Women of Influence ’s Post

I love the reframe of soft skills as “power skills”. I have always loathed the term “soft skllls” for something that indeed is the backbone of businesses. If we’ve learned anything during pandemic times, it’s how important it is to connect with humans on a human level. When we’re hiring, we are first looking for how a candidate communicates and how they connect with us when we meet. Of course their skills are important, AND, we are in the business of connecting, so without that skillset, we don’t have a business. Larger organizations would be wise to adopt a similar viewpoint. They’d likely have lower turnover, burnout and stress levels (probably lower expenses as a direct result too!)

It’s difficult to find leaders who possess both strong technical skills and strong “soft” skills. This leads to many technically competent people being given leadership or people management roles despite lacking important soft skills.

'Soft skills' are often the skills more prevalent to women in the workforce and how we relate to people. Not surprised they are systemically undervalued. This is also likely why 82% of people in management shouldn't be in those positions. They don't actually have the ability to lead. To acknowledge the importance of soft skills would be to acknowledge the inherent ability of women to lead and we have a long way to go before our society can accept that unfortunately.

I agree! We’ve entered into an era where people are no longer able to communicate well or problem solve. IMO we have a generation of parents who, while well intentioned, became overly protective of their kids and did not allow them to problem solve and experience failure (think, everyone is a winner and gets a trophy). This isn’t a judgement or a dis, it’s merely an observation. So what we have now is a young workforce who struggle when they have to figure things out on their own. There are exceptions and I know many young people who are driven, resourceful, charismatic and well spoken, but in general, we have some work to do.

I love this post. Effective communication, emotional intelligence, problem-solving and adaptability are some of the hardest skills to perform during our overtaxed work days. With too much distraction from overloaded to-do lists, and constant social media interruptions, it's hard to stay calm and cool under the relentless pressure. This post is right -- these are no long 'soft' skills. The are HARD SKILLS. These are POWER SKILLS. These are the skills to change the game and accomplish great things in great ways at work. My advice is simple. Minimize your distractions. Be intentional in your interactions and your communication, emotional intelligence, problem solving and adaptability will flourish. Turn off the interruptions and turn on the intentionality to thrive at work.

So true. Yesterday I was talking to my colleague/mentor/bestie about an interview I had- and I of course went down the rabbit hole that I may not have the tech skills or corporate jargon down pat but I know I have the ability to walk into any room and create connections, empower people to do their best work, lift up others and get the job down. She then stopped me and said, “That’s BS you do have the tech skills, you pick up new skills faster that most people you work on problem until it’s solved. Stop selling yourself short!!” When you are going for big goals, putting yourself out there, and every no feels like a rejects never forget the power of having a person in your corner to back you up. It’s a crazy messy world out there and our “soft skills” are what moves the world.

Empowerment skills. For example, being authentic. That is incredibly empowering and yes, it takes courage. It's a newfound strength that can transform relationships with yourself, then with others, and even entire workplaces. Why it is so hard to bring such practice into the world? Because we're amidst shifting societal paradigms. Embracing authenticity requires confronting ingrained habits and beliefs, which can be uncomfortable. However, by starting with ourselves and sharing our stories of change - we create a ripple effect that can eventually lead to significant changes in our communities and beyond. One step at a time.

HAHAHHA.... In my last position, I was hired being told I was "too academic; so I needed to dumb-down how I speak before I was able to introduce [myself] to the rest of the team." I was soon promoted to an Assistant Director of the Department and created an entire, supplemental "programming" line to the mental health department. That October, I earned a 5.1 out of a 5.0 and, in the same breath was told, that "You cannot communicate; neither by verbal or written means." In a "Right to Work" state, who cares any more? In North Carolina, females are being promoted one day, only to be fired the next with no cause, no warning no nothing. Right to Work....another demonstration of how manipulative and morally decrepit our government has become. If any US citizen or green card holders who are reading this from any place in the US feels like they DO NOT have a RIGHT to work....please come talk to me because I need to meet you and learn from you. Pretty soon, our government is going to raise the retirement age for people who have no way to retire anyway. All of us will be like the people in Russia in prison work camps to die while they work in the salt mines.

"Essential Skills" might be a better term. These skills, without dissent, are critical to any successful employee. The company culture will determine if these skills are valued as evidenced by who the company hires and who they promote. Many companies work around employees without all of these skills assuming the person is hard to replace. If they looked closer, they would see the walking wounded who struggle to get through the day. Low productivity, low morale and "getting by" performance is the result.