Soft skills

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Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or
personality traits, attitudes, career attributes,[1] social intelligenceand emotional intelligence quotients,
among others, that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well,
and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills.[2] The Collins English Dictionary defines the
term "soft skills" as "desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on
acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive
flexible attitude."[3]

Contents

 1History
 2Concept
 3Enumeration and categorization
o 3.1Soft skills for business executives
 4See also
 5References
 6Further reading

History[edit]
Since 1959, the U.S. Army has been investing a considerable amount of resources into technology-
based development of training procedures. In 1968 the U.S. Army officially introduced a training
doctrine known as "Systems Engineering of Training" covered in the document CON Reg 350-100-
1.[4][5]
PG Whitmore cited the CON Reg 350-100-1 definition: "job related skills involving actions affecting
primarily people and paper, e.g., inspecting troops, supervising office personnel, conducting studies,
preparing maintenance reports, preparing efficiency reports, designing bridge structures."[6]
It is through a 1972 US Army training manual identified formal usage of the term "soft skills"
began.[7] At the 1972 CONARC Soft Skills Conference, Dr. Whitmore presented a report[8][9][10] aimed
at figuring out how the term "soft skills" (in the areas of command, supervision, counseling and
leadership) is understood in various CONARC schools. After designing and processing a
questionnaire, the following tentative definition was formulated: "Soft skills are important job-related
skills that involve little or no interaction with machines and whose application on the job is quite
generalized."[8][10]
They further criticized state of the concept then as vague with a remark "in other words, those job
functions about which we know a good deal are hard skills and those about which we know very little
are soft skills." Another immediate study by them also concluded in a negative tone.[8]
Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey famously stated that it is social intelligence that defines humans
rather than quantitative intelligence. Many industries today give prominence to soft skills of their
employees.

Concept[edit]
Soft skills are a cluster of productive personality traits that characterize one's relationships in a
milieu. These skills can include social graces, communicationabilities, language skills, personal
habits, cognitive or emotional empathy, time management, teamwork and leadership traits. A
definition based on review literature explains soft skills as an umbrella term for skills under three key
functional elements: people skills, social skills, and personal career attributes.[11]National Business
Education Association deems soft skills as critical for being industrious in today’s workplace.[12] Soft
skills complement hard skills also known as technical skills, for productive workplace performance
and everyday life competencies (Arkansas Department of Education, 2007). Hard skills were the
only skills necessary for career employment and were generally quantifiable and measurable from
educational background, work experience or through interview.[citation needed]
In the 20th century soft skills are a major differentiator, a sine qua non for employability and success
in life.[13] A study conducted by Harvard University noted that 80% of achievements in career are
determined by soft skills and only 20% by hard skills. Experts say soft skills training should begin for
a person when they are students, to perform efficiently in their academic environment as well as in
their future workplace.[citation needed] A public interest study conducted by McDonald’s in UK predicted
over half a million people will be held back from job sectors by 2020 due to lack of soft skills.[14]

Enumeration and categorization[edit]

A person's soft skill is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an
organization.[citation needed] Organizations which deal with customers face-to-face are generally more
successful if they promote activities for staffs to develop these skills through wellness enhancing
programs.[citation needed]Training or rewarding for personal habits or traits such as dependability and
conscientiousness can yield significant return on investment for an organization.[citation needed] For this
reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications.[citation
needed]
Studies by Stanford Research Institute and the Carnegie Mellon Foundation among Fortune
500 CEOs established that 75% of long term job success resulted from soft skills and only 25% from
technical skills (Sinha, 2008). Hence, soft skills are as important as cognitive/technical skills (John,
2009; Zehr, 1998).
Soft skills for business executives[edit]
Following is a "top ten" list of soft skills compiled by Eastern Kentucky University from executive
listings.[11]

1. Communication – oral speaking capability, written, presenting,

listening, clear speech & writing.
2. Courtesy – manners, etiquette, business etiquette, gracious,
says please and thank you, respectful.
3. Flexibility – adaptability, willing to change, lifelong learner,
accepts new things, adjusts, teachable.
4. Integrity – honest, ethical, high morals, has personal values,
does what’s right.
5. Interpersonal skills – nice, personable, sense of humor, friendly,
nurturing, empathetic, has self-control, patient, sociability,
warmth, social skills.
6. Positive attitude – optimistic, enthusiastic, encouraging, happy,
confident.
7. Professionalism – businesslike, well-dressed, appearance,
poised.
8. Responsibility – accountable, reliable, gets the job done,
resourceful, self-disciplined, wants to do well, conscientious,
common sense.
 9. Teamwork – cooperative, gets along with others, agreeable,
supportive, helpful, collaborative.
10. Work ethic – hard working, willing to work, loyal, initiative, self-
motivated, on time, good attendance.

See also[edit]
 Basic interpersonal communicative skills
 Critical thinking
 DISCO - European Dictionary of Skills and Competences
 People skills
 Emotional intelligence
 Empathy
 Life skills
 Social intelligence
 Social skills
 Theory of multiple intelligences
 21st century skills
 Vocational skills

References[edit]
1. ^ "Identifying your Skills & Attributes". Retrieved 5 December 2016.
2. ^ Workforce connections: Key soft skills that foster youth workforce
success, Child Trends, June 2015
3. ^ "the definition of soft skills". Retrieved 5 December 2016.
4. ^ CON Reg 350-100-1 (PDF), Fort Monroe, Virginia: UNITED STATES
CONTINENTAL ARMY COMMAND, 1968, retrieved November
21, 2016
5. ^ Silber, K.H. & Foshay, W.R., Handbook of Improving Performance in
the Workplace, Instructional Design and Training Delivery, John Wiley
& Sons 2009, ISBN 9780470190685, p.63
6. ^ CON Reg 350-100-1, as cited in Whitmore, Paul G., "What are soft
skills?"
7. ^ Katherine S. Newman, Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-
wage Labor Market, Harvard University Press
2006, ISBN 0674023366, p.351
8. ^ Jump up to:a b c Whitmore, Paul G., "What are soft skills?", Paper
presented at the CONARC Soft Skills Conference, Texas, 12-13
December, 1972
9. ^ Fry, John P., "Procedures for Implementing Soft-Skill Training in
CONARC Schools," Paper presented at the CONARC Soft Skills
Conference, Texas, 12-13 December, 1972
10. ^ Jump up to:a b Whitmore, Paul G.; Fry, John P., "Soft Skills:
Definition, Behavioral Model Analysis, Training Procedures.
Professional Paper 3-74.", Research Report ERIC Number:
ED158043, 48pp.
11. ^ Jump up to:a b Marcel M. Robles, Executive Perceptions of the Top
10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace Archived 2016-08-12 at
the Wayback Machine, Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4)
453–465 (pdf)
12. ^ https://www.nbea.org/newsite/curriculum/policy/no_67.pdf
 13. ^ Heckman and Kautz, Hard Evidence on Soft Skills, 2012
14. ^ "McDonald's Backing Soft Skills". Retrieved 5 December 2016.

Further reading[edit]
 Peggy, Klaus (2008), The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace
Lessons Smart People Wish They'd Learned Sooner,
HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-061-28414-4
 Giusti, Giuseppe (2008), Soft Skills for Lawyers, Chelsea
Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9558926-0-8

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