Enhancing soft skills to impact work & personal well being

Most of us understand why upskilling on technical skills is important to stay relevant in a career.  Technical skills are your “hard power’, however, can the hard power hit the bull’s eye by itself or does it need to be complemented by another power – ‘soft power’, also referred to as soft skills? These two working in tandem do create magic. While in the past, soft skills were considered as GOOD TO HAVE & not MUST HAVE, in recent times there has been a noticeable shift to placing equal or higher importance on soft skills, and soft skills training programs, because they are seen as game changers.

However, some questions like these do crop up:

• What are soft skills?
• Are soft skills inborn?
• Why do some have them & others do not?
• Can we develop them?

What are soft skills:

They are non-technical skills and are at display in how you work and interact with others.

Examples of soft skills: Communication, Conflict handling, Team working, Listening, Persuading, Assertiveness, Speaking skill, Delegation, Problem-solving, Non-verbal, and so on.

While some soft skills have a genetic disposition and may come easier to one person, soft skills are not inborn and have to be nurtured and developed through experience, interactions, and participation with others.

Soft Skills are important because employees with a high level of soft skills are seen to be higher in productivity at the individual and collective levels. An analysis by Leadership IQ revealed that 89% of unsuccessful new hires could be attributed to deficient soft skills rather than inadequate technical abilities. The primary reasons for these failures were a lack of coachability, emotional intelligence, and motivation. In contrast, only 11% of new hires failed due to technical incompetence.

Benefits of Developing Soft Skills

1. Increased Efficiency and Productivity
2. Retention: Companies that invest in developing people soft skills, see a reduction in attrition
3. Stronger Professional Relationships: Employees with higher Emotional Intelligence quotients effortlessly navigate their own and others’ emotions. This reduces escalation of conflicts and better team bonding, resulting in happier customers, supervisors, and stakeholders.
4. More Innovative Solutions: In an environment of stronger personal relationships, soft skills like creativity and problem-solving support employees to become idea-generating powerhouses.

How to Develop Soft Skills Among Your Employees

Soft skills training programs are the cornerstone of professional development in the 21st century. These programs not only bridge the gap between technical expertise and interpersonal competence but also empower individuals to navigate the complexities of the modern workplace with finesse.

Unlocking the power of soft skills in your employees requires a strategic and dynamic approach. These programs are valuable for individuals at various stages of their careers, from entry-level employees to executives, and are often customized to meet the specific needs of the participants and the organization.

Tips to ensure the effectiveness of soft skills training programs:

• Soft skill interventions are designed on the methodology of “experiential”. They are not just about acquiring theoretical knowledge but giving the participants a hands-on/practical learning experience.
• Soft skills training programs can be conducted through workshops, seminars, online courses, coaching sessions, and other experiential formats.
• To give the sessions a practicality, it is advised that time and resources are invested in pre-work conversations to gather relevant real-life examples around challenges, derailers, and successes. These examples can then be converted into ‘case lets’ and used during Scenario playing sessions.
• Best results are achieved when we choose facilitators rather than trainers to facilitate the sessions. Facilitators typically have higher soft skills acumen and refrain from pushing a ‘one right way’ approach. There is no one-way approach; we must master the technique of understanding the person and situation and responding accordingly.

Soft skills mastery is like a carpenter’s bag that carries a lot of tools and after understanding the need, pulls out the most appropriate tool.

At Tatva Leadership, we understand the transformative power of soft skills. We have been catalysing organizations to unlock the potential of their leaders, teams, and environments by imbibing inspirational skills in a way that is aligned with their music. Our soft skills training programs cover a spectrum of behaviours.

Some of our offerings are:

• Emotional Intelligence
• Interpersonal Skills– Listening / Assertiveness / Conflict
• Making Impactful Presentations
• Managing Life & Time

Investing in soft skills training programs is not just about meeting immediate organizational needs; it’s an investment in long-term success and employee well-being. By prioritizing the development of interpersonal competencies alongside technical skills, companies can cultivate a culture of productivity, innovation, and resilience.