Have you ever heard of soft skills? In this post we will reveal everything you need to know about soft skills: what they are and how they work
Last update: May 09, 2019
Within the soft skills there is a combination of social skills, communication, personality and relationships, but not only. These are skills that make a person able to relate and communicate in a more or less intelligent way. They are therefore highly appreciated in various fields, including professional ones, as they favor the proper functioning of institutions and work groups.
Not surprisingly, nowadays more and more companies favor hiring professionals who have been able to develop their soft skills (or transversal skills) in parallel with their studies. This makes them much more attractive candidates for any project. They are, in fact, people capable of demonstrating adaptability, a good predisposition to communication and empathy.
The importance of soft skills in the professional environment
Currently, more and more companies invest time and resources in carefully evaluating potential new managers. They rarely rely on their training or experience alone. Let's talk about social skills, communication skills and a propensity for teamwork. These soft skills can be decisive in a selection process, determining the choice of a winning candidate.
This is a necessity dictated by the fact that highly trained executives and professionals, but lacking specific human qualities, can represent a problem in the evolution and affirmation of a company. Today soft skills are evaluated from a different perspective and are essential to verify the fullness of an individual.
Soft skills most appreciated in the workplace
In addition to academic preparation, knowledge of foreign languages ​​and familiarity with computer programs and applications are the most popular transversal skills currently in the world of work:
- Autonomy.
- Leadership.
- Consistency.
- Integrity.
- Listening skills.
- Self-regulation.
- Interests.
- Curiosity.
- Authenticity.
- Personal and social responsibility.
- Reflection skills.
- Proactivity.
- Passion.
- Intrinsic motivation.
- Divergent logic.
- Humility.
- Continuous learning.
- Empathy.
- Ability to synthesize and argue.
- Time management.
- Confidence.
How to develop soft skills?
The process of learning soft skills, or their development, goes through four phases:
1. Phase of the unconscious incompetence
In primo luogo, the soft skills development process begins with a phase in which the person is not aware of possessing these skills and how to put them into practice. They mediate many of the results obtained, but do not attract our attention, because they are not identified as "important".
2. Phase of conscious incompetence
The second phase begins when you decide to continue with the learning and the first problems begin to emerge. Therefore, this phase will require all of our conscious attention.
3. Phase of conscious competence
This third phase of the development of soft skills coincides with the awareness of learning success. As we acquire a new competence, we acquire new and greater self-confidence, reinforcing each and every single cross-cutting competence more and more.
4. Phase of unconscious competence
This moment is reached when a certain skill becomes part of ourselves, participating in the different phases of sociality and interaction with the environment. What was initially a skill to be learned is now a real skill ready to be used.
When it is called into question, the transversal competence is instinctively applied, almost without thinking. In fact, others will end up thinking that this is an innate ability.
Evidently, therefore, the effectiveness of soft skills will improve with practice. Day after day, we can add more transversal skills to our personal knowledge, which will make us much more attractive to companies and businesses.
Finally, we must not forget that the improvements obtained are the result of a constant learning and training process. Genetics can more or less influence certain predispositions, but each individual is primarily responsible for the skills he wishes to acquire or develop.
