SOFT SKILLS Technical and job-related skills are a must, but they are NOT sufficient when it comes

to progressing up the ladder. With the traditional paternalistic style of leadership becoming pass, professional managers e pect their teams to be proacti!e and communicate openly. "oft skills are !ery important in business. #t is essential to be technically sound, but one should also ha!e the ability to con!ey the idea to the masses in the simplest possible manner. With the boom in outsourcing taking root across industries, many professionals and subject matter e perts directly deal with their clients on a regular basis. Their approachability and people skills are what ultimately sustain the contract their employers ha!e bagged. $lanning is necessary but e ecution is also e%ually important. &nd it takes soft skills to e ecute any idea because it in!ol!es dealing with people directly. 6 soft skills for every hard-nosed professional 'eha!ioral training e perts say there are se!eral soft skills are re%uired in these circumstances. "ome of them include( i. #nterpersonal skills ii. Team spirit iii. "ocial grace iv. 'usiness eti%uette v. Negotiation skills vi. 'eha!ioral traits such as attitude, moti!ation and time management

Will formal training enhance your soft skills? There is a lot of argument in the industry as to whether it is possible to enhance soft skills in a few hours of training, especially when one considers the fact that a person has li!ed with those traits all his life. To this, the answer is harsh but real -- a professional who wants to do well in his) her career does not really ha!e a choice. #n the initial years of your career, your technical abilities are important to get good assignments. *owe!er, when it comes to growing in an organisation, it is your personality that matters, more so in large organisations where se!eral people with similar technical e pertise will compete for a promotion. Training on soft skills becomes all the more rele!ant in a country like #ndia where the education system does not del!e into personality de!elopment. "oft skills training is essential because we do not ha!e it in our academic curricula. Therefore, corporate houses ha!e to take up the task of grooming employees who are the link between the company and the e ternal world, so that they are able to present themsel!es better Be your own trainer! While organisations are definitely in!esting in augmenting their staff+s people skills, here are some inputs for professionals and students who would like to initiate the process themsel!es( i. Be a part of team activities #t could be either as a part of your church choir, or an N,O, or your local youth circle. Obser!e your own beha!iour in the group and how you relate to others. ii. Ask family members or close friends to write down your best and worst traits. #deally, ha!e at least four to fi!e people do this for you.

-!aluate the common traits all of them ha!e mentioned. Thus, you can be aware of your strengths and work impro!ing your weaknesses. iii. ow well do you manage your time?

Think. .an you do more in life/ Or is your day too crammed with acti!ities/ -ffecti!e time management is !ery essential in the corporate world. iv. !ntrospect on how you react to feedback. #n organisations, people skills mostly come into the picture when there is feedback gi!en -- be it for an idea, an e ecuted project or a presentation. 0ou are judged by the way you respond to feedback. 1o you get defensi!e/ 1o you insist you were right/ 1o you meekly accept criticism/ 2emember, people tend to be judged and stereotyped according to their responses. 0ou will, too. v. ow good are you at criti"uing?

While responding to feedback is one side of the coin, gi!ing feedback is the other side. &re you aggressi!e/ $essimistic/ 1o you belie!e in constructi!e criticism/ Or prefer to be the yes-man/ vi. #ive consciously &ny organisation is manned by people, therefore soft skills are all about how you deal with people and present yourself. Though it may be easier said than done, soft skills can be enhanced simply by being aware of oneself and li!ing consciously.

The large increase in computer use has raised the %uestion whether people ha!e to be taught computer skills before entering the market. & higher skilled employee who is using a computer pro!ides e!idence that computer skills are !aluable for writing skills, math skills, presentation skills and reporting skill. 3ollowing are main computer skills those are re%uired to enhance writing, math, presentation, reporting skill for consultants and project leaders( Writing skill( 4" Word 4ath "kill( 4" - cel $resentation "kill( $ower point, 5isio 2eporting "kill( 4" $roject