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Developing Soft Skills to Future-proof Organizations

Soft skills go beyond “people skills” and provide a solid foundation for organizational growth.  Improving soft skills through coaching and training is key for any organization facing changes in technology and the future of work.

I hate the term “soft skills.” Let’s just put our cards on the table. “Soft” is a terrible descriptor. According to Thesaurus.com, synonyms for “soft” include comfortable, easy, mushy, and fluffy. “Soft” sounds like a fluffy cushion for “hard” skills to rest on. 

We may think debating what to call “soft” skills is silly, but language influences how we think. When we label skills as “soft,” we label them as “easy” and imply they aren’t important. Yet when I coach executives and other leaders, “soft” skills are often the hardest skills for them to master.

So, why do we call them “soft” skills? To understand the “soft,” let’s start with the “hard.” Traditionally, organizations have focused on “hard” skills, such as technical skills and competencies. “Hard” skills tend to be easier to define, teach, and assess. In other words, hard skills are more tangible. By comparison, “soft” skills seem more intangible. We struggle to clearly define “soft” skills. For example, what are the specific skills required to be an expert in “interpersonal communication”? How do we teach someone “resilience”? As a result, it can be more difficult to understand “soft” skills and how to develop them.

So, before we dive into a discussion about “soft” skills, I want to plant a seed. I vote to rename “soft” skills as “Critical Intangible Skills,” or “Critical Intangibles,” for short. I may not yet have swayed the rest of the world, but throughout the rest of this blog post, I challenge you to think “Critical Intangible” when you read “soft,” and see how this change affects your thinking.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are sometimes equated with “people skills,” but that isn’t the whole story.  Soft skills include mental qualities like persistence, resilience, problem solving, emotional regulation, and creativity.  They also encompass practical skills of self-regulation through time management, organization, and the ability to prioritize tasks.  Finally, soft skills include “people skills” like communication, teamwork, and leadership.

Soft skills apply broadly and can be transferred easily between jobs and industries.  They have been called “durable”, because, unlike technical requirements, they remain constant.

Twelve of the top 15 skills needed globally are soft skills, as reported in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023.

Soft skills are the “secret sauce” for long term organizational success in a changing world.

Teaching critical intangible skills in the workplace

Contrary to a common misperception, soft skills are not hard-wired or unchangeable. According to research conducted by McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC, the Harvard Business School, and Forbes, organizations can help people improve their soft skills through coaching, mentoring, and training. When people improve these skills, they are better prepared to adapt to changes in technology and the workplace.   

Teaching soft skills requires planning, execution, employee buy in, and assessing success. 

  • Survey the organization’s needs.  The first step is to determine which soft skills are most in need of development.

    Look at both gaps in performance and high performance. What skill gaps may have contributed to negative customer feedback? What skills contributed to rave reviews? What skills are bubbling up most often in employee performance reviews? What skills are leveraged most by the highest performing teams? What are the skills on which you want to focus, and how can people best develop these skills?  

  • Develop teaching strategies.  With clear development priorities, the organization is ready to create an action plan. HR Partners and People Partners may find it useful to leverage consultants to help deliver programs and coaching to support development efforts.
  • Use a mix of approaches. Different skills and personal learning styles will require different learning strategies. Developing skills requires acquiring knowledge and putting that knowledge into practice. Here are some examples of learning approaches to help people develop their skills:
    • Skills workshops that include role plays focused on real work scenarios with self-reflection and feedback.
    • Coaching
    • Mentoring
    • Other learning methods that people can then put into practice, such as online courses, webinars, podcasts, etc. to build knowledge and insights, upskill or reskill.
    • Continuing efforts, as opposed to a “one and done” approach, will be needed.  After all, we don’t expect people to master skills in a single session.  
  • Get employees to buy in.  To invest in people development, employees need to understand the importance of soft skills and how coaching and training will help them develop these skills. Organizations can further emphasize the importance of soft skills through recognition, performance reviews, and requiring soft skills as criteria for promotion.  
  • Measure progress.  One mistake to avoid when assessing teaching programs is simply measuring “inputs,” such as the number of training sessions offered, “butts in seats,” or the number of hours completed.  It’s more useful to design ways to measure outcomes. Metrics will vary by organization but may include assessments of individual performance, employee engagement, team dynamics, customer satisfaction, sales volume, and similar data points. The goal is to be as objective as possible, and to keep the workforce informed.

As the world of work changes, soft skills (or “Critical Intangible Skills”) will only become more important, and strengthening these skills will provide an enduring foundation for success.

Please contact us if you would like more information about soft skills and employee development.  
 

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Rachel Burr is an executive and leadership coach with over 20 years of experience working with CEOs and the C-suite across all industries, in organizations of from 200 to 10,000 employees. Rachel holds dual master’s degrees in Organization Development and Clinical Psychology, and numerous certifications in the field of executive coaching. Rachel is a “people expert” who works with clients to unleash their leadership potential, through coaching soft skills, among many other areas.
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Upskilling: A Program of Continuous Development to Meet Changing Needs

Upskilling is an ongoing process of learning and development designed to meet current and future workplace requirements.  It leverages the talents of the existing workforce to improve business outcomes and increase employee retention. 


What is Upskilling?

The simple answer is that upskilling is the current buzzword for a program of continuous and long-term employee development.  Upskilling is distinct from the equally buzzy term “reskilling,” which is the process of moving employees from redundant or outmoded positions into new roles. 

Upskilling seeks to provide learning opportunities to an organization’s existing workforce in their current positions, not merely to fill gaps but to keep pace with the increasing rate of change in the world today.

What Are the Benefits of Upskilling?

Keeping ahead of the innovation curve is one of the main challenges for organizations large and small.  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has predicted that technology will transform over 1 billion jobs in the next decade, while the World Economic Forum anticipates that upskilling will add $6 trillion to global GDP by 2030. 

Let’s take a look at a few of the benefits of the approach. 

  • Upskilling increases employee engagement and retention.  In today’s tight labor market employee retention is more important than ever.  Employees are looking for more than a paycheck.  They want to know that the organization is committed to helping them reach their full potential. Providing training and development opportunities is a tangible investment in their future careers.  When employees see a path to career growth, they are more likely to stay than look elsewhere. 
  • Upskilling is a cost-effective use of resources.  Training and development can be costly, but it should be thought of as an investment.  The alternative is new recruitment. 

    There are drawbacks to recruiting people to bring skills to an organization. One is the labor market.  People who already have the latest, most in-demand skills are a scarce resource. They will be highly sought after and may command a premium. 

    Another drawback is the time and expense of recruiting and integrating new hires into the existing workforce.  While training and development have costs, the cost of recruitment is greater. 
  • Upskilling improves business outcomes.  A final benefit is to improve the organization’s ability to achieve its business goals.  That applies regardless of industry. 

    In one case, that may mean more effective customer outreach.  In another, it may mean completing transactions more efficiently. Wise organizations set business goals into the framework of their development efforts, providing a metric for effectiveness.

What Goes Into A Successful Upskilling Program?

Here are some guidelines for developing an effective program.

  • Survey the organization’s needs.  The first step is to identify existing skills’ gaps and future needs. The organization should review its business plans and the challenges it faces in achieving its goals.

    It is equally important to ask:  What training and development opportunities do employees want?  That may not have an obvious answer.  Many employees will not know what particular skills they would like to develop. 

    A better way of getting the information may be by asking, “Where would you like to take your career in the next year?  In five years?”  By framing the question more holistically, the employee and the organization can begin to take steps towards the desired goal. 
  • Develop individualized programs.  Having considered both the organization’s needs and the employees’ goals, the next step is to develop individualized plans. 

    The survey process is likely to have uncovered recurring themes – both in terms of business needs and employee desires.  These themes can be subjects for broader training efforts across teams or departments.

    Individuals should also be encouraged to explore subjects that interest them.  That may mean pursuing a software certification or other credential.  It may mean an introduction to another functional area or mentoring by an expert within the organization. 
  • Develop metrics to measure progress toward goals.  Finally, the organization needs to measure progress, both individually and as an organization. 

    Individuals will want to know how they’re progressing – and how much farther they have to go to reach specific goals.  

    The same applies to the organization as a whole. The more specific business goals can be measured, the more likely for upskilling to be seen as an investment in the future. 
If you would like to know more about upskilling, please contact us. 

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Rachel Burr is an executive and leadership coach with over 20 years of experience working with CEOs and the C-suite across all industries, in organizations of from 200 to 10,000 employees. Rachel holds dual master’s degrees in Organization Development and Clinical Psychology, and numerous certifications in the field of executive coaching. Rachel is a “people expert” who works with clients to unleash their leadership potential.
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Leadership Communication, Workplace Engagement, Building Future Leaders

Leadership communication can be improved upon coaching for better employee engagement, team dynamics, and organizational leadership bench, says Rachel Burr, Catamentum leadership Coaching.

The “telling”, or command-and-control style of leadership communication

Among many ways of miscommunication, under communication, or complete lack of communication, perhaps the most common is “telling people what to do”, instead of engaging, guiding, coaching, and inspiring people to participate and contribute.

This article will focus on the harms of constantly telling team members or subordinates what to do, a/k/a command and control, and what to do instead.

What leaders lose from micromanagement

When leaders micromanage, they undermine their team’s performance. Employees do not bring their own skills, ideas, or passion to the work. They often give up voicing their opinions and observations due to a lack of psychological safety and fear of being criticized.  As a result, employees don’t feel they “own” the work or the results. They become disengaged and wait passively to be told what to do. When leaders do not value employees’ input, they not only encourage “quiet quitting,” but they fail to recognize new ideas, incorporate diverse perspectives, and they lose valuable insights required for innovation. 

Leadership communication is truly about how to coach teams

A 2016 survey by the Harvard Business Review found that two-thirds of managers are simply not comfortable communicating with employees. Ineffective communication can be costly, or even destructive for the leadership, teams, and the organization.  

To change leadership communication, leaders must first respect, trust, and value the people on their teams.  Upon this foundation, the following actions improve communications, build teams, and create healthy organizations:
  • Encourage Discussion and Feedback. When leaders create a safe environment, employees will more openly share information, ideas, and insights.
  • Communicate Purpose. Communicate more than “what” needs to be done, communicate the “why.” When people understand the purpose of their work and how they contribute to that purpose, they feel more engaged and empowered to take action to achieve their goals.
  • Listen. Effective leaders actively listen to others. They engage with genuine curiosity and the intent to understand the ideas and perspectives of others. Beyond the work, effective leaders listen to and get to know who their employees are as people–their lives, families, and what matters to them. When people feel heard, seen, and understood, they feel a greater sense of connection and commitment with their leader and their team.
  • Demonstrate Integrity. Trusted leaders walk the talk. Leaders’ statements explicitly communicate their vision, values, and goals. Their behaviors implicitly communicate their commitment to those things. Integrity is how closely a leaders’ words match their behaviors. When it comes to communicating integrity, actions speak louder than words. 
  • Communicate Clearly. Effective guidance is clear, concise, and consistent. Whether communication is verbal or written, in person or virtual. 
These actions are a good starting place for leaders to improve their communication, but developing great leadership communication skills is a process, not a checklist. Great leaders invest the time and attention to put these actions into practice.

Good communication and coaching can foster the next generation of Leaders 

Moreover, the “telling” or “ordering” style of communication will hinder the development of the “bench” – bringing up the future leaders in the organization. 

Leadership communication isn’t just announcing plans to employees. Open dialogues, active listening, and regular feedback can be used to spot and elevate leaders from within the organization.

However, a 2023 survey by the consulting firm DDI found that just 40% of leaders said their organizations had high quality leadership, and only 12% had confidence in the strength of their bench. 

The leaders of the future also need to develop the psychological safety to take risks and try new things.  Using effective leadership communication in this way can also have the added benefit of creating a virtuous cycle of open, clear, and honest communication at all levels of the organization. 

No leader can afford to be an island.  Whether an organization is planning for growth or succession, having a good bench of future leaders is a must.  The home-grown new leadership will have been instilled with organizational knowledge and values, not easily replicated from the outside. 

excellent leadership communication can increase engagement across the organization. 

Rachel Burr is an executive and leadership coach with over 20 years of experience working with CEOs and the C-suite across all industries, in organizations of from 200 to 10,000 employees.  Rachel holds dual master’s degrees in Organization Development and Clinical Psychology, and numerous certifications in the field of executive coaching.  Rachel is a “people expert” who works with clients to unleash their leadership potential.