in the same way we develop hard skills – we practice!

Because we all have our own preferences and ways of moving through the world, some soft skills may be more difficult to learn than others. But if we think back, there are also aspects of our hard skill set that were difficult at first, though they now seem to come quite naturally to us. We develop soft skills in the same way we develop hard skills – we practice! Often, we place the focus of our career development efforts on hard skills – technology skills, knowledge, and other skills that specifically relate to our ability to get work-related tasks done. This means we often neglect to develop our soft skills. However, soft skills are learnable and are directly transferrable to any job, organization, or industry. As a result, they are an investment worth making.

… soft skills are learnable and are directly transferrable to any job, organization, or industry…

Soft skills include an extensive list of traits, interpersonal attitudes and behaviors that affect your ability to work and interact with others, to include (but by no means limited to):

• Communication
• Giving And Receiving Feedback
• Listening
• Networking
• Relationship Management
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Confidence
• Self-Management
• Showing Empathy
• Social Awareness

“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” ― Eckhart Tolle

Conclusion

Soft skills are not inborn – they can be learned. Some skills come easier than others based on our experiences and personal preferences, but none of them are hardwired into us! Because soft skills can be learned, the best way to develop them is to practice!

… providing a pathway to correct course from their earlier focus on solely developing hard skills.

Professional development courses and mentoring can help you identify opportunities for practice. By offering your employees the opportunity to participate in soft skill training programs you are helping them understand their areas for growth and providing a pathway to correct course from their earlier focus on solely developing hard skills. Learning and improving these skills helps us build stronger work relationships, become more influential, work more productively, and maximize our career prospects – because soft skills include the ability to balance the commercial needs of the organization with the individual needs of our workforce. As a result, soft skills are an investment worth making.

…soft skills include the ability to balance the commercial needs of the organization with the individual needs of our workforce

About Dr Tina

I work with forward thinking organizations who believe in their future and make investments in their people. I help to develop leaders, managers, and influencers with phenomenal soft skills. To learn more about the various soft skill topics and training options checkout our website at https://www.DrTinaTalksWork.com/workshops .

As an Executive Leadership Coach and Corporate Trainer, I have witnessed firsthand why soft skills matter – and watch in awe when an organization commits to attracting, retaining and developing employees and demanding superior leadership, aligned with the organization’s strategic intent. Great leaders build great organizations – ask me how!