Soft skills can be viewed as more important than technical expertise. Some of these skills are tagged as communication, empathy, facilitation, negotiation, leadership, collaborations, time management, etc. While there is a nuanced balance that takes time to learn how to use technical skills with your soft skillset, some have natural soft skills and others lack them entirely. 

CNBC interviewed LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on the top skills that Americans lack, and he found that “interpersonal skills” is where the American workforce sees the most significant imbalance, with “communication as the number one skill gap.” 

And this skill gap happens because soft skills are harder to master than technical skills. 

Both Are Needed

Technical skills are skills that are learned (or taught). These skills can be learned from college classes to workshops about topics like analyzing economics to strategic planning and everything in between.

Soft skills come from an interpersonal space and can be natural to some but cultivated in all. It takes some time to find the right way to communicate or collaborate with people on a team, but eventually you can find the right formula if you continue to nurture and grow them. These qualities will expand with self-awareness, empathy, and humility. 

And that is where emotional intelligence comes in. 

Emotional Intelligence 

There is a lot to say about emotional intelligence. Author Daniel Goleman and his book Emotional Intelligence at Work discusses hard data and research on why emotional intelligence is such a useful tool to have. 

• Daniel researched over 200 companies worldwide and found that emotional intelligence was twice as relevant when distinguishing the top performers in an organization. In senior positions, he found it was four times more valuable. 
• A survey of 500 executives found emotional intelligence to be more of a predictor of success than experience or IQ. 
• With IQ and technical levels, you can have a similarity. Emotional intelligence can be a precursor that accounts for 90% of career success.

One thing to remember is that emotional intelligence can be learned. While it doesn’t mean the skillset is easy to build, it does mean that with self-evaluation and breaking old habits, you can make newer, healthier ones that will help you climb your career ladder.

How to Build Your Soft Skills

When you build your soft skills, you must be willing to look at yourself, your habits, and your tendencies. This self-evaluation means putting your ego aside and understanding yourself. Some questions you can ask yourself are: 

• What situations cause our defenses to perk up? 
• Are you listening, or are you waiting for your turn to speak?  
• What do you do best to bring positive results? 
• How do you inspire others? 

You will also need to have an awareness of your mind and body. When are you stressed? What experiences scare you? How do you handle anxiety? It is essential to check in with yourself and connect to your feelings sporadically to make sure you understand how your feelings react to certain situations. Make sure to check in with yourself throughout the day. Even if the situation seems small, understanding resting emotions can help prepare you for larger events. 

While this practice can appear to be self-serving, knowing why you react the way you do when you do it can give you a better insight into how you work in teams, deal with your family, and act in intense situations. There is a lot to be said to having an acute awareness of your emotional intelligence. 

Resources: CNBC, Forbes, Industry Connect, Mind Tools,