Chapter 1 What Are Soft Skills?

WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER? • A Simple Definition • The Importance of Soft Skills in Business • Soft Skills in Practice • A Progressive Definition of Soft Skills • The Evolution of Soft Skills • Teaching Soft Skills • Soft Skills for the 21st Century • The Leader’s Connection COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL There are a lot of interpretations for the term “soft skills.” Some are even humorous. The truth is that the term is bolstered by years of research in the fields of psychology, sociology, and education, with a long history of practi- tioners past and present who promote and base their businesses on soft skills, but use a variety of other names. The reason for the expansive list of descriptors is that soft skills encompass a lot of areas, and experts are not always masterful in all of them. Just the definition is challenging, spanning the many components

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of communication, all of which would be impossible to name. For a begin- ning, we will trace the roots of soft skills briefly, and use a simple definition as a foundation. A Simple Definition “Soft skills” was a common term in the 1960s and 1970s. Students and teachers considered the term akin to human relations, interpersonal communication, and team building, all of which encompass skills that form the foundation for building relationships. A definition of soft skills from that time would encompass listening, empathy, interpersonal communication, team building, group dynamics, sensitivity to others, compassion, integrity, and honesty. In recent years, forward-thinking companies have brought soft skills back into the foreground as critical to business success and have determined that they are a major factor in the country ’s continued prominence in the global economy. How companies define these skills now exceeds previous definitions, and that is testimony to the importance that soft skills have garnered. The following synopsis takes a look at research by major corporations that recognize just how important soft skills are to the advancement of business, government, and communities.

For further history of how soft skills evolved, see the box entitled “The Evolution of Soft Skills” at the end of this chapter.

The Importance of Soft Skills in Business A 2006 report entitled “Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce” revealed that employers view “soft skills” as even more important than the three R ’s (reading, writing, and arithmetic). The study, conducted by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management, reported survey results from more than four hundred employers who rated skills on a scale of relative importance. Employers that participated included companies such as Microsoft, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Dell, Inc., Phillip Morris, State Farm, Ford, and Pearson Education.

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Table 1.1 Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills

Basic Knowledge/Skills Applied Skills

English Language (spoken) Critical Thinking/Problem Solving

Reading Comprehension Oral Communications

Writing in English (grammar, spelling) Written Communication

Mathematics Teamwork/Collaboration

Science Diversity

Government/Economics Information Technology/Application

Humanities/Art Leadership

Foreign Languages Creativity/Innovation

History/Geography Lifelong Learning/Self-Direction Professionalism/Work Ethic Ethics/Social Responsibility

Source: “Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce.” (2006). New York: The Conference Board., p. 9.

The “Ready to Work” study reviewed a variety of skills, including what was defined as “applied skills” (termed “soft skills” in the introductory presidents’ message) and “basic knowledge skills.” See Table 1.1 for the breakdown. As you can see, the types of skills that companies are looking at now reflect the changing nature of society and business, and include broad categories. Once related mostly to “personal growth,” the new soft skills have emerged as essential to business and community organizations, even more so than reading and writing, as mentioned earlier.

Why the New Emphasis on Soft Skills? The intent of the Conference Board study was not only to identify important skills, but to evaluate workforce entrants as to their capabilities in the areas determined to be most critical. This is particularly important because it raises the bar for soft skills as requirements for employment. If applicants are going to be judged on expertise in communication, teamwork, creativity, ethics, social

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responsibility, and other areas in Table 1.1 , they will be evaluated in those areas at work as well. In the overview letter from the group of presidents involved in the study, the consensus was that “far too many young people are inadequately prepared to be successful in the workplace.” Their conclusions were based on survey results that showed that over one-half of new entrants are deficient in the most important skills—oral and written communication, professionalism/work ethic, and critical thinking. Applied skills trumped basic knowledge skills as being the most important. Other research mirrors the 2006 study, including the 1991 report “What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America 2000.” In this study, conducted by the Secretary ’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, listening and speaking were pronounced “basic skills.” Their category of “interpersonal” skills includes: • Participates as a member of a team, • Teaches others, • Serves clients/customers, • Exercises leadership, • Negotiates, and • Works with cultural diversity.

Soft Skills in Practice Although communication training programs are taught in many companies and organizations, the actual practice and acceptance of expanded definitions of soft skills is not elevated to optimum potential in all industries and organizations. Customer service, a field based on soft skills, is considered by many to be the worst it has been in decades. There is definitely an opportunity for training and development. As far as executive leadership, Zenger, Folkman, and Edinger (2009) say, “Possibly because it has been so hard to define, social scientists have shied away from soft skills on the grounds that if the topic of interpersonal skills was a soft subject, this was simply over the top (p. 11).” For many trainers, Zenger is the king of soft skills curricula and programs for frontline staff and leaders. If Zenger

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admits that it is hard for executives to practice soft skills, you can bet that he has explored the difficulty of using soft skills at an executive level, where communication and workplace culture start. Similarly, in the article “Creative Leadership, Tough Times: Soft Skills Make the Difference,” John Fleenor (2003) of the Center for Creative Leadership writes that today ’s leaders are struggling to use leadership styles that will help their organizations through the transitions required of the current business environment and that “soft” leadership skills, such as trust, empathy, and communication, are confusing for executives to balance with bottom-line approaches. A Center survey mentioned in the article found that the more stress that an organization is facing, the more important a leader ’s soft skills become, and that the likelihood of managerial flaws that cause leader derail- ment included problems with interpersonal relationships, difficulty building and leading a team, and difficulty changing and adapting.

A Change in Perception Perhaps the word “soft” needs a boost of credibility. We know the “reputation” of the word: He ’s just a softie. He ’s soft on her. She ’s soft—thin skinned. Should we always be “hard”? He took a hard line. She gave the hard facts. He ’s hardcore. She came down hard. She ’s hard as nails. Because of the many perceptions of the term, “soft,” soft skills remain an enigma. This is troublesome because soft skills are evident immediately, and are almost as obvious as hair color. When you meet someone for the first time, you form an immediate impression. The impression has nothing to do with titles, whether the man or woman is a director or counselor. The impression you have is how the person chooses to communicate with you.

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A Progressive Definition of Soft Skills

Soft skills are the skills that really count. They are the skills that employers look for, that promotions are made of, and by which families thrive.

As we have seen, soft skills are hard to define, and the meaning has changed over the years with the inclusion of new competencies, such as cultural diversity. Because this book goes beyond traditional approaches, it calls for a more expansive, progressive definition and discussion of soft skills, an approach that is more appropriate for today’s socially networked workforce. To change the perception of soft being “less,” and to demystify the term, we will use the following definition from here on to more amply describe soft skills in terms of competencies and the categories that progressive companies recognize.

Soft skills are interpersonal skills that demonstrate a person’s ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with others in one-on-one interactions as well as in groups and teams. Skills include listening and responding in a receptive way to others’ points of view; cooperation, and the ability to be fl exible and take positive action in situations that require understanding of the circumstance, environment, and the culture of the person, organization, team, or family in which specifi c interactions occur. The practice of soft skills aids in communication and promotes problem solving, negotiation, confl ict resolution, and team building.

As the touchstone for the discussions that follow, this progressive definition forms the foundation for subsequent chapters as well as suggested examples, activities, and tools that you may use to incorporate learning into your profes- sional development plan and perhaps your personal life.

Questions

• What soft skills do you practice and consider strengths? • What would you like to improve? • Who is someone that you admire for his or her ability to excel in soft skills?

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• If you have received soft skills or communication training, what was most helpful? • What soft skills would you like to see your colleagues practice?

Tips

• Listen more than you speak. • Keep an open mind. • Reinforce others. • Embrace diversity. • Be positively proactive.

The Evolution of Soft Skills The humanistic education movement was predicated on human potential and a value system that included self-knowledge as paramount to human growth and development. Soft skills in the 1960s and 1970s were taught in progressive universities, colleges, and community colleges and were the subject of workshops all over the country. At the University of Massachusetts School of Education, one of the most progressive learning entities at the time, courses in sensitivity training, group dynamics, and “Education of the Self (Ed Self)” were part of the curriculum. Classes were suspended at regular intervals in favor of modular credit workshop weeks offering an array of communication seminars. The “School of Ed,” home to such faculty greats as Ken Blanchard, Sidney Simon, and Gerald Weinstein, was a haven for enlightenment about Rogerian (Carl Rogers) listening techniques and Gestalt therapy (Fritz Perls). Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, gave workshops close to the campus. The movement encouraged people to examine their own motives, behaviors, patterns, values, beliefs, and attitudes. Topics that were traditionally ignored in academia rose to an elevated status, such as racism, religion, culture, sexism, and whatever emerged from students’ personal histories. Feelings were not only accepted, but they were considered crucial for understanding every type of human interaction and for responding with empathy. The humanistic education movement challenged the status quo of sweeping feelings under the rug and embraced the learning that ensued from personal discovery.

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Who Got It? Those who were in classes and workshops had varied responses to learning and practicing self-disclosure and interpersonal skills. Faculty, staff, and community were divided as well. Students who “got it” were those who had positive self-esteem and could reflect on their own actions without self-incrimination or judgment—more as observers, intent on improving knowledge of their own inten- tions and responses. This also required “out of the box” thinking and suspension of judgment for the purpose of hearing the thoughts and concerns of others and practicing positive regard. People who were threatened or unaware of the educational principles involved in humanistic education referred to such teaching as “touchie- feelie.” In that way, valuable realizations and practices could be dismissed without the naysayers having to show any type of expertise in the practice of soft skills. Teaching Soft Skills Experiences in the form of structured activities were the mainstay of personal growth sessions, rather than lectures. Leadership courses were a natural expan- sion of the practice of human relations skills and allowed participants to look at how their behavior affected other people and how their values influenced their decisions. Types of experiential activities that allowed people to work at developing relationship skills are included in the final section of this chapter. After knowing oneself, the next set of humanistic education skills involved learning about and facilitating teams. Traditional group dynamics included sensitivity groups (“T” groups). The Esalen Institute was the most well-known organization that taught alternative education and sensitivity training. Founded in 1962, Esalen explored “human potentialities,” a term coined by Aldous Huxley (Ander- son, 2004). Many Esalen staff members and guest lecturers came up with their own theories and became (or already were) famous on their own accord; these included Deepak Chopra, R.D. Laing, Abraham Maslow, Rollo May, Dean Ornish, Ida Rolf, Paul Tillich, and Arnold Toynbee, to name a few. Folk singers and musi- cians who lectured and performed at Esalen included such favorites as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Jim Messina, John Sebastian, Ravi Shankar, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and individual members of The Beatles. In the outside world, peace and love were embraced by at least part of the boomer generation (underlying messages of which were depicted in the long- running musical, and now period play, Hair!), and soft skills were considered essential for a worthy life. At the same time, students were protesting about war

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and the military-industrial complex, as well as the relevance of college courses to life in general. Richard Nixon, then President, was disturbed that the universities would become a sanctuary for radicals, and professors were blamed for not being able to figure out what relevance meant. Gerald Weinstein, the initiator of the Education of the Self course at the University of Massachusetts, was a mentor to humanistic education faculty nation- wide. “Ed Self” addressed various areas of personal growth within a framework of discovery and choice. Sid Simon, author of many books on values clarification, contributed to and taught the course as well. Dr. Simon also taught a host of other courses across the country that spread humanistic education to anyone interested in developing his or her communication skills. Soft Skills for the 21st Century Fast forward to the first quarter of the 21st Century, and the field of training and development abounds with the very same soft skills to learn, improve, and practice. You can find an infinite number of activities in books for trainers and consultants. Most companies that create training programs for supervisors have something like “The Supervisor as Self” as the first part of a series or have similar modules emphasizing the importance of knowing yourself before you supervise others. These include personality type, learning style, values, and leadership style. After one examines oneself, the next level of learning is team dynamics.

Team Training Approaches Since the 1960s, we have seen all kinds of training for team building transpire: ropes courses where people do physical tasks with team member support; con- structing toy cars, real bikes, and creating structures from newspaper, cardboard, pipe cleaners, Popsicle sticks, and whatever exists in the surrounding area. We have seen teams protect eggs with straws and drop the eggs off roofs to see whether the eggs have been properly nurtured by the team. In all these types of activities, “processing,” that is, talking about what happened, how it happened, and how the people on the team felt is the most important learning that takes place. Many other types of team activities analyze the make-up of the team and use the expertise of facilitators and consultants to “unstick” the team and move on to more productive work. Quality teams have evolved from quality circles to Six Sigma to non-linear creative problem-solving teams. Since teams are such a large part of our work lives, their failure or success is crucial to business.

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The Leader’s Connection Staff members look at a leader ’s soft skills first, whereas leaders sometimes think that how much they accomplish determines their success. This is true, of course, but how a leader treats people is really the road to accomplishment. Although much of motivation comes from within, it also comes from being valued by others. The most well-respected people in an organization are those who listen, respond with encouragement, allow free thought and meaningful discussion, and bring people together. In order to do that, soft skills are essential. Kouzes and Posner, in The Leadership Challenge (2007), say that it’s a job of a leader to create an environment of passion and pride. Performance will be the natural result. To build a cohesive and collaborative team, developing trust is a must, and trust comes from the simple acts of treating people with respect and fos- tering positive relationships. From the trust that the leader builds, a healthy team learns to trust and value all of its members. From that comes excitement in collaborative work and enthusiasm in continuing to work together toward common goals. Leaders sometimes are unaware of the profound effect that they have on the people within an organization. A small slight may be blown out of proportion. An outright attack at a team meeting can hinder the whole team. (If it happens to one, it can happen to another.) People learn to be silent. They do not do their best. Their motivation diminishes. They may still produce what is necessary, but not what they could contribute if allowed, respected, and encouraged. Soft skills are often difficult for leaders because they think they are unnecessary. They may think: “People get paid to do their jobs. Why should I thank them?” This is the hard line. It has no soft skill about it—no appreciation. On the other hand, leaders who use soft skills, and recognize the talent within their organizations, enlist people to use their strengths, and appreciate them for it. These sage leaders succeed in engaging their workforces and experience optimum results. If employers are looking for new people in the workforce to be adept at soft skills, employers need to have the skills themselves, model the skills, support training of those skills, and consider soft skills just as important as “hard” skills. Onward to a new era in understanding.

Questions

• What are some of the soft skills you reinforce in your team members? • How do you appreciate contributions to team goals?

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• In what ways do you demonstrate that you trust your team members? • What are the types of soft skills you use? • What types of soft-skill training do you offer?

Tips

• Take the time to listen to people who seek you out. Consider it an investment. • Encourage opinions other than your own. • Probe for understanding before you respond. • Appreciate your staff regularly. • Provide courses and coaching in soft skills.

ABOUT THE NEXT CHAPTER The next chapter examines motives that promote or inhibit people from practicing soft skills. Behind every action is a thought, feeling, or both. The practice of soft skills includes a close examination of motivation.

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