Why soft skills are the ‘new hard skills’ in business 17 02 26

 Why Soft Skills Are the “New Hard Skills” in Business.

Listen here

For decades, technical expertise and “old fashioned intelligence” were seen as the primary drivers for success. But in the modern workplace, soft skills have become true competitive advantages.

First of all, let’s compare the two. The key differences between hard skills and soft skills are how they are gained and put to use in the workplace.

Hard skills are often mastered through education or specific training. They include competencies like how to use a certain machine, software or other tool.

Soft skills are more often seen as personality or behavioural traits, and require your own personal development. They are called upon when you manage your time, communicate with other people or confront a difficult situation…they are transferable and are useful from job to job.

In the modern world, AI and software can handle technical tasks, but they can’t easily replicate “the human touch”.

The irony is, that as technology grows, human-centric skills become more valuable, and not less.

The concept of emotional intelligence was popularised by Daniel Goleman, who argued that EQ often matters more than IQ in leadership success, stating that strong leaders:

Technical competence is the basis, emotional intelligence delivers results.

With increasingly global and remote teams, success depends on:

Without these, even the most technically skilled employee will struggle.

Companies like Google have publicly stated that traits like learning ability, humility, and collaboration are as important, if not more, than pure technical ability. It’s often been the case to say, “we can teach the technical skills, but not the soft skills”!

Hard skills will get you the job…soft skills will determine how far you go. Modern business needs people with the skills to lead, influence, collaborate & adapt in a fast changing world!

Are YOU making sure your employees are developing their “soft skills”?

“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
John C Maxwell