Authored By: Betsy Moore

It’s no secret that you are facing a multitude of challenges. Leaders like you are trying their best to inspire their staff as they face a global pandemic, constant change and increased competition – not to mention your own overwhelm and burnout. 

We see you.

To be an effective leader today, having strong soft skills is even more important than ever. Yet, what truly are soft skills? Many leaders have a hard time truly defining this term as well as setting goals around them! Soft skills are the personal qualities – also known as common or core skills – that help one really grow. On the other hand, hard skills refer to the job-related knowledge and abilities that employees need to perform their job duties effectively. These are the skills that are usually listed on a resume.

Challenge: 

Instead of looking at goals as hard or soft, expert I/O Psychologists say that us leaders should see them as working in concert with one another and we need to set our goals accordingly. In fact, the simple act of writing down goals makes us much more likely to actually achieve them!

Psychological Principle:

A study conducted by top colleges – Boston College, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan – shows that soft skills training boosts employee productivity and retention by 12% and delivers a 250% return on investment based on these increases. Soft skills are incredibly important and worth setting developmental goals around. By investing in employees’ skill development, leaders show they not only support their workers’ day-to-day challenges but also have a stake in their career advancement.

What are the best practices for writing soft skill development goals? Chris will show you how in this video! See below.

Mindset Shift:

• Hard skills are useless without soft skills – Great leaders see them in concert with one another!

Performance Shift:

• Write down all the goals – hard and soft – Too often, leaders only focus on hard skills when writing down goals. Write your goals and incorporate both hard and soft skills using Chris’ Strategic Plan approach. Watch Chris’ video below for more tips!

There is a talent crisis occurring right now in today’s workforce. Give yourself and your team an advantage by taking the time to set up a developmental plan around soft skills. The investment now will pay off later. With a strategically built soft-skill development plan that accounts for an organization’s key values and the needs of its workers, organizations set a strong foundation for employee growth, productivity, and satisfaction that will help to ensure long-lasting success.

For help with preparing your own strategic plan, use our Sample Strategic Plan and Strategic Plan Template!

If you want to learn more about writing strategic goals with your team, reach out to Chris and his team! 

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