Why Soft Skills are Hard

06
Oct 2022
643
A woman is biting a pencil while looking at a laptop computer.

Author:  Shawn Bakker

During a recent webinar, I asked participants to share words that describe the best and worst leader that they ever worked with. Here were the most frequent responses:

What words would you use to describe the BEST leader?

  • Authentic
  • Empowering
  • Encouraging
  • Good listener
  • Invested in others
  • Supportive
  • Visionary

What words would you use to describe the WORST leader?

  • Autocratic and controlling
  • Critical
  • Micromanager
  • Narrow-minded
  • Poor communicator
  • Self-centered

The vast majority of the words relate to soft skills – the character traits and interpersonal skills that influence how a person works with and relates to others. When people think of the best leaders they have worked for, they begin listing soft skills. For the worst leaders, we get descriptions of people lacking soft skills. Technical capabilities and knowledge are rarely mentioned when I take people through this exercise.

This doesn’t mean that “hard-skills” are not important. Technical knowledge and skills are base requirements to be successful at work. Yet in most roles, true effectiveness comes from being able to work effectively with others. This is reflected in the competency models of most professions. Even a quick review of the CPHR General Competencies shows that out of the twelve competencies, 8 are soft skills, and only 4 are technical/knowledge skills. 1

To become better at whatever you do, developing your soft skills is critical. If missed, you are not paying attention to the majority of the competencies necessary for success. If you focus solely on developing your business acumen, data analysis and systems thinking, you are missing a large part of what is required for you to be effective.

For the professionals running learning and development programs in organizations - if you want to get the best bang for your development buck, make sure that you invest a significant portion of your efforts into employees’ soft skills, but also recognize that this isn’t always easy. This takes time, practice and focused effort. Soft skills are hard because they are exercised in nuanced ways. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to applying interpersonal competencies. They need to be utilized and adapted to the needs of the situation and the individuals involved.

Research based on groups of leaders shows that the need for developing interpersonal skills is ongoing. A review of our 360 assessment data from the last 3 years shows that the lack of soft skills remains a challenge for many. The lowest-rated behaviors for leaders over that time were:
 
  • Coaching and developing others
  • Empowering employees
  • Mobilizing others around a clear purpose
  • Seeking innovation
  • Displaying flexibility
 
Here are some tips on developing these capabilities:
 
Step One: Seek out feedback – from people you trust, coaches, or assessment tools – make sure you find out what skills you should be developing.
 
Step Two: Prioritize – work on what matters most; don’t try to master too many areas at once.
 
Step Three: Devote two-thirds of your development activities to soft skills.
 
Step Four: Anticipate challenges – soft skills take time to acquire, and it means you will make some mistakes along the way. In my work people have been much more forgiving of someone who tries and makes an error, than someone who doesn’t try at all!
 

 

References: 

 
About the Author: Shawn Bakker is a registered Psychologist and leads the Professional Services team at Psychometrics Canada. He works with organizations and OD/HR professionals to assess and develop the potential that people bring to the workplace as individual contributors, team members and leaders.
 
Contact Information: 
 
● Website: www.psychometrics.com
● Facebook: @PsychometricsCanada
● Twitter: @PsychometricsCA
 
Psychometrics Canada has been providing assessment tools and strategic guidance for the selection and development of individuals and teams since 1976, with an expertise in applying business psychology in the areas of employee selection, personal and leadership development, and team building and conflict resolution. Psychometrics Canada is the only authorized Canadian distributor of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®), Strong Interest Inventory® (SII®), Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), FIRO-B®, CPI 260™, CPI™ 434, Work Personality Index®, and Career Values Scale instruments.

Building Better Organizations Through People.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of CPHR Alberta.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of CPHR Alberta.



My Mentorship Story

By Marina Perkovic • April 25, 2025
I became a member of CPHR even before moving to Canada in July 2023. It was my way of getting a head start, learning how HR works here, connecting with professionals in the field, and preparing myself to step into the workforce with more confidence. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I made!

Buying Technology is not an AI Strategy: How to drive sustainable AI adoption in HR

By Marina Perkovic • April 16, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become part of the HR vocabulary. No longer a future ambition, many HR teams have been exploring why, how, and where AI could be used to unlock productivity, enhance capabilities, and deliver new value, as well as which technologies can deliver on this.

Creating a Greener Workplace: How HR Can Lead the Way on Earth Day

By Marina Perkovic • April 10, 2025
Every year on April 22nd, people around the world come together to celebrate Earth Day, a movement dedicated to raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainability.
MORE NEWS