The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Soft skills are intangible inter-personal traits that enable a person to interact effectively and harmoniously with people around. These unique attributes determine the success of people in the workplace despite having equal and adequate hard skills. Furthermore, according to research performed by prominent research institutions like Harvard, Carnegie Foundation, and Stanford, workplace successes are contributed mainly by the soft skills of employees (85%) to hard skills or job-specific skills (15%).
Therefore, soft skills are a must for a healthy and productive work environment. While developing soft skills is often the most challenging job for many of us, they are pretty achievable in smaller and determined steps over time.
Let’s check out the top-rated soft skills you must have regardless of what industry you’re in and to accelerate your career there.
Communication skill
Interacting with active listening, written, oral, and non-verbal communication can build long-term trust, relationships, and productivity among the co-workers in their workplaces. An effective communicator has various subskills to support this unique trait, for example, confidence, adaptability, clarity, empathy, and patience.
A company working towards a common goal looks for talented team workers for success. Lending a hand when the peer is in need establishes trust and commitment among fellow workers and raises the success rate of the workplace.
Problem Solving
The employee with excellent problem-solving skills resolves the issues with calmness and navigates through unprecedented problems with confidence. Therefore, it is a highly sought attribute in workplaces in terms of employment and growth in career.
Leadership
A great leader inspires and helps others to achieve their maximum potential in the workplace. Thus the leadership skill comes with a package of excellent communication, confidence, integrity, and management skills that helps to manage the demand of the workplace. Conflict resolution is one of the most outstanding achievements of a person with excellent leadership skills.
Self-Motivation
It’s the positive attitude that keeps away the leaders from the rest on the board with the proper combination of positivity, ambition, and commitment. Self-motivated people are significantly resilient over any difficulties and challenges. Moreover, they hardly require any supervision for productivity, which is a demanding characteristic in a professional field.
Accountability
Accountability is a highly valued soft skill, which comes again from personal integrity, i.e., trustworthiness, discipline, motivation, and responsibility. When an employee takes part on the broader company goals, they accept their responsibility for any difficulties or failures.
The mentioned skills are the most commonly rated list of soft skills for a prosperous professional career. These traits, when cultivated properly, will set an example in a workplace like paramount to getting ahead!
