Skilling Me Softly: The 7 Important Soft Skills to Harness

Imagine this bleak scenario and how it underscores the critical need for soft skills and interpersonal relationships in an organisation.

Stacks of paperwork form fortresses around each table in the office. Employees, hidden behind walls of backlog work, hardly communicate with each other. Lunch breaks are just relaxed time to catch up on more work. No one in the office smiles or engages in conversation. Deadlines are often missed, expectations are misread, and resentment permeates the thick, air-conditioned air. Although new technology is introduced periodically, change is frowned upon.

The song, “Killing Me Softly” trails in the background of this morbid office scene. Everything is mechanical, calculated, and dysfunctional.

In a business world increasingly dominated by AI and technological advancements, developing human skills that machines lack is more essential than ever. Imagine a team where communication flows effortlessly, conflicts are resolved amicably, and every member feels valued. This is not a utopian dream but a reality achievable through the cultivation of soft skills. Studies by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, and the Stanford Research Center reveal that 85% of career success is attributed to well-developed soft skills and interpersonal abilities, while hard skills, such as technical expertise and knowledge, account for only 15%.

Soft skills, also called people skills (or interpersonal skills), are vital for keeping businesses sustainable and profitable. While hard skills can be easily taught and replicated, soft skills are often acquired and refined over time.

This article explores the importance of soft skills in business, identifies seven core soft skills to develop, and provides pointers on how to nurture them in both personal and professional contexts.

Why Do Soft Skills Matter?

Meeting the needs of people is at the core of our businesses and services. Soft skills, including communication, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork, are vital for improving customer service and ensuring business sustainability and resilience. 

Businesses thrive when customers feel that their needs are met and well served, leading to customer loyalty. Effective customer engagement, clear communication with teammates, and efficient resource management are crucial for business success.

Employees who develop and value these soft skills enhance client relations and improve workplace dynamics, fostering a supportive team environment. Developing soft skills is a long-term investment, as these skills positively impact both professional and personal aspects of life. Unlike hard skills, which are task-specific, soft skills contribute to overall personal growth and effectiveness in all areas of life.

By investing in the following seven soft skills, individuals can elevate their marketability and become valuable assets to any corporation, helping to transform and shape these businesses into formidable forces.

#1 Communication

A work environment fraught with miscommunication or lacking communication can wreak chaos within an organization. Communication is the lifeblood of any business. Without effective communication, expectations are unclear, deadlines are missed, employees feel unappreciated, and problems remain unresolved. The absence of good communication can dismantle a business.

Effective communication involves listening carefully, understanding clearly, and conveying information concisely. This ensures crucial information is relayed on time, allowing necessary actions to be taken promptly. It also involves paying attention to people, understanding body language, recognising nuances, and clarifying to ensure comprehension. Employees who master this will manage their work goals more effectively and build strong bonds with coworkers, becoming genuine assets to the company.

Improvement Strategies:

• Active Listening: Clear away distractions during conversations. Listen to understand, not just to respond. Take notes and maintain eye contact.
  
• Clarity and Conciseness: Use simple language, avoid jargon, and get to the point. Be concise in emails and presentations.
  
• Constructive Feedback: Be objective, and honest, and focus on improvement. Avoid demoralising feedback.

#2 Emotional Intelligence/ Quotient (EQ)

Emotional intelligence (EQ) includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Research shows that employees with higher EQs perform better. According to the Harvard Business Review, ‘Emotional intelligence accounts for nearly 90% of what moves people up the ladder when IQ and technical skills are roughly similar.’

Nurturing EQ fosters better relationships and helps cope with stress. It provides a framework for managing emotional responses to people and situations.

Improvement Strategies:

• Self-Reflection: Assess your emotional responses and their impact. Reflect on daily activities and manage negativity.
  
• Managing Emotions: Use techniques like deep breathing or mindfulness to regulate emotions. Grounding techniques and exercises can help manage anxiety and negative emotions.
  
• Empathy Development: Practice putting yourself in others’ shoes to understand their perspectives. Develop empathetic listening to demonstrate genuine care.

#3 Teamwork and Collaboration

Popular movies like Rambo, James Bond, and The Equalizer celebrate the renegade prowess of individuals who undertake complex and sophisticated missions solo, often without a team. Despite facing numerous challenges and dead-ends, these characters emerge as heroes, taking pride in their maverick approaches to getting the job done. These moments often crescendo after their agencies’ failed attempts to force them into team-based operations. 

Yet, such heroism often proves unsuccessful within companies and organisations. Employees who work in silos fracture team dynamics, impede communications and create an unhealthy sense of competition as teamwork is crucial in achieving common goals that foster sustainability and growth. 

Teamwork involves working well with others to achieve common goals, which is essential for organisational success. Collaboration fosters innovation and improves problem-solving.

Improvement Strategies:

• Building Trust: Establish and maintain trust with team members through reliability and integrity. Trust is the foundation of effective teamwork and greatly aids problem-solving.
  
• Conflict Resolution: Address conflicts constructively and seek mutually beneficial solutions. This maintains harmony and productivity.
  
• Effective Collaboration Tools: Use tools and platforms to facilitate collaboration. Technologies like project management software can streamline team efforts.

#4 Adaptability and Flexibility

Adaptability is the ability to adjust to new conditions and challenges, which is vital in a rapidly changing work environment. Flexibility allows employees to pivot and respond to new demands effectively.

Change in both our personal and professional circumstances is inevitable. A change signals new expectations and experiences, often outside our comfort zone. Such a transition can be anxiety-inducing as it requires unlearning and relearning new approaches to managing work and our environment. The ability to adjust and tread with flexibility helps one build resilience and creativity in accomplishing tasks. 

Improvement Strategies:

• Open-Mindedness: Stay open to new ideas and changes. Embrace the unknown and be willing to learn from new experiences. Make a list of the barriers and challenges that prevent you from welcoming change and reflect on why they could be there.
  
• Continuous Learning: Embrace lifelong learning to remain adaptable. This can include taking courses, reading industry publications, or seeking mentorship. Read more about continuous learning in our article: Unlock Your Career Potential: 4 Strategies to Cultivate a Growth Mindset
  
• Problem-solving: Enhance problem-solving skills to navigate changes effectively. This involves thinking creatively and finding innovative solutions. Listen to how others have overcome similar challenges that you could be facing. Friends, colleagues, books, and podcasts, can be helpful resources in sharpening your perspectives on problem-solving.

#5 Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Problem-solving and critical thinking involve analyzing situations and making informed decisions. These skills are essential for overcoming obstacles and making sound judgments. Without these skills, employees become mere ‘order takers,’ who do little to innovate or improve their position within their organisation and remain reactive to work demands. Such employees struggle to think outside the box, remain comfortable with the status quo, and may feel resentful and burned out due to their aversion to change and improved ways of doing things.

By proactively working to enhance efficiencies at work, employees can stand out, take on leadership roles, and prove to be valuable assets to their organisations. These skills enable employees to rise in the ranks and expand their growth opportunities.

Improvement Strategies:

• Analytical Thinking: Develop techniques to improve your analytical reasoning. Break down complex problems into manageable parts.
  
• Creative Problem-solving: Encourage creativity in finding innovative solutions. Sometimes the best solutions come from thinking outside the box.
  
• Decision-making Models: Use structured frameworks for better decision-making. Models like SWOT analysis or the PDCA cycle can guide you through the process.

#6 Leadership Skills

Leadership encompasses guiding teams and projects towards success. Good leaders inspire and motivate their teams, driving them towards achieving common goals.

Leadership is a skill that can be cultivated with the right mindset and attitude, dispelling the notion that leaders are ‘born’. While some may be predisposed to step up and lead naturally, leadership skills can be nurtured by everyone and demonstrated in numerous ways in their work and personal lives. 

Improvement Strategies:

• Leadership Styles: Identify and develop your personal leadership style. Whether it’s transformational, transactional, or servant leadership, find what works best for you.
  
• Influence and Persuasion: Learn techniques to motivate and influence others. Effective leaders can inspire and mobilise their teams.
  
• Delegation: Practice effective delegation and empower team members. This not only develops their skills but also ensures that tasks are completed efficiently.
  

#7 Time Management and Organisation

Effective time management and organisation are essential for productivity and stress reduction. These skills help in prioritising tasks and managing workloads efficiently.

Improvement Strategies:

• Prioritisation: Use methods to prioritise tasks effectively. The Eisenhower Matrix or the ABC method can help in determining what’s urgent and important.
  
• Time-blocking: Implement time-blocking techniques to manage your schedule. Allocate specific times for different tasks to improve focus and efficiency. Time-blocking enables you to pad your schedules with sufficient margins for eventualities that could impact your schedule.
  
• Tools and Apps: Utilise productivity tools and apps to stay organised. Tools like Trello, Asana, or even simple to-do lists can keep you on track. 

Conclusion

By focusing on these essential soft skills, employees can not only improve their career prospects but also contribute to a more dynamic, efficient, and positive work environment. Although the advent of technology may pave the way for more automated processes to operationalise workflows and processes, the need for employees with good work ethics and character to humanise business remains vital for growth.