“Soft Skills” MUST be Reframed as “Critical”

Leadership

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. ~Charles Darwin

Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash

What we’ve historically called “soft skills” could be the difference between succeeding or failing, individually and collectively. Consider this. Census data predicts that by the year 2050 there will be no racial or ethnic majority in the United States, and that between 2000 and 2050, immigrants and their first-generation children will be responsible for 83 percent of the increase in our country’s working-age population.

Let’s put that into perspective. If someone has a child in 2020, by the time that child is still climbing the career ladder at age 30, there will be no racial or ethnic majority.

Change in race/ethnicity is only ONE of the many differences that now make up the workforce. The list of change is extensive – increase in women in the workforce and leadership, generational shifts, people working from home (yes, even pre-COVID), global project teams, global companies, global vendors and suppliers, massive innovation in technology and AI. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t even mention differences in personality types or behavioral styles.

Managing change and differences demands”soft skills.” Blogger, Trevor Muir, says “stop calling them soft skills; they’re essential skills.” I’m going to take that even further and say they are not soft; they are critical.

Why are these skills critical?

  • First, because the world we live in is only going to get more complex through accelerated change. We can’t stop it.
  • Second, because within that change is also a whirlwind of differences that will only continue to increase and consequently produce teams and a workforce whose commonality is that they have less and less in common.
  • Third, because even those individuals with  technical expertise can only be successful if they work effectively with other people.
  • Lastly, an organization can create extraordinary strategy and innovation and still fail because the individuals who need to execute on the strategy or innovation simply are not in sync.

To me, it feels as if we are trying to fight against something that we can not control – ever-increasing change and complexity. So instead of trying to fight against it, what if we were to lean in to it, using critical skills.

Be an Ally

One of the organizations I follow is the NeuroLeadership Institute. They are currently providing a series called “How to be an Ally in this Moment.” They provide three points. Listen Deeply. Unite Widely. Act Boldly. Leaders of today, and tomorrow, must develop these so-called “soft” skills if we are to move forward effectively. Over the coming weeks, I hope to unpack each of these three points, which are critical.

Lead with bold grace using critical skills. Listen Deeply. Unite Widely. Act Boldly.