Got Soft Skills? Improve Them, the Ruangguru Senior Lead Way
Being smart is not enough. According to Bona, a senior lead in Ruangguru’s Educational Content department, that is especially true when you are working with other people. This Bona learned from a past experience.
Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Bona worked as a system analyst. In his mind, all he needed was the skills he learned at school about computers, designing the systems, or coding to perform well. But as it turns out, Bona needed more than just his technical skills.
This was when he realized that professionals need sophisticated soft skills capabilities. “What we studied in school just wouldn’t cut it,” Bona said. There is a degree of communication and interpersonal skills that professionals must have. Yes, hard technical skills are important. Based on Bona’s experience, though, he has found himself needing soft skills more than he thought.
Now as a senior lead, Bona focuses on producing thousands of Ruangguru’s learning videos. His responsibilities include ensuring the quality of the videos’ script and production. On top of his main duties however, Bona enjoys helping his team improve their own personal development. Sometimes, he even conducts soft skills training, which is crucial for Bona.
If you’ve come across difficulties expressing your concerns to your superior or managing relationships with your colleagues, scroll down for some soft skills upskilling tips from Bona.
Keep Reading
Bona firmly believes that there’s ample knowledge about soft skills and developing them in books and other literature. Especially since classes on soft skills aren’t common, you can at least pick up a book that will help you understand the different types of soft skills and guide you to improve the ones you already practice.
Some books that Bona recommend include “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson, any of the “Chicken Soup” book series, “The Outliers” by Kimberly McCreight, and any book by Anthony “Tony” Robbins.
Implementation Is Key
The main point is not knowing the theory. The key is to implement what you’ve learned. Mastering soft skills require a lot of trial-and-error. There are lots of soft skills that can be developed only through experience. Bona wouldn’t have known the power of soft skills if he didn’t struggle in the process, right?
So, if you ever have the chance to learn something outside of school or your daily professional routine, go for it.
Be Critical
Self-reflection is one of the most useful soft skills to master. A tool for this is asking questions. This helps you identify problems and solutions for your next move.
Bona implemented this method of problem-solving when his project’s deadline was moved earlier. He asked, “What’s the issue this change created?” There’s not enough manpower, yet there’s less time to complete the project. He asked again, “How can I solve this issue?” Bona concluded that there were two options: 1) add more manpower or 2) do extra work with the manpower he has now. Then, came this: “How should I approach this issue?” Finally, Bona decided that it was best to let the manpower he has now to work overtime at home.
According to Bona, you should ask yourself the three questions above and the two questions below whenever you’re facing an issue or a problem at work:
- How can I improve?
- Why did that person make that decision?
Start Small
Say you have always wanted to improve your leadership skills; that doesn’t mean you must lead a group of 100 people to improve your skills.
Start small. Help your team by recommending best practices, giving critical analysis, or actively communicating with your team. Since this helps to improve team dynamics and ensuring that everyone is on the same page about their goals and tasks. You can also start by leading yourself, managing your own priorities, and making sure that you are completing your tasks.
That concludes some tips on soft skills from Bona. Hopefully, these will help you further your skills or motivate you to start working on them. It’s never too late to improve yourself. All that matters is starting somewhere and striving for non-stop improvements in our lives.
Are you looking for other ways to improve your skills? Go visit Skill Academy’s website and learn more about upskilling and reskilling valuable skills that you surely don’t want to miss for your personal development.
