We spend years developing the hard skills required for our particular career path; at school, college, university and in the workplace, but nowadays, employability and career development depend heavily upon the soft skills we’ve nurtured and how well we can work with others.
Soft skills are linked to our ability to form relationships and think outside the box which is why employers strive to select individuals who can demonstrate these qualities – they make for resilient, helpful and hardworking employees who encourage others to achieve, as well as themselves.
So, if you’re interested in boosting your employability or want to advance your career, the information below will help you to improve your soft skills and your chances of success!
Defining Soft Skills
Soft skills can be characterised as interpersonal traits which help an individual interact effectively with others and form positive relationships.
Within the workplace they are transferable skills that can be applied and called upon in any situation.
Desirable soft skills often include:
• Good communication
• Resilience
• Flexibility
• Emotional intelligence
• Positive mental attitude
• Creativity
• Effective leadership
• Problem solving
• Conflict resolution
• Friendliness and approachability
• Openness and honesty
• Altruistic
While many of us naturally have some of these traits, they can also be learned.
Developing skill sets which help form positive relationships is key to successful leadership and developing any career.
Employers need leaders who are able to constructively direct their team with a supporting ethos and inclusive nature.
They rely on those in leadership roles to solve issues, promote creativity, encourage growth in others and inspire morale, especially during challenging times the like of which we have recently experienced during the COVID pandemic.
The following soft skills are particularly valuable to employers at present and will help you improve relationships, work more effectively and develop your career.
1. Communication
Communication is always going to be the number 1 soft skill as without it, many skills you have cannot be effectively conveyed or utilised.
For example, if you’re giving feedback to a member of your team, you’ll need to be able to concisely, clearly and succinctly outline your points and support them with evidence.
If you can’t effectively communicate and elucidate your feedback, you’ll struggle to explain your position and inform others, nor will you be able to effectively negotiate how to move forward.
Of course, this applies to both verbal and written forms of communication and those which are direct and in-direct.
Good communication skills in the workplace help with:
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Effective presentations
• Influencing
• Leadership
• Coaching and mentoring
• Client negotiations
• Customer relations
Improving your communication technique is the best first step towards refining and developing other soft skills.
2. Resilience
This soft skill has come to the fore over the last couple of years mostly due to the COVID pandemic and its effect on individuals, families, organisations and communities.
Resilience allows us stay focussed on the big picture, overcome low periods, maintain engagement and adapt to new or challenging situations.
Staying positive is great but reality often has a way of reminding us who is in charge, so when disaster strikes, we need to draw upon our reserves of resilience.
Resilience not only helps in a professional setting but will also benefit personal aspects of our lives.
Resilience influences our:
• Empathy
• Commitment
• Self-confidence
• Self-control
• Coping ability
3. Responsibility
No employer will promote a member of their team who isn’t responsible and accountable for their own actions, mistakes or faults.
Likewise, a leader is directly responsible for the actions of those they manage.
Taking responsibility for the actions of yourself and your team helps to promote respect, build trust and encourage teamwork.
If things go wrong (as they are prone to do from time to time) don’t look to accuse others, lay blame at the hands of fate, or tight deadlines. Instead, rally your energy, draw upon your resilience and set to finding a solution!
When delegating roles to team members, be clear in your expectations (good communication), and ensure they know to ask for help or direction if needed. Your team must share responsibility for projects and workloads too, so make sure everyone is on the same page.
4. Decision Making
Making informed decisions relies on your ability to gather, assess and consider evidence without bias or self-interest.
At the end of the day, the best decision isn’t always the easiest one or the one that you would naturally choose.
Effective decision making requires critical thinking and objective solution finding. It can be broken down into:
• Research
• Processing data
• Assessing evidence
• Flexible viewpoint
• Calculate outcomes
An employee who can set aside their own agenda, assess evidence with an open mind and calculate potential outcomes, is highly prized.
Within the workplace, soft skills are the key to effective teamwork and great leadership. Quality training helps develop these core skills and will give your career the boost it needs.
Contact a member of the training team at Creative Word if you’d like more information, or click here to view the full range of soft skills courses we offer.
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