SOFT SKILLS

What are they and why do we need them?

 NEED TO KNOW

Hard work pays off, with soft skills

it pays off more
-R.W
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that
characterize a person's relationships with other people. In the
workplace, soft skills are considered to be a complement to
hard skills, which refer to a person's knowledge and
occupational skills. Sociologists may use the term soft skills
to describe a person's emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) as
opposed to intelligence quotient (IQ).
Soft skills have more to do with who people are,
rather than what they know. As such, they
encompass the character traits that decide how
well one interacts with others and usually are a
definite part of an individual's personality. In a
competitive labor market, employees who
demonstrate they have a good combination of
hard and soft skills often see a greater demand
for their services.
Understanding Soft Skills
Employers look for a balance of hard skills and soft skills when
making hiring decisions. For example, employers value skilled
workers with a track record of getting jobs done on time.
Employers also value workers with strong communication skills
and a strong understanding of company products and services.
When communicating with prospective clients, workers with
soft skills can put together compelling presentations even if
their specific job is not in sales or marketing. Another valued
soft skill is the ability to coach fellow coworkers on new tasks.
Company leaders often are most effective when they
have strong soft skills.
For example, leaders need to have good speaking
abilities, be good at listening to workers and other
leaders, to know how to negotiate. When negotiating
with employees, clients, or associates, leaders need to
be skilled in staying considerate of what others want
while remaining focused on what they want. Good
leaders also need to know how to make their own
work most efficient by strategically delegating tasks to
workers.
Benefits of Soft Skills
1. Improved adaptability:
Adaptability means that a person is flexible, do well in
collaborative efforts, has amazing critical thinking skills
even in a crisis, is able to conduct thorough and
meaningful research, has highly-developed observation
and problem-solving skills, etc.
 Benefits of Soft Skills
2. Improved feelings of belonging thanks to leadership figures
who are able to practice active listening:
Those who have amazing active listening skills are attentive, pay
attention to detail and are able to easily and naturally connect
with others. This makes them assets to any team, because they
have influence, and people gravitate towards them.
In an organization where active listening is present and valued
among the highest leadership, communication and efficiency
are never a problem, and productivity improves at all levels.
 Benefits of Soft Skills
3. Excellent organization-wide communication:
This is a big one, and it includes many different types of
communicating. How we communicate includes the words we
speak, our non-verbal cues, our written language styles and even
how we conduct ourselves online (think Zoom meetings).
As we have seen previously in our communication class.
Effective communication at work helps avoid confusion, provides
purpose, contributes to positive and healthy workplace culture,
creates accountability on all levels and improves flexibility.
 Benefits of Soft Skills
4. Enhanced teamwork
When team members value each other's strengths, they more
effectively relate to one another, avoid potential conflicts, boost
group cohesion and create positive dialogue.
One of the most difficult tasks for an individual is easily explaining
what they're good at. You can say you're "organized," but that
could mean different things for different people. But when you have
a team that you can rely on and that can rely on you; you have each
other's backs it helps you work better and communicate better.
 Benefits of Soft Skills
5. Leaders are able to develop high emotional intelligence:
Emotional intelligence involves being able to understand and name
emotions in others, understanding one’s own emotions, reasoning
with and responding to emotions, managing emotions, etc. All of
these things contribute to how an individual gives and receives
feedback, how they handle stress, how they interact with
coworkers, etc.
 Benefits of Soft Skills
6. Building a strong network of critical thinkers:
This one can be considered a sort of umbrella for many other soft
skills, including problem solving. The ability to think critically about
problems and find creative solutions comes from strong critical
thinking skills. A workforce with critical thinkers can improve
customer service, enhance productivity, contribute to a stronger
team, etc.
What are some soft
skills that you know?
Some examples of soft skills are:
Adaptability Skills
Adaptability in the workplace means being flexible and able to
change in order to become successful.
Employees in a leadership role often have to manage unusual
circumstances where there are no explicit instructions. They
must learn how to rest upon their own judgment and have the
confidence to make difficult decisions.
If you are a person who learns quickly, it is because you know
how to adapt. You can further nurture your adaptability skills
by trying new things and challenging your ability to problem
solve in various circumstances.
Some examples of soft skills are:
Communication Skills
How many times have you ever said or written something to
someone that they took the wrong way? This happens in the
workplace all the time. The best employers need leaders that
can exercise care in their ability to listen and respond to
customers and fellow employees.

Employers look for applicants with superior written and verbal

communication skills for almost every job they hire for.
Some examples of soft skills are:
Creative Thinking
Creative thinking means thinking outside the box. Often,
creativity involves lateral thinking, which is the ability to
perceive patterns that are not obvious.

Creative thinking might mean devising new ways to carry out

tasks, solve problems, and meet challenges. It means bringing
a fresh, and sometimes unorthodox, perspective to your work.
This way of thinking can help departments and organizations
be more productive
Some examples of soft skills are:
Teamwork Skills
Regardless of your role, you need to be able to work well with
others and convey your teamwork skills to hiring managers,
recruiters, and prospective employers.

Scan any job listing, and you’ll see that even ads that seek
“self-starters” also inevitably use the phrase “team player.”
Those who have teamwork skills like communication and a
positive attitude can help a team be more productive.
Some examples of soft skills are:
Time Management
Time management means working efficiently, and employers
in every industry look for staff that can make optimal use of the
time available to them on the job. Saving time saves the
organization money and increases revenue.

Effective time management requires staff to analyze their

workload, assign priorities, and maintain focus on productive
endeavors.
Some examples of soft skills are:
Problem-Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills help you solve issues quickly and
effectively. It's one of the key skills that employers seek in job
applicants, as employees with these skills tend to be self-
reliant. Problem-solving skills require quickly identifying the
underlying issue and implementing a solution.
Problem-solving is considered a soft skill (a personal strength)
rather than a hard skill that's learned through education or
training. You can improve your problem-solving skills by
familiarizing yourself with common issues in your industry and
learning from more experienced employees.
Some examples of soft skills are:
Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is the process by which two or more parties
reach a peaceful resolution to a dispute.
In the workplace, there can be a variety of types of conflict:
Conflict may occur between co-workers, or between
supervisors and subordinates, or between service
providers and their clients or customers.
Conflict can also occur between groups, such as
management and the labor force, or between whole
departments.
But some conflicts reflect real disagreements about how an
organization should function.
what are some of the
soft skills you think you
have and what are some
you are trying to work
on?
 reading
suggestion

“Stuff You Don’t Learn in Engineering School”

By Carl Selinger
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
IEEE Press 2004