What are soft skills and why do I need them to succeed in my career?

Article by Inmedia

Problem-solving, self-management and leadership are some examples of soft skills that are going to become indispensable in the next years.

Often, when we think about what makes us an eligible candidate for a particular job, we tend to check if we fulfill the technical skills that are intrinsic and specific to the position. That is, for instance, if we are applying for a job as an IT programmer, coding would be considered a technical or a hard skill.

Still, there is another category of skills that is transversal to every job, and that is arising the public interest: soft skills. Soft skills are interpersonal and speak on how you create bonds with others in the workplace. Communication, teamwork, adaptability and problem solving are great examples of soft skills.

The acquisition of hard and soft skills

How do we acquire hard skills? Usually, technical skills are learned formally, mainly via our education, training or previous work experience. Employers can objectively assess your hard skills by looking at your resume.

On the other hand, soft skills are more difficult to develop and need to be practised overtime in the real world. For some people, soft skills come more naturally than for others. The problem with soft skills, even though they are key to one’s performance, is that cannot be evaluated easily through a resume or a cover letter. It is not until the employer sees the employee at a job interview or monitors their attitude in the first weeks in the new job that can get an idea of his or her soft skills.

Which are the most valued soft skills?

The Future of Jobs Report 2020, published by the World Economic Forum, estimates that by 2025 more than 50 percent of today’s workers will need to adapt their skills to market needs in order to remain competitive. Some of the most valuable soft skills in this new framework are problem-solving, self-management and leadership.

Problem-solving skills

Problem-solving skills help you solve issues quickly and effectively. Problem-solving skills require quickly identifying the underlying issue and implementing a solution. There are five primary steps in problem-solving skills:

Analysis of the situation and the cause of the problem.
Thinking of different approaches to solve the issue.
Evaluate all the alternatives and select the best one.
Implement the solution.
Assess the effectiveness.

Source: The Balance Careers.

Self-management

Self-management is the ability to manage our behaviours, thoughts, and emotions in a conscious and productive way. Someone with strong self-management skills knows what to do and how to act in different situations, and that you do what it takes to fulfill your responsibilities.

Self-management is even more crucial when we talk about empowering employees across the organization to be more innovative and resourceful.

When every team member understands their responsibilities, goals, and what it takes to achieve them, they can make better decisions and do their part to achieve the team and organization’s objectives. Part of effective self-management with empowerment is that employees make good decisions about when to seek additional help or input.

Leadership

Not all the leaders we have followed in our life are managers. In fact, leadership is more about authority than being in charge. This is because a title does not automatically mean you are a leader — especially a good one. And, not having a title does not mean you cannot be a leader.

We can all recall a particularly good teacher in primary school that helped us shape our future careers or an inspiring work colleague that has the natural ability to motivate their peers.

Effective leadership is not about ordering people around, either. It is about being a source of empowerment for others so they can achieve success for themselves and for the organization. A good leader is able to motivate employees and enhance them by giving them tasks akin to their personal potential and skills.

In a nutshell, what seems transparent clear is that all of us will have to continue developing our soft skills to remain competitive in the employment market. It will not only be necessary to keep training our technical skills, but also paying attention to these interpersonal qualities that play a key role in our professional path.