We all know or work with people who can be difficult to deal with, and even talk to, and we all know or work with other people who are a joy to be around and who make the working day a little brighter.
Some of those difficult people will be highly competent in their field; their technical knowledge will be deeper than most – and they will know it.
But is technical competence enough? Do organisations need only that in order to thrive, or are soft skills (like communication, teamwork and leadership) equally important? A recent report from Harvard Business Review concludes that soft skills help workers reach the highest levels of professional attainment.
The report notes: ‘Put simply, as technical complexity rises, the glue that keeps talent productive is social skill – communication, empathy, conflict resolution and the ability to coordinate diverse expertise.’
Soft skills, then, are those personal attributes, traits and abilities that determine how you interact and work with others – helping you to navigate the complexities and challenges of the workplace, like difficult personalities, conflict and shifting priorities. They are vital for effective collaboration and are, unsurprisingly, highly valued by employers.
In this article we look at how organisations are embracing new technologies, such as VR and AI, to help develop those soft skills; and we highlight the issues faced by the medicines manufacturing sector to illustrate the importance of soft skills in life sciences.
Read the article in full here.