Soft Skills at Work
Significance of Soft Skills for Professional Excellence
In today’s world, technology is evolving at an alarming speed which makes the environment dynamic & competitive. It is becoming challenging to get a desired job & to become successful in this ever changing environment. Academic knowledge & education is not enough to get a job , there is a need to develop industry relevant skills ,people skills, social skills ,cognitive skills which not only ensures employment but also paves the way for one’s growth & career advancement, so learning soft skills become imperative. Today organisations putting more and more emphasis on soft skill sessions for improving performance, productivity , to make stronger connection with customers and to deliver better results. We will discuss some of the top notch Soft skills which everyone has to acquire to become successful in any professional field.
Top Soft skills:
Strong Communication skills: Effective Communication is the key to get success in the corporate world. Effective communication comprises oral & written skills, non- verbal communication, listening skills.Now a days organisation are putting emphasis on this communication skills. In today’s fast-paced world, communication holds the key. We get connected with each other through different mode of communication channel, mobile phone, email, Podcast, Online video conferencing, delivering presentation to client everywhere we need this communication skill. A technically competent person if not able to communicate can not sustain in an organisation. When it comes to managing a team, meeting with customer or negotiating with a client or presenting in front of people, we need to have a good communication skill.
Problem Solving Ability: It is one of the important skill; it is the capability of an individual to solve problems on time & with efficiency. It involves identifying the problem, analyzing & finding best possible solution. In a fast paced world, one has to have an analytical bend of mind. A person with positive mindset finds solution easily compared to a person with negative mind.
Good Presentation skills: Presenting information with clarity & confidence is what matters in getting one’s message across the audience. A good presenter always engages the audience. Good presentation reflects communications, listening, personality of the presenter. A presentation should be informative, interactive & meaningful.
Team Work And Collaboration: It is the ability to collaborate & work in close coordination with others to achieve common goal. Teamwork is vital for success in any project. Employees often need to collaborate and work with others say boss, teammates and other officials to complete certain tasks and projects. Teamwork teaches us how to work in a team. In an organisation we have seen people are working under tight deadlines and they are working in close coordination with others, everybody in the team is helping and cooperating each other so that project can be completed in stipulated time so as to achieve something big we should know how to perform staying within the team.
Decision Making Skills: Sound Decision making skills have always been one of the important trait. This is the ability of a person to choose the best course of action after examining all the available options & possibilities. A person with good analytical mind and observation skills can take better decisions. Now a days organisations prefer people who are quick in analyzing things and can take an appropriate decisions in time.
Leadership And Management Skills : This is one of the important trait every leader should have to manage people and team effectively.A good leader knows the strength and weakness of the people working under him and utilize them to get the best out of them. Leader listen to his people and back them up when required and inspire people to take up challenges head on. An effective leader always makes space for people to grow within the organization. A good leader leads from the front, he always sets an example for other people to follow. leaders are assets of an organisation without whom an organisation cannot function and grow.
Adaptability Skills: When we talk about working in dynamic environment, among new set of people, we need to get ourselves adapted , the situation may be unpleasant but we got to make adjustments.The people who cannot adapt in a changing situation are not able to survive. Change is the only constant, so it is utmost important for us to accommodate in a new circumstances, we should fit in only then we can stay and grow.
Conflict Management Skills: We see conflicts arising in our day to day life similarly in an organisation, conflict arises when someone or group of people disagree on something but conflict is not healthy because it leads to unnecessary stress, loss of productivity so it becomes imperative to find a way to resolve the conflict. The person with this skill takes initiative ,intervenes, gives patient hearing to both the parties and strive hard to resolve it logically and amicably.
Corporate organisation are arranging soft skill sessions for their workforce. Organisations are hiring trainers from external training consultants so that people can learn soft skill and implement the same for better performance and productivity. For individuals there are few websites offering few soft skill modules for free or with minimal cost . Coursera, YouTube, Edx, Google Digital Garage ,Udemy IIT Kharagpur, Linkedin Learning courses, Github, IIT Roorkee ,and other top universities around the world offer both paid as well as some specific online modules for free.Professional Skills List