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Which Soft Skills Matter Most?
At work, employees are expected to do their jobs and do them well. They need to be able to achieve goals efficiently and effectively. That usually means they have the skills and abilities to get things done. The more complex the job and the more demanding the position, the more skills and training is likely needed. Much of that know-how is dubbed “hard skills” or “technical skills”. A lot of that is taught in schools. But besides “hard skills”, virtually all jobs also require another set of skills commonly dubbed “soft skills.”
Soft skills are a bit of a misnomer. People think soft means “easy” or even “effortless”. However, it’s deceptive to call this conglomeration of skills “soft” when they are absolutely necessary to effectively interact with others, manage work and workers, navigate challenges, and contribute positively within a team, which are often the hardest parts of most jobs. So, for many, those “soft skills” are actually the hardest to master, especially when we add variables such as age, culture, gender, etc. which impact teamwork and collaboration.
Ironically, the term “soft skills” originated in the U.S. Military in the 1960s. It’s ironic because it was used in contrast to the “hard skills” of handling weapons, machinery, ammunition and transportation and/or performing specialized tasks involving logistics, systems and processes. So a “soft skill” was any that didn’t directly involve industrial, mechanical or technical training.
Over time, they were deemed “touchy-feely” or emotion and personality-driven abilities such as the ability to communicate, a can-do attitude, flexibility, etc. But it was implied that these skills were less important and easily acquired. However, that could not be farther from the truth. Soft skills are crucial for building positive relationships, communicating effectively, solving problems, innovating, and being adaptable to changing situations. And because there are so many, it can be hard to master them all. Most importantly, soft skills can make or break careers. They bleed into practically every job and industry and are considered essential to most any job.
The Plethora of Soft Skills
There are so many soft skills that they are generally sub-divided into broad buckets such as communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, emotional intelligence, interpersonal, etc. Within each bucket, there are a host of skills. For example, within the broad category of Communication, there are a litany of skills including: Listening, Negotiation, Nonverbal Persuasion, Presentation,Public Speaking, Reading Body Language, Storytelling, Verbal Communication, Visual Communication, Writing Correspondence / Emails / Texts, Writing Proposals, Writing Reports, and Writing Skills. These are very diverse skills even inside the broader category of what qualifies at communication. A person could be excellent at several of these skills such as negotiation, nonverbal persuasion and listening, but might be weak in storytelling and writing. And all it takes is major weakness in a critical soft skill to lose a client, a job, blow a career or even result in loss of life.
How a Weak “Soft Skill” Can Kill a Career or Worse
It is easy to blow off soft skills as unimportant, especially the very “soft” skill of communication. Indeed, some of the most brilliant business leaders have been known for their weak or even hindered communication abilities.
A notable example of a businessman who lost his job due to perceived poor communication skills is Tim Armstrong, the former CEO of AOL. Armstrong was criticized for firing an employee during a company-wide conference call, demonstrating a lack of tact and transparency in his communication style. This ultimately led to a negative public perception and damage to his leadership image. Eventually, it cost him his job.
But losing a job – even a CEO position leading a global brand – is peanuts compared to how much damage weak communication skills can wreak. Case in point. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, resulting in the deaths of eleven workers and the largest oil spill in history. Nearly five million barrels of oil polluted the Gulf and its surrounding shoreline, killing millions of animals, damaging whole underwater and shoreline ecosystems, destroying Gulf Coast businesses, and costing BP, the company that ran the rig, more than $42 billion in criminal and civil settlements.
The Presidential Commission that examined the causes of the disaster found that technology failures were, of course, part of the problem, but so was something else. There was a “failure of management” that hinged on major “communication failures.” BP, its engineering firm Halliburton, and Transocean, which owned the rigs, had not shared several technological issues clearly with each other from the very conception of the drilling operation. And on the day of the explosion, rig technicians had conducted pressure tests that suggested something might be wrong—but the results of those basic tests had never been communicated clearly enough so as to be taken seriously by or properly interpreted by those in charge. After the explosion, further communication failures complicated the oil-spill cleanup in the region.
The President’s Report on the disaster explained that “better communication within and between BP and its contractors could have helped to prevent the disaster.” Careful and thorough communication is especially important when different departments or organizations are trying to work together. The disaster highlighted another key truth about the soft skill of communication. It is not just marketers and PR folks who need to be strong communicators, but also leaders, engineers, scientists, and technicians. They all needed training on how to analyze, receive, and share information effectively. It might be a “soft skill” but it was an essential and crucial skill.
Even one of the richest, most successful and currently highly influential business leaders in the world seems to struggle with the soft skill of communication. Elon Musk’s communication style – while can at time be effective in generating hype and excitement around his ventures – more often consists of impulsive, controversial, provocative and even inaccurate statements that are broadcast on social media. This pattern has had a negative impact, leading at times to investor concerns, a major drop in stock value of his companies, legal issues, and reputational damage. So even one of the richest businessmen in the world can struggle with a so-called “soft skill.” That is because, since there are many, many buckets of “soft skills” and so many specific skills within those buckets, it is impossible to be an expert in all.
The Most Important Soft Skill
That begs the question of which soft skill is really the most important. While they might all have value, surely some are more important than others. Based on the example above, one might think communication is the most important. However, that’s not what studies suggest.
While all soft skills are important, and communication is an important one, it is actually “critical thinking” that is considered the most important soft skill by many as it underpins many other essential skills like problem-solving, decision-making, and effective communication. That makes it valuable across various roles and industries.
That said, in truth, there is no soft skill that “matters most.” The most important soft skill for a given person varies depending on their job, industry and type of workplace environment. And which soft skill matters most also depends on the needs of that person’s particular workplace and the soft skill weaknesses of their colleagues and coworkers. So, the real answer of which soft skill matters most is that it depends.
With so many soft skills that play a role in the success of each employee and the impact those skills have on the company, the challenge is to understand all the particular areas of soft skills, why they are needed and how to bolster them. Next week, we’ll dive deeper into the first bucket of soft skills considered in studies to be most important: Critical Thinking. We’ll look at all of the skills within that category and what can be done to strengthen them for the good of all. Stay tuned!
Quote of the Week
“Unfortunately, some people believe that soft skills aren’t that important. However, almost every employer I’ve ever talked to about this disagrees. In a world where job roles are changing rapidly, soft skills will be one of the few constants.”
Chris Jones, CEO, City & Guilds
© 2025, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.
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