One of the classic misperceptions in many businesses is that technical skills translate organically into any business’s management or leadership level. This thinking follows a relatively simple logic: John is a great engineer; therefore, he will be a great leader for a team of engineers. But the transition from technical skills to management skills is never as natural or as seamless as businesses imagine. As Shakespeare noted in his play Twelfth Night: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” And it is the case in business that some people are natural leaders, some become leaders through a natural progression of responsibilities, and some are thrust into leadership roles without preparation or training.

Podcast 183 - Soft Skills GapThe bottom line is that leadership is much more about soft skills (or people skills) than technical proficiency. The most common of these skills include:

  • Relationship and team building
  • Effective communication skills, including active and critical listening as well as the ability to say no
  • How to manage conflict constructively and avoid confrontation
  • Self-awareness, resilience, adaptability, and accountability
  • Creative problem solving and decision making
  • The ability to delegate work and responsibilities effectively
  • Coaching, mentoring, and even teaching skills.

The list goes on, of course.

Managerial and leadership roles are, like their technical counterparts, driven by a specialized skill set that focuses mainly on the human aspect of a business. It is a skill set that can be learned, honed over time, and adjusted quickly to reflect the realities of a rapidly changing (and increasingly challenging) global business environment. But even in those rare instances when a natural-born leader is put in charge of a team, soft skill gaps do occur and need to be filled in through training or mentoring.

As both Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines have noted, making this skills gap more problematic is that these soft skills are often the ones under-represented in business schools. So while we are producing astute future leaders with the ability to do complex risk assessments, budget projects, and technical tasks, businesses are suffering due to leaders without the emotional intelligence and communication skills to not only optimize the talent in hand but attract and retain the talent necessary for sustained growth. As a recent Gallup poll reports, workers will simply leave a company if they do not feel their boss engages with them openly and transparently.

The message is clear: Ignoring the soft skill gap is bad for business.

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About the Guest and Author:

183 - Klay Dyer

Dr. Klay Dyer

Dr. Klay Dyer is President of Dyer Educational & Research Consultants Inc., an Edmonton-based consultancy that supports government, private sector, and not-for-profit clients in training the next generation of leaders.

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