They may be called “soft,” but make no mistake: Regardless of your industry or job function, soft skills are an undeniably important success factor in your career. They’re those often-underrated skills that make team members collaborative, professionals confident, service providers caring and leaders inspirational.

What Soft Skills are Most Important for Success in the Modern Workplace?

Here are a few that should be on your radar:

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional intelligence is a combination of self-awareness and awareness of others. It’s a unique kind of intelligence that enables you to:

• identify and manage your emotions;
• recognize emotion in others and better understand their behavior as a result;
• effectively manage your relationships with others by reacting and responding appropriately.

It’s also one of the most important measures of potential leadership success, making it an essential quality if you’re in or pursuing a management role.

Listening Skills

Anybody with functioning ears hears the words coming out of employees’ and managers’ mouths – but there’s a big difference between hearing and effective listening. In this earlier post, our team shares simple tips to dramatically improve this sought-after soft skill:

• Be fully present, by eliminating distractions and making a conscious effort to focus your eyes and ears on the speaker.
• Make the speaker feel comfortable, by subtly mirroring their nonverbal behavior.
• Employ active listening techniques such as reflecting and clarifying – before you formulate your response.

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal skills can make or break your ability to connect with, instill confidence in, persuade and inspire others. Some experts even argue that nonverbal cues have an even greater impact on a conversation than what you say! Make sure you pay attention to the following aspects when speaking:

• Eye contact. Avoid extremes (i.e., staring at the floor or your phone; glaring intently) when it comes to making eye contact. Too little conveys disinterest or insecurity; too much conveys aggression.
• Posture. If you tend to slouch or fold your arms across your chest, be aware of the negative ways in which these signals can be interpreted. Sit (or stand) upright when speaking and lean slightly into the conversation.
• Smiling. It helps you relax and makes you appear approachable and warm. Just make sure you do it the right way. A wide grin can convey naiveté (which isn’t ideal for leaders), but a subtle smile can convey friendliness and even intelligence.

Growing Your Team?

Experts in behavioral interviewing, Exact Staff’s recruiters can help you identify candidates with the experience, hard and soft skills to thrive in your organization. Contact your local Exact Staff location to make hiring leaders faster, simpler and more successful.