Crucial Career Skills -- Not Just "Soft Skills"
Submitted by webadmin on December 15, 2009 - 10:22pm
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When considered for a new job, the applicant's technical skills (or "hard skills") are examined first, in order to see if the candidate can handle the job requirements. Frequently, however, after being hired, the hard skills rapidly melt in the heat of mishandled interpersonal relationships. The reality and importance of soft skills quickly comes to the forefront.
For instance, have you ever been on a team that was sabotaged by one bad apple? Perhaps someone turned in their part of the project late, or laughed at out-of-the-box creative ideas, or somehow subtly refused to contribute? No wonder the mantra has become: "Hire attitude, teach skill." Our world moves so fast that your product could be obsolete by the time you get "ole Joe" whipped into shape and pulling his load. Soft skills are defined as the capability to communicate and interact with fellow employees in a positive manner. If these skills do not come intuitively--and they do for only about 25% of the population--they can be acquired with the proper training, and can become part of your standard arsenal of people skills.
As I have helped people build their soft skills, I have been puzzled as to why they are called "soft" skills. Soft conjures up non-assertive, mushy, and melted - like my Crème Brulee ice cream cone in the summer heat. Interactions with other human beings are challenging and are never predictable. It takes creativity to make differing opinions fit on the same cone--much like a scoop of chocolate mint tottering on a scoop of butter pecan. In fairness to their importance, "soft skills" should be renamed "Crucial Career Skills" or "CCS". Once mastered, Crucial Career Skills move you rapidly up the ladder of success, permitting you to have greater impact on decisions and even allowing you to flex your muscles in informal leadership situations. This becomes increasingly true as you move up into senior management roles. Technical skills are learned by going to a classroom--either physically or virtually--where you have information explained, memorize material, practice steps, and then demonstrate you can perform those actions in a test situation. Crucial Career Skills are often left to be acquired only through the "classroom of hard knocks." This is the worst choice an organization can make because the resulting conflict and miscommunication can take a nasty toll on bottom line profits. Instead of sending employees through the class of hard knocks, organizations can focus on programs that teach the Crucial Career Skills of interpersonal relationships and provide opportunities for application through a variety of reinforcement activities. Competencies in Crucial Career Skills that push success upward include the ability to:
As an organization, it is imperitive that you make these programs available to your people. As an individual, actively work to make these "soft skills" part of your repetoire of crucial people skills to which you have access. Once you have mastered the use of these skills, they are portable. You can take them anywhere, and as the great motivator, Zig Ziglar said, "See you at the top."
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Note: Karla's keynote on Crucial Career Skills (CCS) delivers content-rich, left-brain information in a right-brain way. She will first consult with you, to uncover the most pressing interpersonal problems for the audience and then focus in on the development of specifically needed new Crucial Career Skills. Memorable stories and enjoyable humor help to embed each learning point in the heart and soul of attendees.
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