The Importance Of Soft Skills In Managing Change
Business in the 21st century is all about managing and adapting to change. The business you are running or working in today will look and feel quite different to the business you are in 2 – 5 years hence. Over the past 10 years I have been working with managers and executives in large companies and organisations to implement change. During this time I can count on one hand those managers or execs that I can say: “yes, you have got it” and who I would willingly follow when the time came to go over the top of the trench. It isn’t that they have an x-factor (a term which is now just a commodity), it is the fact that as managers, leaders and people, they are ‘complete’ – not only do they have a good set of the ‘hard skills’ it takes to get ahead in business but they have a complete set of the ‘soft skills’ that it takes to be a true leader. In particular they have locked down the ability to show empathy and demonstrate integrity. Change is about taking your key business assets, i.e. your people with you on the journey, whether that is onward to the next phase in the organisation’s life or to the next phase in their lives outside the organisation. Always treat people as adults, show empathy and lead with integrity
What I like about ‘The Advantage’ is that it is a business book written with integrity. It isn’t just theory but tried and tested. The author has applied the 7 soft skills of adaptability, critical thinking, empathy, integrity, optimism, resilience and being proactive to her own life and experienced the results. The book itself is an easy read packed with relevant examples and practical applications. If you want to take your business career (and life in general) to the next level in a period of heightened competition and constant change then developing key ‘soft skills’ and adding them to your overall skillset will give you that competitive advantage.
The Advantage by Emma-Sue Prince is available HERE on Amazon