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Demystifying Soft skills
Dear All
Success happens at the intersection of ideas and actions
culled from many disciplines and myriad experiences-Academic or otherwise. Like
never before in the past, prospective knowledge workers are expected to bring
so much skills and expertise to the workplace as is being expected now. And
topping the list of desirable ones, are people skills or soft skills. Metaphorically
speaking, soft skills can be equated with a bowl of fruits (of various kinds)
as against a bowl of cherries alone (notwithstanding however much one may like
a cherry). Hence, one must ungrudgingly, accept the inherent complexity or
rather plurality involved in the game changing area, known in popular parlance,
as soft skills .Remember, a flower of any hue or color sparkles brighter in a
bouquet than seen alone, as the bouquet essentially, captures the collective
beauty and appeal .Hence, it is in our best interest to celebrate diversity, at
least in our academic journey. Needless to say, "soft" skills” go on to make a catalytic
impact on the shape of things in every activity or work related to building or
enhancing employability skills, a pursuit perennial and productive. It is a
time tested phenomenon that soft skills, more so, one’s interpersonal skills
almost dictate the outcome in any work related endeavor, delineating the
trajectory of change and growth. The one thing that calls for urgent attention
is to decriminalize learning of soft skills in educational Institutions. And it
can materialize only when the stakeholders do not attach a tag of a ‘subject’
to it and leave it to the discretion of the learner to understand its intrinsic
value while making a timely and productive application. Soft skills, at its
heart, require freedom of mind and space, but more importantly, advocates use
of freedom with responsibility.
Before
we venture into unraveling the secrets of an effective Interpersonal skills,
its better we try and get ourselves a working definition of soft skills and
what and how does it matter to us and our lives.
Soft skills, in essence, are a set of skills that are diverse
but ones that complement each other; and when aligned with core skills produce
best possible results for the user. Other wisely known as ‘People skills’, these
are a set of some generic, intangible, personality-specific skills that allows
someone to make effective utilization of the available resources. Once used
well, they determine one’s strengths as a team player, leader, listener,
negotiator, and conflict manager. ‘Hard skills’, on the other hand, are more
along the lines of what might appear on our resumes - education, experience and
level of expertise in a given area.
Prospective job seekers must try and read the intentions of
the employers before they prepare a strategy. Most employers value and
recognize soft skills as highly desirable skills in the employees they want to
hire. Even, research shows that they are proving to be better indicators of job
performance compared to traditional job qualifications or hard skills. In fact,
it’s common knowledge that in the fast changing business scenario, technical
skills have a shorter shelf life vis-à-vis soft skills. In a recent study, it
has been found that personality measures like trust, empathy, emotional intelligence,
conscientiousness and agreeability ranked as highly-favored predictors of work success.
To
be short and simple, soft skills are directly related to who we are and how we
deal with any situation than what we know. As such, soft skills encompass a
gamut of behavioral traits that determine how well we interact with others, thereby
letting others to measure our abilities and skills. For anyone who wants to
make soft skills learning as a tool for ensuring professional growth, it is
pertinent to remember that whereas hard skills can be learned and perfected in time-bound
and formal manner, soft skills are more difficult to acquire in such a manner.
It requires the learner to create a good understanding of the role of soft
skills and its various sub components in his professional development. Soft
skills are not transferable skill sets. It requires the learners’ active
participation in the entire process that requires constant self motivation and
initiative .Soft skills manifests itself in improved understanding of the self,
ability to judge people and situations better and reacting to them
appropriately.
A doctor, for example, would require empathy, understanding, active listening and a
good manner as soft skills, whereas, the hard skills for a doctor could include
a sweeping understanding of illnesses, the ability to interpret test results
and symptoms, and a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology. For
an engineer, soft skills could be good communication, interpersonal skills,
teamwork, self motivation or risk taking that may well complement hard skills
such as analytical ability, critical thinking, comprehensive knowledge of
concepts and tools etc.
Now, let us focus on some
important soft skills in detail and it is important to keep in mind that the
given list is just a random enumeration and not absolute.
1- Have the attitude of a "Winner"
we've all heard that it's better to see the glass half full instead of half
empty. Positive thinking always works and works most effectively. And in a
professional environment positive thinking can go a long way in opening up
layers of hidden skills and matching opportunities. An overall positive outlook
leads to an overall positive attitude, and that can be a valuable asset in work
environments that are quite dynamic and require one to adopt new technologies
and work culture.
The key to having a winning attitude is having loads of self
belief and that knack of constantly looking at any obstacle or challenge as an
opportunity to learn. It is essential to be a learner all the while. For
example, instead of complaining about a stressful workload, it is essential to
see that as an opportunity to showcase skills and abilities.
2- Be a team player
In a global work culture, no other skills is more desirable in any professional
than ability to be a good team player. Prospective employees would be required
to a part of a team, big of small from the day one, literally. Employers want
those who display an unmistakable propensity and ability to work well in groups
and teams. Being a team player means not only being cooperative, but also displaying
strong empathy for fellow team members, thereby demonstrating leadership
ability whenever required.
Conflict resolution forms a big part of why it is essential to
be good team player. One needs to take the lead to move things forward. One
must learn to be more collaborative in work and build professional
relationships with coworkers. Here it is Important to learn to use body
language effectively to bring about harmony.
3- Communicate effectively
Good communication skills are essential for
ensuring better job performance. Communication allows one an opportunity to
build bridges with coworkers, persuade others to adopt ideas and accept ones
leadership. If we are employed by any company, it obvious that we will have to
communicate with clients in-person, on phone, via mail or other forms of
communication or with our co-workers or even with customers. Communication
skills require lot of practice to blossom and then take over as a reliable
predictor of our professional growth. It depends how we look at it- just as
felicity with a particular language orally, or much wider. We need to be clear
that learning communication skills from formal ways or from classrooms or only
from language teachers may not be the advisable. Lots of informal learning opportunities,
loads of listening, lots of observation might do the trick.
Many small things, we are familiar with, may have a big impact
on our communication skills improvement efforts. Here are some things we need
to specially focus on:
- Make
sure we remove MTI from our speech. Especially, in a language like English,
it is essential that we maintain neutrality.
- Enunciate
words properly
- Use
correct expressions with a good understanding of grammar and usage
- Develop
appropriate body language, including eye contact.
- Have
better analytical skills
- Listen
more, observe even more
- Above all, enjoy making conversations
with virtually anyone.
4-Confidence
In almost every imaginable situation, we need to give a nice account of
ourselves-our skills and abilities. In such situations confidence holds the
key. It’s important to remember that others will assess us well only when we
make a forceful and confident demonstration of our strengths and achievements.
However, it is equally important that we accept our limitations and act humble and
polite .We need to ensure that our knowledge and skills provides us the
strength to back your confidence.
5-Creative Thinking
Creativity and imaginative thinking are given much value in any
job, more so in jobs involving technology. Even the most technical professional
must exhibit an innate ability to think outside the box (thinking differently).
So, we must never underestimate the power of innovation. In fact, managers always love to
have innovators around as innovation is the surest driver of technological
growth. Creative skills are acquired and honed through reading, writing,
presenting and participating in activities wherein one creates opportunities
for making use of critical thinking and lateral thinking. So, sooner you start,
the better! Start thinking differently and do not miss the thrill or excitement
in knowing or doing anything different.
6- Learning to learn:
This is one of the most challenging soft skills, especially in this fast
changing technology driven society. We need to unfailingly accept that learning
is lifelong. Formal learning provides just a platform for launching into bigger
professional as well as personal challenges. But to keep moving and growing we
need to constantly learn. Firstly, to build a firm outlook towards learning we
need to learn to learn, that means we need to be sure what to learn and how,
why and when or where of learning. We need to be clear about the purpose and
opportunities of learning. Then we are supposed learn to apply to real time
needs. In this context, being able to accept constructive criticism by others is
just as important.
7- Self- Motivation
It's important for a prospective professional to be a
self-starter who takes initiative. This means constantly seeking out new,
innovative ways to keep one’s work/job interesting and motivational, even in
the face of repetition and monotony. Creativity plays a big defining role in motivating
someone , but to sustain it for a long time requires courage, conviction and
pure joy in thinking/ doing something different.
8. Leadership
A knowledge-based professional work force is expected to start
off being a part of a team, but invariable move onto taking up leadership
positions. Hence, it is essential that the seeds of leadership are shown early on,
most preferably in campuses. A leader makes the biggest difference to a team
and hence plays a pivotal role in any organization. However, it is to be borne
in mind that leadership is an act of self actualization, sort of baptism by
fire. Hence, theoretical learning may be quite inadequate. One must start
taking up smaller responsibilities and look to learn, being conscious of skills
on play. Simply, it’s about self belief that differentiates a leader from a follower.
One must be conscious of the leadership inputs one receives or makes use of
along with the consequent assimilation process, just as Satya Nadela,CEO,
Microsoft, was able to do when he trace back to his school cricketing days to
discover his leadership journey.
9- See the big picture
Success squarely
depends on one’s ability to constantly star gaze, at the big picture, that
means being able to constantly dreaming of bigger things. Ambition need not be
put to rest following one achievement. One must constantly set bigger and
brighter goals to accomplish, that keeps fresh the determining factors of
success. It also means recognizing a risk that's worth taking, and knowing when
to take it.
Finally, while it's important
to recognize and build on your soft skills, that don’t mean that one comes at
the cost of other, means Hard skills. We need to strike a fine balance between
the two, allowing one to complement the other. Importantly, soft skills enable hard
skills to shine and bring out its best application and value.
So, here we go…..make soft
skills learning a passion as well as your fashion statement.
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