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Soft skills are a mix of personality traits that characterise how a person will behave in a situation. Also called people skills and interpersonal skills, soft skills are now critical than ever before as the modern workplace is changing. And it’s changing fast. From learning to work and collaborate remotely to adapting to hybrid work schedules and now to possibly accommodating a shorter working week, soft skills help teams and individuals adapt to the rapid changes in the market and be successful in the workplace.
Here’s a list of the top soft skills that you need to encourage to build a high performing team
Collaboration is emerging as one of the most critical soft skills required to succeed in 2022.
As remote and hybrid working is being embraced across organisations globally, the need for effective collaboration has now become more important than ever before. However, while we all agree that collaboration is essential, it’s extremely difficult to achieve. The default behaviour is to work in silos. Read this article to find out why collaboration is hard to achieve and how you can improve collaboration skills within teams.
Innovative thinking and problem-solving is critical for the growth of an individual and the team. The last two years have thrown numerous curveballs, and the organisations that were able to come up with a solution quickly were the ones who were able to not just survive amid the chaos, but also thrive. The dynamic nature of the market often brings up unpredictable and challenging circumstances, and the ability to keep a calm head and employ quick problem-solving skills are essential to navigating challenging situations.
No matter how good an employee is, if they can’t communicate effectively, it can be challenging to work with them. When people don’t communicate, they end up working in silos, which is very detrimental not just on a personal level but also to the growth of the organisation.
Encouraging communication and open dialogue are critical components of a healthy workplace. Research shows that open communication can improve productivity by up to 25% when employees feel connected and engaged. Therefore, regular communication training is essential for building a high performing team.
The ability to adapt to unpredictable and often dire circumstances and bounce back from a dire situation was probably the main reason why most companies could survive the business implications of the global pandemic. As the market changes rapidly, organisations face new and uncertain situations, often of which their leaders have no prior experience. Being able to react appropriately to a new situation, adapting to the changes, and showing resilience in the face of adversity is a major soft skill that you need to develop in your teams. Only then will your teams be able not just to survive but grow amid any new circumstance. This article talks about how to develop the skills required to lead through uncertainty.
The ability to resolve conflicts effectively and with empathy will always be one of the most in-demand soft skills in the professional environment. When you are working within a team, disagreements are bound to happen. However, you need to rely on your soft skills to resolve the conflict without taking an authoritative approach or sounding biased or unempathetic.
Proper time management is a critical soft skill that is fundamental to the success of any organisation. Prioritising the work, planning, goal setting, and execution are all critical components of time management. You may have a bunch of highly skilled teammates at your disposal, but if you don’t assign and delegate the tasks properly and manage your and their time well, you may end up failing as a team.
Companies globally are facing a shortage of staff, and it can get tricky for leaders to manage the workload with a limited number of staff. Therefore, it’s essential to have employees who demonstrate accountability and ownership of the job at hand. However, it can get difficult to always keep yourself motivated and demonstrate self-leadership skills, especially when things get challenging.
In today’s competitive environment, soft skills are just as important to succeed in the workplace. Simply having the most talented person on the team may not just cut the deal anymore. However, a soft skills assessment is difficult. During the interview process, people rarely exhibit their true interpersonal skills and how they will behave within a team.
The good news is that you can develop these soft skills with Learning and Development programs. Our LearningJourneys™ are carefully designed and customised according to your needs. So, if you need to improve collaboration within teams or develop quick thinking and cultivate problem-solving skills, we can create a LearningJourney™ that specifically caters to developing these soft skills. Award-winning content, expert soft skills training consultants and the latest cutting edge technology such as Virtual Reality and AI, leave a long-lasting impact on the participants and result in true behavioural change.
Feel free to get in touch with us to find out more about LearningJourneys and soft skills training solutions.
