The job market today is highly competitive, the need to possess the right technical skills is no longer enough to succeed in the workplace because employers are increasingly looking for candidates who possess a variety of soft skills, that are mostly considered as important as technical skills.
Soft skills are basically the personal attributes that give various individuals the ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and adapt to changing situations in the workplace.
Professionals also need to dedicate themselves to learning not only the hard skills but also skills that will yield the greatest benefit in their personal and professional lives, as these skills give you the ability to improve yourself and do things in the future that are beyond your current possibilities which will, in turn, come out rewarding and fulfilling.
Here are the nine skills that deliver the biggest payoff, in one’s personal life and the workplace.
Emotional intelligence (EQ)
EQ affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. EQ is the capacity to comprehend and identify emotions in both yourself and others, as well as the capacity to use this understanding to control your conduct and interpersonal interactions.
According to research, EQ is the key characteristic that separates top performers from the competition. It has great effects and is a potent technique to concentrate your energies in one direction. 90% of best performers, according to research, have high EQ. On the other hand, just 20% of the lowest performers have high EQ.
Time management
Every day of your life, being able to manage your time properly gives you the freedom to perform at your very best.
The tendency to do the less important things that need to be done right now gets in the way of what really matters and is one of the major obstacles to good time management. When you give in to it, you waste all of your time putting out flames and never complete any serious work. Sometimes you can finish a day’s job just to discover that you didn’t advance the crucial issues even the slightest bit.
Listening
True listening entails concentrating entirely on what the other person is saying. It is about comprehension, not rebuttal or contribution.
We frequently believe we are listening when, in fact, we are anticipating what we will say next. One of the most important skills you can learn is the ability to suspend judgment and focus on absorbing the other person’s contribution. At work, we interact in order to provide feedback, explain directions, and discuss deadlines. Beyond the uttered words, tone of voice, body language, and what isn’t spoken can all provide vital information.
The ability to say ‘No’
Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, showed that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people.
No is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as I don’t think I can or I’m not certain. Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. When you learn to say no, you free yourself from unnecessary constraints and free up your time and energy for the important things in life.
Asking for help
It might seem counterintuitive to suggest that asking for help is a skill, but it is. Admitting that you need help requires a great deal of humility and confidence. This ability is essential since the last thing a manager wants are workers who continually make mistakes at work because they are too ashamed or arrogant to admit they need help. Knowing when you need help, having the guts to ask for it, and then acting on that aid are all incredibly crucial abilities.
Getting high-quality sleep
Learning to sleep well on a consistent basis is a difficult ability to learn, but it yields huge returns the next day.
Quality sleep is good for your brain, and studies suggest that while you sleep, your brain removes harmful proteins from its neurons, which are byproducts of neural activity when you’re awake. Your brain can only effectively eliminate these dangerous proteins if you get enough quality sleep.
When you don’t get enough deep sleep, harmful proteins build up in your brain cells, wreaking havoc and eventually hurting your ability to think, which no amount of caffeine will solve. This reduces your ability to digest information and solve issues, eliminates creativity, and raises emotional sensitivity.
Knowing when to be silent
In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you fight the kind of battle that can leave you and the relationship severely damaged. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right. The vast majority of the time, that means keeping quiet. This is an important skill at work.
Taking the initiative
The ability to take initiative will lead you far in life. In principle, taking initiative is simple because the urge to act is always present, but in practice, various factors interfere. There is a significant difference between knowing what to do and being too afraid or lazy to accomplish it which necessitates initiative. Hence, you must take risks and step outside of your comfort zone until taking initiative becomes second nature.
Staying positive
When positivity appears to be nothing more than wishful thinking, it’s difficult to find the drive to focus on the good. The true impediment to positivity is that our brains are hardwired to seek out and focus on threats.
Maintaining positivity is a daily challenge that necessitates concentration and attention. If you want to counteract the brain’s predisposition to focus on threats, you must be intentional about keeping positive.
