For enterprises to succeed today, it requires a focus on skills beyond the vocational. This doesn’t imply that sales, procurement, or financial expertise are unnecessary or less important to an organization’s operational success. Rather, it means that “soft skill” attributes are now equally critical as hard skills within the workforce. In the competitive marketplace, agility, flexibility, and resilience are imperative to weather ongoing volatility and uncertainty. What enables this? It is soft skills, or as Seth Godin, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker, calls them — real skills.
Soft Skills Transformed
The growing criticality of soft skills seems a natural part of the Future of Work transition. Skills such as empathy, communication (oral and written), adaptability, collaboration, leadership, and strategic thinking are now table stakes for managers and executives. However, it’s no longer the higher ranks where real skills are necessary and desired. These skills are now core attributes for any role in today’s organizations. Imagine a workplace where, regardless of role, soft-skill development was an integral workforce strategy.
This means that real skills such as communication, collaboration, and strategic thinking are occurring at every enterprise level and among employees and project teams. Essentially, soft skills become core principles that drive organizational success and competitiveness. Making that vision a reality, however, requires a shift in executive behavior.
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