Soft Skills Are Anything But Soft

Yesterday, I was listening to a podcast between Brené Brown, Adam Grant, and Simon Sinek where they were exchanging about what is happening in the workplace these days.

At one point, Simon Sinek used the term HUMAN SKILLS instead of the often used term "soft skills" to refer to the relationship, communication, and emotion skills that need to be tended to again and again, especially as leaders. 

Once you learn the skill, you don't just magically arrive. ​

I also realized that there is a big gap between talking about these human skills and actually putting them into practice. 

There are those who read the books on leadership, and those who are actively leading others and living the ideas.

There are those who watch tennis and those who play tennis. They aren't always one and the same. (I play tennis every Tuesday, but I don't play in matches, which is another distinction.)

Yesterday, I lead a book circle with a new group of very technical people, where we were reading a book on "human skills." 

Oh my, was it hard. 

When I invited them to move out of the intellectual, theoretical realm and put the ideas into practice, they had NO IDEA what I was asking. 

I had to repeat my invitation in 3 different ways, and even then they still didn't seem to get it.

Just like human skills need consistent tending, so do my facilitation skills :)  

I clearly have a some work to do before our next session. 

It was definitely a growth moment for me.

What skills are you tending to at the moment with consistent practice?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.
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