Soft skills training can be a lot more challenging than teaching any other skill set. This is because they are skills deeply dependent on the individual as a person. Simply, they can be difficult teach because they are so heavily associated with the general interpersonal skills of the employee. These skills are incredibly important though for success, be that at work or in your personal life.
Many would argue that soft skills are basic every day things. Most would consider an ability to get on with others, good manners and dependability to be soft skills. Somebody with the right skills will be able to inspire others around them, as well as influence, strategize, negotiate and problem solve. Rather than dismissing other people's ideas they will give feedback.
Soft skills are incredibly in any management role. Good managers know how to get the most out of their team. You will find that when making staff feel good about their jobs and inspired, soft skills are key.
Treating people with respect is the fundamental key to having good soft skills. When you are working under pressure it can be easy to just push your team and disregarding anything but the deadline, this can harm the working relationship though. That isn't to say that it won't bring short term benefits, tell someone that they have to do it whatever and it will probably be done, but it can make things hard in the long term.
Recognition of the importance of soft skills is becoming more common in businesses. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, it was stated that some top business schools around the country are getting it and providing their students with soft skills business courses. There are also many post-graduate leadership development courses that are highly regarded and prove highly effective in developing strong soft skills.
When promoting an employee to a management role it can be a good time for this kind of training. Sometimes an employee who excels in their particularly field will need additional interpersonal training if promoted to a team leader or office manager position. Confidently delegating things to a team is something else that a new manager will sometimes struggle with.
A lot of these courses simply look at the personal side of things and help to bring out people skills we may rarely use. Often, the real learning is enforced early in life as we define how we treat and react to others. Perhaps someone who is struggling within work relates very differently to their family and some of these skills can be harnessed in a new environment Honing and refining these skills will help to go on and create great relationships at work.
