Soft Skills are Hard Core

Soft skills are so not soft. Those transferable skills - even though they are not in our face on our CV, they are so in deeply embedded in the bottom of our brain (basal ganglia) that they are automatic. They take less brain power and energy. They have found their way into our habits and daily living. We live and breathe them.

What could be more hard core than that!? How often do we say it takes 21 days to create a new habit? They have become part of us and we bring them to any role we are working in, mostly with ease and grace.

Let’s take a couple of examples. The parent who hasn’t worked for many years because they've been doing just the most important role in the world but anyway… they're an incredible organiser, they have to adapt to stressful situations and think on their feet, deals with competing goals and needs at the drop of a hat, plans events days and weeks in advance to keep the audience amused, restrains their own emotions to de-escalate situations, makes an environment calm so there is a soothing environment, is a fantastic story teller with an abundant imagination and multitasks the heck out of every situation. Who wouldn’t want to hire them? Maybe teach them a system or skill or three. How long will that really take? Then you’ve got a fab hire whose gratitude will reward you in bucket loads, they will be a great asset and energy to your team, they will be loyal, dedicated and I would say also thirsty learner who grows with the company.

Here’s another example: The hospitality staff member who has been laid off due to a pandemic. Goodness knows they deal with the coal face and often customers on the tad bad side of tipsy. They know how to moderate their emotions and remain respectful, they have incredible organisational and scheduling skills, they are fast and have to keep up a smile under pressure, their memory of who needs what is exceptional, often they bring a sense of humour and levity to each group they are servicing, and they are physically strong and balanced. Wow, that’s really just a handful of soft skills that they could transfer to many roles. I’m sure you can think of heaps I haven’t mentioned. That’s my point. But hang on….

We think of experience in terms of where someone has worked. What about life experiences? Do we ever look past a resume and get curious on how someone dealt with a death, a holiday (pleasant or unpleasant), a divorce, recovery from an illness/accident or some other major event?

Are we curious enough to open our mind and ask: What happened, how did it effect you, how did you deal with it, what has it taught you about yourself now, has it changed your values, how would this influence your work/decision making? Some great questions.

We need to open our minds with talent. Sure, qualifications are sometimes necessary for some jobs. But these kind of skills and questions can be asked in any roles to give you an idea of what is going really sitting in their hearts. Who they really are to their core.

Whilst writing this I realised a soft skill. When I was 18, I did heaps on dictation transcribing letters in an admin role, now trying to keep up with my internal dialogue that is writing itself is effortless! Lucky for that soft skill, eh?