Soft Skills: Your Competitive Advantage

Being competitive in the workplace means being more ‘work ready’ than your peers and competition.

So what does that actually look like?

• Networking

• Professionalism

• Communication Skills

But let’s focus on one skill that gets overlooked: problem solving/critical thinking.

Supervisors will say, “Don’t bring me problems unless you’re ready to propose a solution.”

Although that may cause you to shy away, here is the biggest insight behind that phrase:

People who come prepared with strategies will be valued more.

Like it or not, it’s the truth.

The last thing managers or executives want to spend their time and energy on is hearing complaints.

That doesn’t mean open sharing isn’t important, but accompany your concerns with a suggested action plan.

1. Taking initiative shows leadership ability.

2. Planning next steps means you’ve thought about a resolution.

3. Strategic thinking demonstrates organizational alignment and care.

Too often workers exemplify a “me first” work ethic.

The problem is when all you care about is yourself, the company suffers.

I’ll be the first to say not everyone is cut out to be a leader…

But anyone can learn leadership skills.

When it comes to problem solving as a soft skill, remember to think one move ahead.

Critical thinking does the research before asking someone else to answer the question.

One of the reasons why people get promoted is because they don’t ask permission to do something.

(Assuming they understand the cultural norms), they take action while others wait around.

This is a skill that leaders with or without a title can act upon.

One of my favorite “games” to play at work that illustrates this point is to: build a better mousetrap.

Essentially that’s evaluating how a system works and figure out ways to improve it.

Take for instance a company that sells car parts.

• What are the best selling products?

• Who is the target market?

• What sales trends/opportunities can we explore further?

Simply, starting by answering those questions gets the critical thinking process going.

If you’re currently in leadership, this is a skill you should already be using (maybe it’s why you were elevated).

If you want to be recognized for a leadership role, learning how to problem solve is a great way to stand out.

What you’ll find in your career is (soft) skills that are valued in the workplace are rarely taught.

Learning them yourself or asking a mentor to teach you in the way to go.

With the companies I’ve consulted for, it’s a matter of identifying needs and offering the training that fills the skill gaps.

I challenge you to start looking at ways to stand out in your career by acquiring and mastering skills that set you apart, like problem solving/critical thinking.

Prioritize the real world skills that actually translate towards career advancement.

I can help your company out if you reach out here.

God Bless,

Scott

If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

• 🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)

• 🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)

• 🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!