Top 51 Soft Skills to Attain Professional Success in the Workplace

July 04, 2019

Top 51 Soft Skills to Attain Professional Success in the Workplace

“Success is a learnable skill.” -Harv Ekker, T.

Did you know that research has shown that 85% of job success comes from soft skills and only 15% from hard skills? This explains why technical skills and knowledge can only go so far in helping you climb the ladder to success. To stand out in today’s competitive job market, you need training in soft skills to enhance your

  • Leadership Skills
  • Team-Work Skills
  • Problem-Solving Skills, and much more.

Such skills are closely linked to Emotional Intelligence, and are required by each organization seeking to maximize the use of its technical skills.

Is your workforce lacking soft skills? Watch out for the following:

  • Unhappy Clients
  • Huge Staff Turnover
  • Lack of Leadership

It’s time to take action if you notice such occurrences.

When it comes to organizational success, soft skills are more important than ever, so much so that they’ve become the new hard skills of today. There’s a common misconception that soft skills come naturally to everyone, which is not true. Building and maintaining relationships with people is at the core of such skills.

Here is a list of the top 51 soft skills, specially compiled by us for those who desire workplace success:

  1. Dependability – Focus on building a reliable image for yourself.
  2. Verbal/Physical/Visual Communication – Be clear and articulate about your speech and body language.
  3. Motivation – You should be able to drive yourself as well as others.
  4. Commitment – Your level of dedication shows how devoted you are to your company and job.
  5. Problem Solving – You’re bound to face new problems from time to time, and your boss wants to know that you’ll do what you can to fix them.
  6. Flexibility – Your job requirements will keep changing periodically, so make sure that you’re able to adjust to them at a quick pace.
  7. Teamwork – Working together as part of a team is essential to every job. It’s important to be a team player every step of the way.
  8. Time Management – Manage your time wisely – in as well as out of the workplace. Set your priorities and balance out your workload.
  9. Humor – This is a professional skill which can help you reap dividends if used during the right situation.
  10. Writing – Can you craft a well-written business email/proposal/report? Honing such skills will ensure a great first impression.
  11. Listening – Most people don’t bother to listen. You can learn a lot from listening carefully when others speak.
  12. Presentation Skills – Statistics show that 75% of people have a fear of public speaking. Great presentations, however, can influence decision-makers.
  13. Interviewing – Hiring the wrong candidate is bad for your company as well as the new hire. Use the right hiring tools to select wisely.
  14. Team Building – This is required to boost social relations and define roles within teams.
  15. Strategic Planning – This is how an organization defines its strategy and decides how to allocate resources for the same.
  16. Mentoring – Be willing to share skills, knowledge and expertise, and become an enthusiastic role model.
  17. Dispute Resolution – Learn to find a peaceful solution to a personal/business/emotional/political disagreement.
  18. Diplomacy – Diplomatic techniques and strategy can be used for everyday business negotiations.
  19. Feedback – Be it positive or negative, feedback is important. Alternatives can be offered for the latter to make people act on the advice.
  20. Decision Making – Business and professional decisions should always be made by following a process.
  21. Performance Management – A systematic process through which an agency involves employees to accomplish goals.
  22. Management – This is dependent on core skills such as leadership, innovation and strategy.
  23. Crisis Management – This is how an organization handles major events that are threatening it, its stakeholders and the general public.
  24. Selling – Can you sell ideas/services? This is what distinguishes influencers from non-influencers.
  25. Negotiation – Develop a negotiation style around your strengths to be successful.
  26. Persuasion – This involves reasoned argument for putting across your points concisely – with a complete understanding of others’ concerns.
  27. Collaborating – This enables you to work effectively with others on a common task while respecting their needs and contributions.
  28. Networking – This improves your business in many ways – by increasing contacts, boosting direct learning, etc.
  29. Personal Branding – Everything has a reputation, and your brand is your name.
  30. Office Politics – You need to develop strategies to deal with political behaviour.
  31. Interpersonal Relationships – We use life skills on a daily basis to communicate with others.
  32. Stress Management – Manage the sources of your stress efficiently with a positive attitude and stress-relieving tips.
  33. Assertiveness – Stand up for your own and others’ rights without being aggressive, or passively accepting what’s wrong.
  34. Enthusiasm – Having an upbeat and cooperative attitude makes all the difference.
  35. Taking Criticism – Constructive criticism can help you improve, so learn to recognize and appreciate it.
  36. Innovation – This includes forming ideas and applying innovative techniques to each aspect of work.
  37. Critical Thinking – This involves observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference and explanation.
  38. Technologically Savvy – As trends emerge and technologies advance, it’s important to stay abreast. Keep your skills sharp and up to date.
  39. Research – This will help provide in-depth information and advice on a given topic – as many jobs involve research skills.
  40. Business Etiquette – Unprofessional behaviour could lose you important deals. Follow vital business rules to win.
  41. Training – Customized training can help improve job performance in an organizational setting.
  42. Intercultural Competence – This is the ability to communicate efficiently and appropriately with people from other cultures.
  43. Train the Trainer – This is a style of learning where the students become the teachers themselves.
  44. Knowledge Management – It’s necessary to grow, sustain, communicate and use knowledge to your advantage.
  45. Process Improvement – This helps identify, analyze and improve existing business processes for bettering quality standards.
  46. Customer Service – A friendly and helpful attitude toward customers can help set your business apart from the rest.
  47. Entrepreneurial Thinking – An entrepreneurial mindset comes with different perspectives and values, which make a successful business owner.
  48. Disability Awareness – Educate people about disabilities and give them the knowledge to carry out tasks – separating good practice from poor.
  49. Business Trend Awareness – Businesses develop in ever-changing ways and understanding business trends can lead to faster growth.
  50. Empathy – Once you understand others’ perspectives and reality, you’ll be able to react to their concerns and needs appropriately.
  51. Self-Assessment – This will help you understand how well developed your interpersonal skills are and identify areas for improvement.

When you listen, present ideas, resolve issues, and work to create an open work environment, you’re using interpersonal skills that improve team performance and encourage people to contribute to the organization’s vision.

Learn more about soft skills training today.

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