Hard To Come By

Leadership can be smooth sailing if one is equipped with the right set of soft skills.

- Vijay Vaishnav

The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then guide the horse with loose reins and seldom use the spurs.- Sandra Day O’Connor The metaphor describing how jockeys steer their horses towards the finishing line appositely captures the importance of possessing soft skills for those in leadership positions. Soft skills—which are a combination of interpersonal skills and personal traits—involve good communication, out-of-box thinking, lifelong learning and information management, selfmotivation, leadership, responsibility, team work, trouble shooting capabilities, decisiveness, ability to work under pressure, time management, flexibility, negotiation, and conflict resolution. These skills enable a person to navigate in his or her work environment seamlessly and make a binding bond with other team members, making them a cut above the ordinary.

The dominant factor

Soft skills of senior executives are put to test when they undertake the responsibility to drive their team to the goal. The journey, needless to say, is not smooth sailing. Team members may clash due to their varied points of view, may bully each other, or even refuse to work together. Some team members may face issues and not be available at a critical juncture of a project. Such challenging circumstances demand immediate attention, and leaders with the pertinent soft skills will be able to keep the ball rolling.