JohnSo first, what are soft skills? The first line in Wikipedia defines it as “Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) among others that enable people to effectively navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills.” I simply define it as being able to communicate or do things with others without that awkward feeling about any topic.
So why is it important? Success. If you talk with anyone that is successful, I bet you they will tell you having soft skills is important (especially in the IT world). They will also probably not directly tell you why or how, you just have to listen and pick up from their experiences. It can take on different forms such as “I went golfing with my boss the other day…“, “Talked to my manager about who was better between Lebron and Jordan…“, or even “Had a beer with my co-worker…“. All three of these examples are some way of one utilizing their soft skills. Now, I say that it is important to have this skill because it can help you excel in your life and career to become successful. When you are able to create this type of relationship and break that “just an employee” barrier, it can open numerous opportunities. These opportunities can be in any area – work related or not. For example, if this boss knows you well, don’t you think he’d think of you for that new position that is going to open?
You see, you end up taking this tiny space in the back of their mind that may remind them of something that could lead to supreme opportunities; like they make some crazy connection between you and this other “thing“. If you work this skill well enough, it can also lead to someone in the ranks to give you help when needed; like having a get out of free jail card or something. I know these are all vague reasons, but just think about all the opportunities or things you are missing out on by just shutting everyone out and strictly keeping everything to work?
I am also not saying go be-friend them, just have that casual non-work communication going to show others you aren’t a robot. This is also not by any means or considered “kissing ass“, that’s an entire different topic. Anyway, that’s my two cents on the importance of soft skills. Be vigilant of how successful people act or connect with others, work on your soft skills and stop being a robot, and work those skills to help you get ahead in life.