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The curious case of Human vs Resources
The impact of Soft Skills in Management and Performance in Organizations
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Soft skills can also be referred as
� Transversal skills
� Employability skills
� Key skills
� Core skills
� Interpersonal skills
� Transferable skills Fallows, 2002
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Some examples of Soft Skills
� Communication Skills
� Emotional Intelligence
� Team work
� Relationship-building
� Adaptability
� Friendliness
� Organization Skills
� Professionalism
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
But also… • Taking initiative • Problem solving • Showing enthusiasm • Stress tolerance • Dependability • Creative thinking and innovation • Time management • Willingness to learn
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Why are they important? � (although we kind of already discussed it…)
� Employers criticize university output as having their heads full of theories, concepts and principles but graduates are often ill-equipped to deal with real life situations
� ‘Soft skills are a lot harder to teach in the world of work‘
Wall Street Journal Article, 2002
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First Parenthesis: Competence
� Which brings us to the concept of competence � When do you say/think someone is competent?
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First Parenthesis: Competence
� Competence mostly has to do with problem solving
� It’s about using your personal abilities, traits, knowledge, network and overall resources to solve a problem that helps the organization advance in their mission
� It includes mostly mobilizing resources and a reflexive attitude (Perrenoud, 1996) � Because you don’t want to solve the same problems
over and over again in your life
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Importance • Companies are going global, and often, technical
experts are called upon to do a variety of non-technical tasks requiring soft skills
• Currently, people management skills are placed higher than strategic management skills and process management • Source: BMW Presentation made at University of Rhode Island, 2002
Effective_engineer
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Second Perenthesis: The Peter Principle
� People may evolve in their careers until the point that they are incompetent* � There is a way around this, though
� Management by competence!
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Hard Skills � “...technical expertise you need to
get the job done.”
� “...specific, teachable abilities that may be required in a given context, such as a job...”
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Soft Skills � “...a cluster of personal qualities,
habits, attitudes and social graces that make someone a good employee and compatible to work with.”
� “...skills, abilities, and traits that pertain to personality, attitude, and behavior rather than to formal or technical knowledge” (Moss and Tilly 2001, p. 44)
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Simply put � Hard Skills – how well you do your tasks, the
technical part of your job
� Soft Skills – How well you do your job as a whole, the human part of your job (including intrapersonally with stress management, self regulation, etc and interpersonally with team work feedback, etc).
As a manager/leader you should know…
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Organizational Perspective � The most important element in any organization is its
human capital.
� With the advent of globalization and the resultant competition, more and more corporations around the world are recognizing the fact that, in order to gain competitive advantage, in addition to the technical expertise, employees also required to possess `soft skills’.
� In an increasingly competitive world of business and industry, these skills are not optional but it is the skills that determine individual performance, leading to organizational excellence.
Helena Martins :: [email protected]
Organizational Perspective � Soft skills are crucial to a worker’s ability to work smarter.
Business and industry representatives have expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the general level of preparedness of prospective entry-level employees. It was found that more than half of young people leave school without the knowledge or foundation required to find and hold a good job. (Alpern, 1997)1.
� Employers have serious concerns about the non-technical abilities of graduates because this deficiency reduces their performance at work and their ability to hold a job (Wentling 1987) 3
� 87% of persons losing their jobs or failing to be promoted were found to have ‘improper work habits and attitudes’ rather than insufficient job skills or knowledge. The special focus needs to be given to reinforcing the value of being able to refine their soft skills. (Beach , 1982)4
Some food for thought
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Why are Soft Skills evermore important?
� The world is changing at a growing level
� As machines start doing a better technical job than us, it is the humanity in us that will give us competitive edge � So long “emotions are to be kept outside of the
workplace”
� Emotional Labor � Creativity and human capital at the forefront of
business sustainability mean dealing with emotions and attitudes
OK, Great. But… How do I develop Soft
Skills?
Starting with the basics…
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Emotional Intelligence � Intrapersonal vs Interpersonal level
� Self Conscience
� Self Regulation � Social Awareness
� Social Competences
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Communication Competences
� Active Listening
� Feedback (receiving and giving)
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But even more important � A positive attitude towards relationships!
� Soft Skills are transversal because you can use them in almost any context of your life (best ROI you can get!)
� Pay attention to the people around you: develop a reflexive attitude
� Proactive attitude � Figure out the things you like most about yourself and wat
you would like to improve � Find an association, volunteering, organization, etc that
does something that interests you � Bonus point for helping others! � Also great for networking
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But even more important � If you are having real troubles with this area
� Find a psychologist, coach, therapist, health professional
� There is no shame in improving yourself EVER.
To sum up
Key aspects of this class
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Key aspects � Hard Skills are important for doing your tasks, but Soft Skills
allow you to do your job and advance in your career (including getting a job)
� Soft Skills are becoming more and more important and they are pervasive to all aspects of your life (best possible ROI) � Soft Skills will determine the type of career opportunities you
get and will mostly be responsible for your professional success, believe it or not!
� Developing Soft Skills is a full time (but also quite enjoyable) job: � Pay attention to your relationships � Develop a Reflexive Attitude � Find activities to develop Soft Skills � Find a professional if you need/want
