Understanding Soft Skills in Social Settings

Two General Classifications of Skills

• Two main categories of skills: soft skills and hard skills
• Soft skills are also known as people skills or EQ (emotional quotient)
• Emotional quotient refers to intelligence regarding emotions, especially in monitoring one's own or others' emotions

Soft Skills

• Soft skills are attributes that enhance how we relate with others
• Also referred to as people skills, EQ, behavioral competencies, or interpersonal skills
• Influenced by personality, upbringing, and training
• Hard to acquire in a short period of time
• Examples of soft skills:
  • Ability to come to work on time regularly
  • Ability to work independently without supervision
  • Good communication skills
  • Adaptable
  • Motivate co-workers
  • Good listener
  • Team player
  • Punctual
  • Outgoing
  • Responsible
  • Productive
• Importance of soft skills:
  • A lawyer needs to manage a client, not just know the law
  • An IT person needs to deal with users, not just know programming

Hard Skills

• Hard skills are technical skills or administrative competencies used for operational tasks
• Usually tangible, specific, and teachable
• Examples of hard skills:
  • Typing 50 words per minute
  • Changing tires
  • Building furniture
  • Writing a manual
  • Software development
  • Teaching a language
  • Planting a tree
• Importance of hard skills:
  • A lawyer needs to know the finer points of the law
  • An IT person needs to know different programs to work with users

Dealing with Blind Spots

• Blind spots refer to functional impairment in organizations where individuals are unaware of essential functions or processes
• Social competence helps deal with blind spots
• Blind spots should be addressed with urgency and coached to improvement

Social Skills and Leadership

• Soft skills are integral to a manager or leader role
• They interact with people and manage how people work within preset policies and procedures
• Important soft skills for leaders:
  • Respect
  • Teamwork skills
  • Ethics
  • Integrity

Explore the concept of soft skills, which are attributes that enhance how we relate with others and are influenced by our personality. Learn about the impact of upbringing and training on soft skills, and how they contribute to behavioral competencies and interpersonal skills.