We Need Soft Skills for a Global Market Place, N’est Pas?
Technical skills are always important of course, but today’s Leader also needs strong Adaptive skills to be really effective & Super Perform on the global stage.
These are the sorts of skills we would recognise built around engagement, values and ethics, sustainability and a more inclusive approach — both internally and externally.
Recent research into MBA course trends globally, found a growing demand for softer skills from individuals moving into senior leadership roles.
I have written extensively on Leadership and what constitutes great Leadership and this comes as no surprise to me. As organisations and businesses become more globally focused, what types of Leader are going to be most effective?
Emotional Intelligence et al
I would suggest it will be those with high degrees of Emotional Intelligence, flexibility and cultural sensitivity, to enable them to manage multi-cultural groups and be comfortable with multi-cultural perspectives informing the differences in the way we work and play.
Communication of course remains vitally important in the business mix, &, as well as being a natural story teller our Super Performing Leader will also need to be comfortable with using the Internet and various social media platforms to get their messages across.
In what some may see as a counter intuitive response though given the rapid pace of technological change and it’s impact on how we work, business success in the future will become increasingly dependent on personal interaction.
Put simply, people do business with people!
Whilst I believe that the quality of the decision making required to underpin and drive this success, will be predicated on the ability to engage with a range of opinions and robustly & constructively challenge ideas.
As well as softer skills going hand-in-hand with the technical stuff, the data is telling us that working ethically, being socially responsible and building trust, are all growing in importance too.
In addition, being able to effectively manage conflict & create a challenging but positive internal working environment, whilst confidently dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity is also crucial for today’s Super Performing Leader; particularly as they then focus outwards with their organisation or business.
The biggest challenge and change remains the increasingly global focus for many businesses and my final question is this:
‘At the end of the day, do we have enough globally minded Leaders who have the softer skills, but are also ready and able to step up to the plate and ask the right questions to strategically influence and perform at this level?’
Paul Mudd is Contributing Author to The Huffington Post and a Contributing Writer to Thrive Global. Through The Mudd Partnership he works with business leaders, organisations and individuals in support of change, leadership excellence, business growth, organistional and individual wellbeing and well doing, and introducing Mindfulness, based on his best selling book, ‘Uncovering Mindfulness: In Search Of A Life More Meaningful’ available on Amazon and www.bookboon.com and the ‘Mindful Hacks For Mindful Living & Mindful Working’ series.
He can be contacted at paul@themuddpartnership.co.uk and you can follow the continuing journey uncovering Mindfulness on Twitter @TheMindfulBook and at @Paul_Mudd
