Are soft skills hard skills for you?
Yes I know the term soft skills sounds so, well, limp.
Soft skills are the skills that enable us to effectively get along well with other people.
The top of mind essentials to note are:
- communication
- adaptability
- stress management
- teamwork
- organizational
- problem solving
- decision making
- time management
- critical thinking
Now when I read through what I just typed in this list, it has business, career and work written all over it.
Soft skills are sometimes over looked by hard driven type A’s in their personal lives and personal relationships so take a deep breath my friends, this list of essentials to note in your personal life is for you:
- attentive and patient
- make good eye contact
- take the time to process what you heard before you respond
- ask probing questions in a conversational way
- do not interrupt
- servanthood and humility
- communication
Neither of these lists include every skill and attribute in the soft skills lane, however, you get the meaning and understanding.
These are essential skills for a successful career and life.
Stay with me for a brief exercise so you’ll have a real world take-away for you.
Create three columns. In the first column make a list of three (or more) names of people who you really want to and should have a better relationship with. These might be business interactions or personal relationships all in one list. If you have more than ten names – stop! – that’s enough for now.
In the second column, on the same line as the name, write the things you wish they would change about them so you would both get along better. Write down specific items here as many as you want.
Now when you have this completed for the whole list go to the third column. Here along the same line per name write down what you will change about you to make the relationship between you both better.
Write down the specific items you will be willing to change.
You may notice you are either taking a lot longer to write anything in this column or nothing at all.
Here is the fact about this exercise.
We, you and me or anyone else, we are very willing to recognize how much others need to change and what they need to change so that we may have a better relationship. However, we are not as fast to recognize where we should change and further where we are willing to change to make these relationships better.
Here is another fact – the one consistent item in the three columns you wrote out – is you.
Each person has a relationship with you that should be better, a better relationship. The one single consistent item is you. So if you start by making the changes necessary in you what do you think might happen in each of these relationships?
Give this your consideration and effort and you will be rewarded.
Enjoy and cherish each of those relationships.
Wenkroy International LLC is a boutique consulting company with a main purpose of helping entrepreneurs and business people create the strategy, the plan and the steps necessary to achieve that person’s vision for their business and often their life, while navigating the obstacles which may be blocking them from reaching their goals. The process may involve one on one coaching, advising, laser focus days, personal growth workshops and more. The process is utilized for individuals, teams, divisions and across entire companies. People are now able to focus on what matters most to them, because, they have clarity on where they are heading.
You may be interested to know:
Do you know I’m interviewing stroke survivors, their spouse or partner as well? The purpose is to compile these stories in order to share the information with others. The stories will inspire others, help them with tips for handling what they are going through now and what they may face in the future. It may even become a go to resource for stroke survivors and their families. Here’s the link if that’s you or pass on to someone you know.
https://mitchtublin.com/survivors
As always share the information in this article with people you know.
