It’s really hard mastering soft skills.
The reason being because there are so many of them and as many different ways again of using or applying them. Now more than ever, soft skills are being heralded as one of the most important factors in accelerating our careers and most valued by employers. In 2018, LinkedIn listed leadership, communication, collaboration and time management as the top four most in-demand soft skills. Hot of the press today, HRD (Human Resources Director) US states that:
“Smart employers desire and value these skills because they are integral for team cohesion and productivity.” (1)
Soft skills, as I have discovered both personally and professionally, have meant the difference between fight or flight. But the 'fight' didn’t come easily. I spent months working on my self-confidence, in a job that I was highly qualified for as well as being very experienced at and the strategies that I used to build my skills had nothing to do with the job I had been employed to do.
If these skills are so important then surely we need to devote more time to developing them?
OK, so how do we do that? Well, let’s look at what they are first.
If you research ‘soft skills’ , you will discover that these range from ‘having a positive attitude’ to ‘being able to negotiate and resolve conflict’, ‘working under pressure’ and ‘being decisive’, ‘solving problems’ and ‘being creative’, ‘effectively communicating ideas’ and ‘being empathic’…the list is endless and quite frankly, I don't think I know anyone who has completely cracked it!
I do believe however, that the more self-aware we are, the better we are at identifying what our strengths are and where we need to develop.
Will we ever know that we have acquired those skills? Yes and No!
Again, from past experience I know that it really depends on the situation, but the more we exercise the particular skill that we are working on, the better we get at adapting.
The ATYLA Foundation define it quite succinctly and also offer up a great suggestion;
“Soft skills are those which are difficult to measure, yet are necessary for living a good life. Soft skills include a mix of social skills, interpersonal communication, know-how, and character traits that help one in their social and professional lives. They differ from hard skills in that they cannot be taught in a holistic way… it needs to be an experience. Professionals within all walks of life value soft skills because they are signifiers of well-rounded and virtuous people.” (2)
“it needs to be an experience.”
...Cue the drama teacher who has created a business idea which can play a crucial role in developing the following soft skills:
Communication
Self-motivation
Leadership
Responsibility
Team work
Problem solving
Decisiveness
Ability to work under pressure and time management
Flexibility
Negotiation and conflict resolution
Quest Challenges is a team building experience with a dramatic difference.
A 'Quest' poses a dilemma to the participants and within the setting of a narrative they form teams which operate in competition with each other to be the heroes of the story. Within a specified time frame, they must work together to find the characters from the story, elicit vital information and solve creative, logical and physical problems along the way. By taking the participants back in time to a historically relevant moment that connects them to the location allows more immersion into the experience and an opportunity for much clearer self-reflection afterwards.
The challenges can be designed to meet the specific needs of a team and are best experienced away from the workplace in a natural setting; being in nature is calming and removed from ‘work’ (unless you work outdoors of course!) which allows for a better learning event.
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