Soft Skills Pay The Bills

Did you know this title is a government funded course directed at the youth workforce? 🤯

But that’s not why I chose the topic.

Take for instance, emotional intelligence (EQ) is 2x’s as important to distinguish top performers from average ones and 4x’s in senior roles.

That means the value of soft skills increases as you advance in your career ⬆️ (regardless the industry).

Executives, here is the ROI on soft skills:

It benefits you to improve your soft skills.

If you think about it even entry-level roles deal directly with customers.

(And if you’ve been to a service-based business lately you’ll notice the customer service from employees is LACKING.)

Since early in my career I’ve always been focused on turning a perceived disadvantage into an advantage.

For example, when I started my own business I knew I wouldn’t be taken serious while pitching because of my age.

• So I addressed that “elephant in the room” within the first 5 minutes of my presentation.

• I knew responding to FAQ’s quickly would bolster my credibility (and hopefully buy me more time)

• Lastly, building rapport through empathy and non-verbal communication was key to moving forward.

High paying roles such as: data scientist, management consultant and software developer lean on hard skills initially, but to climb the ranks soft skills are required.

Here’s my advice, start valuing soft skills early in your career (if you’re further along now is a great time to start!)

Articles, videos and certifications are not enough.

Practice yields results.

If you’re not ready to practice your soft skills in work settings such as communication, leadership, empathy, etc, then role-play with co-workers or friends before it matters.

Exercise that “muscle” before it actually counts.

That’s why in most of my talks, I try to demonstrate soft skills like active listening because we learn more from observing then doing, than hearing alone.

So now you know soft skills are directly tied to your salary so it’s time to make them a priority in your career!

If you’re interested in a talk like this or a workshop to help teach soft skills to your people, reply to this email and let’s set it up before the situation gets worse.

God Bless,

Scott