According to Professor M.S. Rao (2011), soft skills are a collection of skills that are essential to survive and succeed in personal, professional, and social life – the skills that complement the hard skills and ensure one’s employability.

In other words, soft skills are skills that are not tied to one specific job but they are general characteristics that help employees thrive in the workplace, no matter their seniority level, role, or industry. Skills that reflect one’s communication style, work ethic, and work style.

Soft skills are also known by several other names such as key skills, core skills, essential skills, key competencies, generic skills, transferable skills, employability skills, interpersonal skills, job-related skills, people skills, career attributes, and behavioral skills. They include aspects such as willingness to learn, creativity, critical and creative thinking, teamwork, communication skills, persuasion, negotiation, agility, resilience, future thinking, adaptability/flexibility, time management, professionalism, computer skills, conflict resolution, decision-making, and leadership skills among others.

Indeed, it’s a simple fact that no individual can be good at everything as rightly observed by Naveen Jain, a motivational speaker. Everyone regardless of their seniority level needs a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Similarly, John Ortberg, a motivational expert counsels, “Learning something new is a fabulous way to be refreshed. When work can grind you down, something about learning a new activity thrills the soul. It reminds you that the world is bigger than your desk and your to-do list”.

One of the workplace’s most critical skills in this rapidly changing business climate is communication. Good communication practices are at the heart of every successful business as Don Brown rightly puts it, “Communication is the lifeblood of any organisation”.

Good communication skills involve more than just public speaking and writing skills. It also includes the art of listening and providing timely feedback – the two most critical elements of effective communication which most times get little respect.
According to Christopher Morley, a communication expert, the major rule for being a good talker is learning to listen. Listening is an art that requires attention over talent, spirit over ego, and others over self. So, when someone is talking during an engagement or discussion, others ought to listen completely. Remember that interruption is a barrier in conversation. Similarly, great feedback is a critical element of best practices in performance management.

Therefore, the possession of soft skills is very important for everyone in the workplace regardless of the position one holds. Adam Grant, an educationist sums it up by saying, “the mark of higher education isn’t the knowledge you accumulate in your head. It’s the skills you gain about how to learn and in appreciating the fact that learning is a continuous process”. Indeed, everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills to achieve career success.

By Patrick Ajuna, Policy and Research Officer