Mastering The Soft Skills

Welcome to the first Blog post from Advancing Leaders.  As a psychotherapist and executive wellness coach, I will be providing useful psychological insights and practical tools to assist in your personal growth and leadership development.  My goals are to enhance your life satisfaction, expand your emotional intelligence, and increase your success and profitability.  In a world based on relationships in which we are neuro-wired for connection, the so-called soft skills are the essential ingredients of success.  Whether simply interacting, managing, or mentoring in the workplace or any business setting, soft skills are your ace-in-the-hole.

Soft skills have been defined as personal attributes that enable us to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. So that’s the first question: are they attributes or skill sets?  Actually, they are behaviors stemming from interpersonal perspectives that can be learned, practiced, and mastered.  To some of us this may come more naturally.  Research tells us that women tend to be more collaboratively oriented.  Perhaps due to physiology: proportionately, women have a larger corpus collosum, the part of the brain connecting the right and left hemispheres.  It has also been suggested that the hormone Oxytocin may play a part.  Regardless of gender or inclination, focus and practice will level the playing field.

Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s Blog posting where we focus on the soft skill of EMPATHY.

Weekly Challenge:  This week, focus on purposefully considering the other person’s perspective in conversations.  Practice putting yourself in their shoes.

Supporting Your Success!

KJ