Understanding the value of soft skills
“A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.”
Affirming the above words, soft skills are the foundation for building your career and moving forward.
The personal attributes and interpersonal skills that distinguish people and their relationships are what we call soft skills. These are also called emotional intelligence of people. These are the skills which make knowledgeable and occupational human beings and creates a more competitive workforce that can succeed in their career paths.
Soft skills play a vital role in developing social relationships and strengthening the bonds between each other. They are the characteristics which determine one’s personality and how well he can collaborate with others. In this competitive world where there’s a high demand for career opportunities, employees with good soft skills succeed in their career paths. Therefore, developing soft skills are essential to succeed in the journey of building up a successful career.
Soft skills include interpersonal skills such as listening skills, communication skills, time management, leadership skills, adaptability, critical thinking, decision-making, teamwork, problem-solving and many more capabilities needed to strengthen interpersonal relationships. Among them, the top demanding soft skills in the modern world are time management, communication, adaptability, critical thinking, digital literacy, time management, teamwork and leadership skills. These skills are the ones which enable us to work with others making positive impacts on others. They make people bond with each other, talk with each other, discuss with each other, and help each other to achieve their life goals. They are the skills that make a human capable of overcoming obstacles along the life journey. Consequently, developing soft skills will make individuals more competitive and qualified in their preferred fields.
To grow as capable employees nourishing the existing soft skills while flourishing new soft skills is a prime requirement. Hence developing soft skills can be acquired through different methods such as,
- Communicating often
- Welcoming feedback
- Being humble enough to listen to others’ opinions
- Engaging more in teamwork, building positive relationships
- Trying new things by stepping outside of their comfort zones
- Willing to learn new things
- Being adapted to the prevailing conditions and environment
- Taking leadership opportunities
- Work on time/being punctual
- Developing your self-confidence
As mentioned above, communication often makes individuals get to know each other and develop a good understanding, strengthening their bonds. Being humble, welcoming others’ opinions, and listening to them strengthen the bond between colleagues. These also include learning to collaborate with different people in a diversified society, understanding their capabilities, social status and cultures adapting to the living environment’s existing conditions. Therefore, developing leadership qualities as an open-minded and understanding leader is essential to succeed as a competitive employee.
Contributing to social services, going on volunteering ships, following leadership development courses, attending workshops, and developing aesthetic skills are some popular methods of developing soft skills. These may aid in developing cross-cultural understanding and building new interpersonal relationships. Additionally, engaging in sports, simple games, and charity work also improve soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, and more.
Soft skills make people more presentable and ready for a revolutionary change in the current digital era. They make the future society abundant with humanity and make our minds fascinated with good, admirable qualities. Therefore, soft skills will contribute a lot to becoming a successful professional while being a better individual as well. Hence let’s develop soft skills to contribute as a successful young generation for a sustainable, better future.
Written by: Sayumi Ranasinghe
