How to Develop the Soft Skills to Navigate Your Workplace with Confidence

It is how you use your soft skills that determines the degree of fulfillment you have and the impact you make. The quality of your soft skills affects both the experience of your life and the profoundness of your impact. Your system for soft skills development can be judged by the service it provides, the fulfillment it brings, and the economic and emotional rewards it produces.

Sometimes, as a career professional, simple discipline and hard work just aren’t enough to take you to the next level. To navigate your workplace with confidence, you need to develop soft skills.
In order to develop the necessary soft skills, it is wise and also essential to first understand what makes developing them difficult. Most of the education we receive in the school system and in the workplace is technically focused. We spend a great amount of time learning technical skills related to our industry or company. We become so focused on these technical skills, on “doing the thing”, that we neglect our soft skills. We don’t notice where the gaps are that could take us to the next level.
Until such a point when we are thrust into a role where we are expected to lead others, to communicate effectively with higher ups, and operate with higher levels of emotional intelligence. This sudden awareness of the importance of soft skills causes us to panic and worry.

Another reason many lack soft skills is a consequence of this emphasis on technical skills. Many don’t even understand what soft skills are. This means that we don’t have a framework on what to spend time developing, like effective communication skills.

What Are Soft Skills?

The term ‘soft skills’ comes from the United States Military. It was developed in the 1950s when they realized that, though their soldiers were effective with their machinery, they also needed to learn leadership skills. Thus, the military coined the term ‘soft skills’, because while these skills were important, they involved very little interaction with machines (which are technical and hard to the touch, and hence fall under the category of ‘hard skills’). Contrast machines with people, who are soft to the touch, and hence soft skills in the workplace have everything to do with people.
Businesses and organizations have realized that soft skills are important to career advancement and personal growth and development. People with a strong command of soft skills are in high demand. Our world is ever-changing, and soft skills help keep people flexible.
Soft skills can be defined as:

A cluster of competencies that allow you to be fruitful in your environment and therefore productive from your creative space.

When you are productive, you are most optimized. You can have leadership over your arena of focus.

How to Develop Soft Skills

#1: Seek Clarity

Understanding the context of your working environment will help give you clarity on what soft skills are important for you to develop. There is no one size fits all. The same soft skills do not apply to everyone in every job. The soft skills you need to learn depend on your environment. You are not going to be completely independent and self-sufficient, so you will have to interact with other people at some point.

Some soft skills in the workplace you will likely find to be important are effective communication skills, emotional mastery or self governance, and efficient leadership. Developing these skills can help you position yourself as someone who is a natural leader, someone to be looked up to and, eventually, promoted.

#2: Submit to a Coach

Find a mentor who can teach you soft skills. You can read books and watch videos or attend seminars, but the best option for you may be to find a mentor or coach who can teach you individually and tailor your learning to your unique situation. A mentor or coach will be faster than reading books and figuring out what to do next on your own.

#3: See Your Gifts

Most people don’t see their own value. It’s easier to admire the traits, skills, or characteristics someone else has, and wish that we possess those qualities because we don’t see them in ourselves. When you can look at yourself and see your own gifts, it gives you gratitude. Gratitude cannot coexist with fear. When you genuinely see your own value and are grateful for those gifts, you can exude confidence, elevate yourself, and eliminate some of the fears that hold you back.

#4: Select Your Team

Who will help you develop your soft skills? Maximum productivity and change happens when we are coordinating actions within a team. One key member of your team could be your coach. Other members can be people close to you like your spouse and children. Don’t forget that families are also teams. You can tap your accountability partner to help you. Your team can be anyone who is invested in your growth.

#5: Sustain Your Development

Build and maintain momentum in the previous steps. Especially if you’re looking for lifelong growth and fulfillment – and not just growth for today or the short term. Developing your soft skills is long-term development. Continuously developing yourself can lead to fulfillment and self-actualization. Continue to always go forward. Everything you do to improve yourself stacks up and compounds.

Accountability is the multiplier for success. When we set out to make improvements to ourselves and our lives, transformation is key. Information alone doesn’t transform. My coaching program, Awaken to Vocation, is an empowerment program for educated, career-driven professionals who value making a meaningful contribution as much as they value making a good living. It is designed to help you master your professional destiny, elevate your vocational confidence, and dominate your life purpose. Guard your future.

Apply HERE for an opportunity to work with me.

If you are interested in more material about career growth, communication skills, and critical thinking for career, check out my YouTube channel or connect with me on LinkedIn.

With gratitude from your #1 fan,

Grace