As working women, many of us have been conditioned to favor hard rather than soft skills at work. For the longest time, soft skills such as negotiating, listening, public speaking, or writing skills, to cite a few, were relegated to the background, in favor of hard skills considered to be directly relevant to the job at hand. These are examples of soft skills to keep in mind:
- Communication: Being able to articulate and communicate your ideas effectively is paramount to not only starting, but also ascending, in your career or business.
- Critical Thinking: Are you able to come up with unique ways to complete the tasks at hand, or think on your feet when a new challenge arises? More than pure, hard knowledge, this is an invaluable skill you can develop through continuous learning and growth.
- Interpersonal skills: Are you a good team player? Having interpersonal skills such as the ability to help, taking responsibility for your actions, will go a long way in your career.
- Work ethic: Are you disciplined, professional and dedicated to your work? These important factors play a crucial role in helping you stand out and achieving your professional objectives.
- Leadership: Do you serve as a role model for your colleagues and employees? Being an effective leader requires leading well by example, but also being open to constructive criticism and feedback.
- Time management: Are you able to use your time effectively or do you tend to procrastinate? Do you frequently miss deadlines or are late? Managing your time wisely is a critical component of your professional success and should be prioritized.
- Conflict Resolution: Can you work with various personalities, and handle the inevitable conflicts and disagreements that are bound to emerge? Promoting peace and harmony in your teams and workplace can not only help everyone work better, but also place you in the position of leader.
- Adaptability: The only constant is change. Are you adaptable to changes in your environment? Are you flexible in project settings? Organizational changes are bound to happen, and being able to display this skill will help you thrive.
- Responsibility: Taking responsibility for mistakes, whether yours or that of your team members, is the sign of a leader. It also includes being able to praise others as well.
The focus is increasingly being put on the importance of soft skills in any career. As a CPA and professor, I can testify first-hand to the resurgence of soft skills in the professional arena of business. Even in fields such as accounting for instance, which have been erroneously considered to be reserved for introverts, research is now showing that soft skills are increasingly important, especially at the management level and above.
Soft skills have not always been given the credit they deserve. Instead, hard skills were thought to better equip individuals to succeed in the workplace. However, employers are increasingly paying more attention to these. Yet, they frequently report that applicants are sorely lacking them. As an educator in the field of accounting, I can testify first-hand that soft skills are absolutely invaluable for business success, as the work model has evolved towards teamwork and globalization.
As working women, many of these skills are innate and come naturally to us. Communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution are a few of the skills that many, if not most women, are particularly gifted. These are skills we apply in our everyday lives, in the context of our family and personal relationships. However, since we’ve been conditioned to ignore these at work, here are a few ways to re-focus on our soft skills at work:
- Show up authentically: Your WHO matters more than your WHAT
Your personality introduces you before you even get a chance to display all your hard knowledge. Someone I once met told me this: “You bring all of YOU to the workplace!”. Dare to show up authentically, and don’t be afraid to put your soft skills, such as communication, empathy, and interpersonal skills, on display.
- Dare to be vulnerable
One of my favorite researchers and writers, Brene Brown, talks about the importance of vulnerability, not just in our personal lives, but also at work. Many, if not most of the soft skills that are indispensable to career success, are rooted in vulnerability. It takes being vulnerable to communicate effectively, engage in conflict resolution, or handle change.
- Allow space for others to be themselves
In the same vein, allow others to also show up as themselves. These may be team members, colleagues, or even superiors. The more we’re able to hold space for others to show up more authentically, the more effective we can work together.
Are you using soft skills in your career or business? If so, how?
The Corporate Sis.
