Everyone remembers the person in their high school class voted “Most Likely to Succeed”. If not, when prompted by a former classmate, once the name is revealed, the reaction is usually, “Oh yeah, I remember them!”. Why? Because they most likely possessed soft skills that set them apart from the rest of the crowd.
Today soft skills are referred to as emotional quotient or emotional intelligence, but make no mistake, they are essential for success, especially for teams.
Hard Truth About Soft Skills
Soft skills are personal qualities that are not acquired with training, knowledge or tactile skills required to fulfill a job requirement. Soft skills are achieved throughout a person’s life with thoughtful interaction with others. They are often the defining characteristics that makes an adequate employee a great employee.
Soft skills are acquired skills that constantly evolve through experience. In some cases, someone may lack soft skills. That’s ok. Not everyone is emotionally equipped to interact with others in a personable way. However, when it comes to team building, soft skills are essential. Without them there can be no “team”; only individuals with individual agendas and goals.
Team Building Soft Skills
Working with others can be challenging. It takes self restraint and self awareness to have meaningful, productive interaction with others. The very essence of a team is the ability to work with all members of the group, so if personal attributes are lacking, interacting within a team is close to impossible.
When building a team, look for the following soft skills in existing and/or potential members:
- Good listener
- Ability to take constructive feedback
- Positive attitude
- Adaptability to change and/or viewpoints other than their own
- Notes and respects emotional cues of the group/individual members
People lacking these soft skills are harder to fit into a viable team. However, if they are open to change, anything can happen. This is where a good team leader who leads by example can display the desired soft skills to the group.
Lead By Example and Others Will Follow
Chances are, if the team leader is a good listener, is open to criticism, has a positive attitude, doesn’t give up with things change and is in tuned into the mood of the group, then members of the group lacking the necessary soft skills will begin to mirror the positive desired soft skills back to the group. If not, then it might be time to deal with them one-on-one to understand what might be wrong or if they are able and willing to adapt for the good of the group.
Overall, most people do possess the necessary soft skills to be a valued member of a team, but have fallen into bad habits. It may just take a leader who exhibits the desired soft skills to set the tone and move the team in the right direction!
Develop Soft Skills Through Self Awareness with Larry Lipman
Larry Lipman of Fun Team Building will develop a customized team building day for your organization. Lean more about the individuals that work for you through team bonding games that will help everyone connect through self awareness for the good of the group. Call Larry today at 770-333-3303.