The term “Soft skills” have grown popularity in decades as the multinational corporations extend their roots in all over the world.Soft skills as says Wikipedia “are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence and emotional intelligence quotients among others that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills.”The Collins English Dictionary defines the term “soft skills” as “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude.
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are the personal attributes or qualities, traits, hidden t social cues, and communication abilities needed for success on the job. Soft skills characterize how a person interacts in his or her relationships with others while communication in the social milieu.
Unlike hard skills that are learned, soft skills are similar to emotions or insights that allow people to “read” others. These are much harder to learn, at least in a traditional classroom. They are also much harder to measure and evaluate. Soft skills include attitude, communication, creative thinking, work ethic, teamwork, networking, decision making, positivity, time management, motivation, flexibility, problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution.
Soft skills to help ones career hit the big time.
1. Communication Skills: both verbal and nonverbal form a great part in building soft kills
: Both written and verbal communication skills are of utmost importance in the workplace because they set the tone for how people perceive others. They also improve the chances of building relationships with co-workers. Communication skills boost the performance because they help to extract clear expectations from the boss to deliver excellent work.
Why employers look for it: “Workers are more productive when they know how to communicate with their peers,” says Robinson. If onecan clearly express point of who, what, when, where, why, and how of a project, one will be a hot ticket.
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2. Teamwork:: A company’s success is rarely dependent on one person doing something all by him/herself. Success is the result of many people working toward a common goal. When employees can synthesize their varied talents, everyone wins .Employers look to team players to help build a friendly office culture, which helps retain employees and, in turn attracts top talent. Furthermore, being able to collaborate well with co-workers strengthens the quality of work.To generate goodwill, it is better to lend a hand when see a co-worker in need. Another way to build rapport is to cover for a colleague while she’s on vacation, says business etiquette and career coach
3.Adaptability: Things don’t always go as planned, and instead of digging in one’s heels one need to be able to pivot and find alternate solutions. “Successful leaders are the ones who know how to be flexible when problems arise,” says Robinson. “The speed of change in any given workplace is so rapid,” says Joel Garfunkel, executive coach and author of Getting Ahead: To push one is to be an early adopter of change.
4.Problem solving: When something goes wrong, one can either complain or take action. Tip: It’s the latter that will get you noticed. Knowing how to think on one’s feet can make one indispensable to an employer. Nothing is a given. Companies rely on problem solvers; their top performers—to navigate unexpected challenges. To gain it says Robinson “Always approach your boss with a solution, not a problem”. So when an issue crops up, better to sit down and think through how to address it before bringing it to your boss’ attention.
5. Critical observation:: Data doesn’t mean much if one doesn’t know how to interpret it.? Being a critical observer can help make one a better worker all around.: Companies need critical thinkers—people who bring a fresh perspective and offer intuitive solutions and ideas to help the company get a leg up on the competition or improve internal processes. To be a critical observer, one needs to be able to analyze information and put it to use. One tactic is to try to identify patterns of behavior at work. By observing how people respond to the constant flow of information one can better understand the critical aspects of improving business operations.
6. Conflict resolution; “Any time you put more than one person into an organization, there is going to be conflict,” says Robinson. “It’s human nature.” Therefore, being able to resolve issues with co-workers will help one maintain relationships with peers and work more effectively. By being able to constructively work through disagreements with people is a sure indicator of maturity—as well as leadership potential. Someone of this quality helps to promote a healthy, collaborative workplace. The best way to resolve disagreements between co-workers is to address issues directly but delicately. So, when stepping in as a mediator, let both parties air their grievances in a judgment-free environment and then work together to find a solution.
7. Leadership
: Having confidence and a clear vision can help influence co-workers and get them on board with the ideas now and in the future. Displaying such leadership skills helps one gain visibility within an organization, which can lead to more opportunities for promotions or salary bumps.: Bosses and managers are always looking for employees with leadership potential because those workers will one day be taking over the reins and building on the company’s legacy.: Being a leader isn’t merely about getting people to do what one wants. Leadership means inspiring and helping others reach their full potential. One way to do that is to become the internship supervisor, which gives you the opportunity to manage people, learn how to motivate a team, and take on more responsibility.
8. Interpersonal Communication Skills: This particular skill becomes advantage for them who develop a good rapport with others and can get along with people of different temperaments.
9. Work Ethic: Ethics is very much important. It is our values that form the core of our life.
It is a set of moral principles a person uses in his or her job. People who possess a strong work ethic pictures certain principles that guide their work behavior, to produce high-quality work consistently.They do not manipulate but with strong principles and personality move ahead for the progress of the self and the organization.
Conclusion:
Soft skills are life skills and are needed for attaining not only success but peace or else success will be hidden under the clouds.A productive and healthy work environment depends on soft skills. As the workplace is an interpersonal space, where relationships must be built and developed, perspectives must be exchanged, and occasionally conflicts must be resolved. Achieving a positive attitude and the zeal to work well without round-the-clock supervision is a vital soft skill for any employee. Not only does it emphasize reliability and commitment, but it shows that one can fit efficiently into an organizational structure without the need for constant monitoring. Those who possess soft skills need no external motivation as they themselves are internally motivated without the desire of being rewarded .They move along with optimistic attitude and believe in giving without any return .As they have the confidence to face life challenges with a smile on their face.
