Soft Skills: What They Are And How They Are Learned
In terms of soft skills, we find a combination of social skills, communication skills, the way of being and approaching others, among others. In this sense, soft skills make it possible for a particular person to relate and communicate in a more or less intelligent way. It is, therefore, a highly appreciated component today, as it enables the smooth functioning of institutions and work teams.
Following this idea, there are many companies in the world that put their eyes on professionals capable of developing their soft skills in parallel with their studies. This makes them much more interesting candidates for any work team: it is assumed that they, thanks to these skills, have a good aptitude for communication and empathy.
The importance of soft skills in the professional environment
Currently, most companies have started to consider other characteristics of the workers they seek, in addition to their education or experience. We talk about social skills, communication and teamwork. These factors can be decisive in a selection process, determining the choice of one or another candidate.
That’s where soft skills come in, which will allow us to present ourselves as very interesting candidates for a particular position in a job interview. If you work and develop them, you will have a huge advantage over other candidates.
Soft skills most valued in the work environment
In addition to academic preparation, these are some of the most valued soft skills in the selection process for a job opportunity:
- Autonomy
- Leadership
- Coherence
- Integrity
- Ability to pay attention and listen
- self-regulation
- Interest
- Curiosity
- Authenticity
- Personal and social responsibility
- Ability to reflect
- Proactivity
- Passion
- intrinsic motivation
- divergent logic
- Humility
- continuous learning
- Empathy
- Synthesis and argumentation ability
- Time management
- Confidence
How to develop soft skills?
The process of learning soft skills, or their development, goes through four phases:
unconscious incompetence phase
Firstly, the soft skills development process starts at a stage where we don’t know that these skills exist. They are part of many of the results we get, but we don’t care about them because we don’t identify them as important.
conscious incompetence phase
The second step starts when we realize that we don’t have any skills. At this stage, we make the decision to move forward with learning and the first problems start to emerge. Therefore, this phase will require all our conscious attention.
Conscious Competence Phase
This third phase of developing our soft skills will be where we will begin to be aware of what we are learning. As we acquire a competency, we can gain confidence in ourselves and strengthen that ability more and more.
unconscious competence phase
Finally, we reach the stage of unconscious competence. This moment is reached when the skill in question becomes so integrated in us that it has become part of our personal characteristic, impregnating our manifestations and making them better in terms of adapting to the environment.
When competence is incorporated into the unconscious, its application appears almost instinctively, almost without thinking. In fact, others may think it’s an innate ability.
In short, like many other skills, our performance with them improves with practice. In everyday life, theoretical and academic knowledge is not enough; we need to put into practice what we know, especially when it comes to social skills.
Finally, we must not forget that the improvements we have achieved are nothing more – nor less – than the result of a learning process. Perhaps genetics, in this sense, has given us some better or worse traits, but it is we who are on a mission to develop them and create our own basket of social skills.
