Over the past twenty three weeks I have written a series of posts on Soft Skills: their development, the competencies they represent and the importance soft skills have in the workplace (or life in general, for that matter). I still like the following definition of Soft Skills because it is straight forward and concise: “’Soft Skills’ is a catch-all term referring to various behaviors that help people work and socialize well with others. In short, they are the good manners and personality traits needed to get along with others and build positive relationships. Unlike hard skills, which include a person’s technical skill set and ability to perform certain functional tasks, Soft Skills are broadly applicable across job titles and industries. It’s often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get — and keep— the job.” http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/soft-skills. Soft Skills are “behaviors that help people work and socialize well with others”. To my mind, this hits the nail on the head.
I initially listed a catalogue of soft skills as:
- Communication
- Listening
- Showing empathy
- Networking
- Self-confidence
- Giving and receiving feedback
Over the course of this series I also added:
- Professionalism
- Team-building
- Problem solving
- Time & personal management
- Multitasking
- Adaptabilty/Flexibilty
- Self-awareness
- The Ability to learn
This is a significant list of skills and I’m sure there are others that could be added. Over the next several months I will be reworking and refining this series with the goal of publishing a book. This has been my long-term plan as I have worked to deliver a weekly blog. I couldn’t see myself sitting down and writing a book from start to end, but I could see myself writing 500 – 600 words a week, which would eventually become a book.
The series has generated a lot of interest and over the course of it I have had many very positive and thoughtful comments, some of which provided me with insight to write additional content. I’m also very excited that this series on Soft Skills has also been picked up by two other Blog sites, which in turn has created significant interest. There are too many people to mention, however I do have to mention Aly B. Moreno H. for his support and genuine interest in this subject. I don’t think there was one of these previous posts that he did not comment on, make helpful, insightful comments or provide support for.
Finally I want to thank my hard working editor and partner Nikki for painstakingly reviewing and editing my attempt at grammar over the course of this process.
This is the twenty-third, and final in a series of posts exploring Soft Skills and why they are so important to your success in any endeavour.
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John Whitehead, coaches individuals and organizations in becoming more effective by helping them improve their interpersonal communications, emotional intelligence and resiliency.
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