Soft skills in business: why are they important?

Soft skills such as collaboration, leadership and problem solving are grounded in our personalities. They form the basis of who we are and how we interact with others and situations, and while they are formed by our experiences and character, they can be trained.

Looking purely at professional life, what roles do soft skills play in the workplace and why are they important? Whether you want to understand which of your team’s skills require investment or better gear your soft skills for the business world, this guide will help you understand the impact of soft skills in business.

What are soft skills in the workplace?

Many soft skills can be applied to the workplace. By developing them, teams are more productive and efficient, and the end result is better teamwork and a more conducive working environment. Here are some of the soft skills that build such successful workplaces.

• Responsibility – Allowing staff to take ownership of their work, its quality and impact.
• Confidence – Confident teams are more willing to share and challenge ideas, improving quality control and hastening innovation.
• Leadership – Strong leadership provides the direction and boundaries teams need to succeed.
• Problem solving – Crucial to overcoming business and customer challenges.
• Collaboration – When employees work together, harmoniously, less time and fewer resources are spent on resolving conflicts.
• Flexibility – Allowing employees to adapt to new situations, responsibilities and roles.
• Emotional intelligence – As well as impacting how well you get on with colleagues, emotional intelligence is key to resolving conflicts.
• Stress management – Workplaces can be stressful at times, and understanding how to cope with that stress can be instrumental in creating happy, cohesive teams.
• Storytelling – This soft skill is useful when pitching ideas to colleagues and superiors, and is key to disciplines built on persuasion, such as sales and marketing.