9 soft skills that bring rewards in the workplace

Points To Note

• There are nine skills that deliver the biggest payoff, in one’s personal life and the workplace.
• According to research, EQ is the key characteristic that separates top performers from the competition
• Others are fine management, listening, the ability to say ‘No’, asking for help, getting good quality sleep, knowing when to be silent, taking the initiative, and staying positive.

In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive job market, the need to possess the right technical skills is no longer enough to succeed in the workplace because employers are increasingly looking for candidates who possess a variety of soft skills, that are mostly considered as important as technical skills.

Soft skills are basically the personal attributes that give various individuals the ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and adapt to changing situations in the workplace.

Professionals also need to dedicate themselves to learning not only the hard skills but also skills that will yield the greatest benefit in their personal and professional lives, as these skills give you the ability to improve yourself and do things in the future that are beyond your current possibilities which will, in turn, come out rewarding and fulfilling.

Here are the nine skills that deliver the biggest payoff, in one’s personal life and the workplace.

Emotional intelligence (EQ)

EQ affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. EQ is the capacity to comprehend and identify emotions in both yourself and others, as well as the capacity to use this understanding to control your conduct and interpersonal interactions.

Asking for help

It might seem counterintuitive to suggest that asking for help is a skill, but it is. Admitting that you need help requires a great deal of humility and confidence. This ability is essential since the last thing a manager wants are workers who continually make mistakes at work because they are too ashamed or arrogant to admit they need help. Knowing when you need help, having the guts to ask for it, and then acting on that aid are all incredibly crucial abilities.

Getting high-quality sleep

Learning to sleep well on a consistent basis is a difficult ability to learn, but it yields huge returns the next day.

Quality sleep is good for your brain, and studies suggest that while you sleep, your brain removes harmful proteins from its neurons, which are byproducts of neural activity when you’re awake. Your brain can only effectively eliminate these dangerous proteins if you get enough quality sleep.

When you don’t get enough deep sleep, harmful proteins build up in your brain cells, wreaking havoc and eventually hurting your ability to think, which no amount of caffeine will solve. This reduces your ability to digest information and solve issues, eliminates creativity, and raises emotional sensitivity.

Knowing when to be silent

In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you fight the kind of battle that can leave you and the relationship severely damaged. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right. The vast majority of the time, that means keeping quiet. This is an important skill at work.

Taking the initiative

The ability to take initiative will lead you far in life. In principle, taking initiative is simple because the urge to act is always present, but in practice, various factors interfere. There is a significant difference between knowing what to do and being too afraid or lazy to accomplish it which necessitates initiative. Hence, you must take risks and step outside of your comfort zone until taking initiative becomes second nature.

Staying positive

When positivity appears to be nothing more than wishful thinking, it’s difficult to find the drive to focus on the good. The true impediment to positivity is that our brains are hardwired to seek out and focus on threats.

Maintaining positivity is a daily challenge that necessitates concentration and attention. If you want to counteract the brain’s predisposition to focus on threats, you must be intentional about keeping positive.

Credit: Ngozi Ekugo, Nairamatics