Soft skills can make or mar your career
The rules for succeeding in business are constantly changing. Not too long ago, technical competence and knowledge were key drivers of career growth and success. Soft skills were relegated to playing second fiddle, or ignored altogether. Now however, the scales have tipped, and soft skills have emerged as a tool with enough power to make or break your career.
How often do we encounter technically talented people who excel in their jobs, but whose career stalls beyond a certain point because they lack the social, communication and relationship building skills to manage, work with and lead other people? Also referred to as people skills, soft skills are a diverse range of skills such as communication/listening skills, leadership skills, flexibility and understanding, intelligence, teamwork skills and creativity, logic, problem-solving skills, listening skills, diplomacy and change readiness, among others.
Believe it or not, soft skills have an important role to play in the ability of a person to manage and relate to other people, which, for most jobs, is much more important to job success than IQ or technical skills.
Most of the soft skills we use in everyday life are learnt through interactions with our family, friends and the society we live in. These are honed over the years, and as we grow and mature, they become an inherent part of our personality. Unlike technical skills, soft skills are not something that can be learnt from a book or by spending a few days at a workshop or training course. Formal training can of course give you a fresh perspective, and teach you tips and techniques that you need to improve specific skills, but if you really want to ingrain soft skills into your personality, you will have to become a keen observer, an eager learner and an assiduous workman religiously putting to practice all that you have learnt. Here are a few tips on cultivating these all-important skills that can improve your career prospects and enhance your personality as a whole:
Be self-aware: This includes how you look, dress, think, feel, communicate and build relationships. Cultivate positivism in your thoughts. You must learn to live consciously and put thought to your words and actions. Don’t be concerned with speed. It will come with time. Your first priority is to get the basics right.
Get over inhibitions: We all have our faults and our insecurities, and it creates negative thoughts and feelings that pull us down and stop us from achieving our fullest potential. Worse, it can become addictive. Break free of negative thought patterns and create a new and positive mindset for yourself, believe in yourself, and feel great about what you have in your power to achieve.
Read: Books can give you a better perspective and teach you things you might otherwise have not known. Get trained in tools and techniques that may improve your command over the skill. Find successful role models, who can help you set goals and reach milestones. Learn from experience, and from failure, for they too teach you to discern the right from the wrong, the good from the bad.
Broaden perspective: We may think we are good at something, until we see something better and realise that there is scope for improvement. For example you may think you are a good communicator, but you could be better at it, if you took the trouble to find out the right techniques and tactics to hold the attention of the listener and add clarity to your speech. Open yourself to new ideas and experiences and be willing to change if it will make things better or easier.
Practice: Remember, with skills, it is always use them or lose them. Whether it is to unlearn a bad habit, learn a new skill, or refine what you already have, you need to practice, and practice with dedication. Practice improves your performance, helps you discover and overcome shortcomings and mistakes, and while there is no guarantee that it will make you perfect, it will certainly give you the confidence you need to use your skills instinctively and with poise when the time comes.
BINDU SRIDHAR
faqs@cnkonline.com
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