In Support of Soft Skills

Much has been written about soft skills. The term is often bandied about, but seldom defined. So, here you go:

Soft skills are defined as personal qualities: responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, integrity/honesty; and interpersonal skills: participates as a member of a team, teaches others, serves client/customers, exercises leadership, negotiates, works with cultural diversity (as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor).

In my coaching practice, it is not uncommon for me to see a client grimace when I utter the term "soft skills." Why is this? For some, it is likely a fear that emotions are about to arrive on the scene. For others, the term triggers feelings of being socially awkward or unaccepted. And for yet others, soft skills just seem like a light topic that doesn't really matter much compared to the meaty stuff that they teach you in a corporate finance class.

Soft skills are often perceived to be both simple and touchy-feely -- neither is true. Soft skills are not simple to develop -- they must be cultivated, just like a financial analyst must learn about net present value, a successful manager must learn how to demonstrate leadership. Why? So that things get done.

How about being touchy-feely? Does that really belong in business? I am reminded of the line "There's no crying in baseball!" from a League of Their Own. One might say "There's no emotion in business!" Yet what is the shame in truly relating to, motivating, and caring about the people with whom you work? They just might work harder and get along better. Maybe turnover goes down, maybe productivity goes up. Hmmm.