Emotional intelligence and soft skills are increasingly important. These skills will inspire your team to achieve its revenue goals.
Companies tend to ignore soft skills and instead focus on hard skills. The trend will only increase with the global pandemic in March and the forced shift to work-at-home from brick-and-mortar.
LinkedIn’s top 5 soft skills were creativity and persuasion. I love to give lectures on soft skills to executives and include three more — time management, storytelling, and cultural awareness.
Your competitive edge will be gained by understanding each skill and how you can enhance them.
1. Creativity
You can get new ideas for any business by looking to other industries or countries. What are their ideas that could work in your industry? You can brainstorm with small groups to avoid conflicts and create a list. Then, present your ideas to the group. Anything goes, even crazy ideas.
2. Persuasion
Many people agree that Robert Cialdini (author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion) is the right person to help them understand persuasion. His book covers the six universal Principles of Persuasion: consensus, reciprocity, scarcity, and authority.
We must remember that these skills should not be misused. Jeffery Gitomer, a sales consultant, states that people don’t like to sell, but they love buying.” This is why we should consider Aristotle’s wisdom when applying these principles. He said, “Character might almost be the most effective way of persuasion.”
3. Collaboration
Collaboration is a way to elevate teamwork to a whole other level. It allows people with different skills and perspectives to collaborate on a project, often without a leader. This soft skill is essential for organizations that can communicate effectively. All communication avenues must be available.
4. Adaptability
This skill of the 21 years has to be. It is changing at breakneck speed. It is impossible to predict what the future holds for us in just a few more years. The future of business will be changed by VR, Augmented Reality, and other technologies. Companies need to stay current with the latest technologies instead of waiting until they become mainstream. Learning curves are low when you start early.
5. Emotional-Intelligence
Emotional-intelligence (EI) is defined as “the ability to control and express one’s emotions and to manage interpersonal relationships judiciously, empathetically, and effectively.” Those with high EQ can handle high-pressure situations and conflict resolution. This ability is very desirable for teams, especially those with different backgrounds.
CareerBuilder found that 75% believed EQ was more important than IQ in a survey of hiring managers. EQ requires more understanding and time to learn than intelligence.
6. Self-Motivation
Entrepreneurs must manage to overwhelm. It’s the modern world. Self-motivation is key. Everyone must learn how to manage their energy. Energy does not come from a healthy diet. It also comes from our drive to be successful, resilience and commitment.
Your mindset is directly related to your drive to succeed. Research reveals that people with a growth mindset are much more likely to grow at what they do because they believe they could improve.
The ability to persevere in the face of difficult situations is what gives rise to resilience. We should not be reckless in our choices. Instead, we should learn to manage risk to identify the best opportunities for us and decide when to outsource them or leave them alone.
The best way to get anecdotal evidence of our importance and progress is through commitment. This is the essence of goal-setting.
7. Time Management
People’s time use is directly tied to their ability to perform well. Although most entrepreneurs already work hard, the key to success is their ability and willingness to execute the 3Ps (plan, prioritization, performance).
Plan – Best-selling author Brian Tracy describes the importance of planning, saying, “Every minute that you spend planning saves 10 minutes; this gives you a 1,000 percent Return On Energy!”
Prioritization means simply understanding how to use your resources best. Stephen Covey describes the four quadrants that break down tasks into urgency and importance. He continues to say that the key is to be focused on important but not urgent tasks.
Performance This is where the rubber meets. Gary Vaynerchuk states, “Execution is the game.” Without this, any plan can fail.
8. Storytelling
Jim Rohn, an American business philosopher, often talked about Demosthenes and Cicero as examples of great storytelling. “It is said the public was awed by Cicero’s words and would shout, “What an amazing speech!” Demosthenes’ speech was met with a resounding ovation from the crowd. “Let us march!” Storytellers are distinguished by their ability to inspire people to take action. They can reach deep within us to touch our souls.
How can storytelling be improved? Toastmasters can help you create powerful speeches.
Erin Meyer, an writer of The Culture Map, says it like this: “Millions” of people work globally while viewing all things from their cultural perspectives. This assumes that all disagreements, controversy, and misunderstandings are rooted in one’s personality. This is not due to laziness. Many well-intentioned people fail to learn about cultural differences. They believe that if they concentrate on individual differences, it will suffice.”
