The 8 most important Soft Skills to Lead

The most important and irreplaceable people in a company are often those whose contributions to the organization cannot be summarized in the list of degrees and certificates of your resume. In a few cases this is as evident as in that of the leaders and team managers in general, since this type of positions are based, in large part, on practical skills difficult to find in a textbook or on several pages of notes.

Therefore, in this article we will see What soft skills should a team leader develop? to achieve adequate levels of motivation and productivity in the professionals under his charge.

The main soft skills of leaders

Let's start by examining the concept of “soft skills”, or soft skills. These are the skills based on communication skills and emotional regulation which, when combined with theoretical-practical knowledge oriented to a specific domain (for example, engineering, accounting, haute cuisine...) allow complex problems to be solved. Thus, in some cases soft skills are developed spontaneously as the maturation process takes place. psychological, while in others it is necessary to train skills self-taught or with the help of a psychologist or educator.

In the case of the soft skills of the leaders, these must be applied to make several workers coordinate and engage with the rest of the team, making the best use of their knowledge and skills while avoiding Burnout syndrome which is often produced by a leadership style Very authoritative or one-way. With this in mind, let's see what are the soft skills to become a good leader.

1. Assertiveness

The assertiveness It is very important, especially when criticizing errors that have occurred and work dynamics that can be improved. This means that These types of observations should be seen not as punishment or humiliation, but as something that provides valuable information. so as not to make mistakes again, and as a sample of the extent to which these errors are serious and harm the organization.

2. Empathy

The facility to generate an emotional connection with the members of a team is another of the most important soft skills to lead, since that in this way it is better understood what is the system of incentives that is behind the behavior patterns of the workers. Therefore, the empathy it's key.

Assuming that the members of the staff work only for the money is to err on reductionism and miss opportunities to properly motivate staff members and to resolve conflicts between workers.

4. Ability to build trust

Without confidence in the project that is being carried out in an organization, there is no leadership, in any case there are instructions that are transmitted to achieve short-term technical objectives: just enough to collect at the end of the month while there is no other way to maintain that level of income.

That is why it is important that a leader be able to demonstrate that there are reasons to maintain the confidence in what is being done together, so that commitment with the rest of the group is possible. equipment. This happens by connecting the individual purpose with that of the company, so that collaborative work is seen as a way to reach significant goals for oneself through involvement in work of equipment.

• Related article: "Group Identity: the need to feel part of something"

5. stress management

Leaders are characterized by always having several work fronts open at the same time, given that his role requires having a global vision of what is being done at the team, department or company level. Therefore, knowing how to properly manage stress is very important to focus on what is important at all times and not be overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts, which are an element that drags people towards the procrastination

6. long term vision

If a leader limits himself to directing his thoughts and actions to keep "what already works" working, the teams in charge of him will reach a state of stagnation, since proactivity always depends on the ability to adapt to a changing environment. For this reason, it is important not to suffer great psychological exhaustion in the face of the need to always be looking for opportunities to grow or improve results.

• You may be interested in: "What is Strategic Thinking?"

7. Ability to learn from mistakes

Although a leader's position of authority can lead to a false sense of importance and feed her ego, another of the skills The key soft keys to lead well is to maintain humility and always look for lessons to learn from the mistakes made in the past. past. Only in this way does the time spent in a company become a valuable experience.

8. mental flexibility

Since the leader's job is to maintain a strategic vision of the means to apply to reach a general goal, it is important avoid the tendency to always do things the same way because “they have always been done that way”; you have to keep up and learn to change perspective.

Do you want to train yourself in the keys to leadership?

If you want to learn the theory and practice of what it means to lead in the context of organizations and companies, the European School of Coaching (EEC) they're for you.

In them you will find training programs with various formats and durations, and that give the possibility of becoming certified as an executive or team coach.