No such thing as soft skills

You're in HR, a middle manager, or a team lead. You look around and realize your team doesn't just need technical know-how. They need to work better with each other, lead smarter, speak clearer, and handle stress like pros. In short, they need soft skills.

- FRANCIS J. KONG

So, you draft a solid training proposal. You walk it over to your boss—a hardcore engineer or a spreadsheet-loving finance wizard.

And here comes the classic response: "Hmm...this looks like a good program, but it's pricey. Do you have ROI projections for this?"

Or worse, you get the polite corporate dodge:

"Let's park this for now because budgets are tight."

Translation? "It sounds warm and fuzzy, but does it help the bottom line?"

Welcome to the world where "soft skills" are seen as squishy, sentimental, and optional—a cute little add-on, not a core investment.

But here's the real kicker: if it's called "soft," how can it ever sound strong enough to matter?

The irony? These "soft" skills—like communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence—are the very things that prevent teams from breaking down and bosses from burning out. They're not fluff; they're the glue. Until we stop labeling them as if they belong in a spa brochure, we'll keep underselling the most critical capabilities in the workplace.

The term soft skills has long been a misnomer. Often dismissed as secondary or easy, these abilities—communication, adaptability, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence—are, in fact, among the most complex skills to master and the most essential for professional success.

Research from top business schools has consistently shown that technical proficiency accounts for only about 15 percent of job success. The other 85 percent comes from these so-called soft skills. Yet, we tend to emphasize technical expertise and undervalue the human capabilities that drive long-term success.