University education, college degree even from a prestigious institution doesn’t ensure success or that you will score the next succession executive role.

Formal education teaches you how to do a specific skill like marketing, accounting or civil engineering. Yes these skills are vital for our network and communities but they are only focusing and graded on performance.

What about the whole package - the ability to adapt, pivot and change course. These are things that happen in most orioles lives at some point. When a plot twist happens in your personal or professionals life, there are ‘soft skills’ required to ensure the turbulence created in these chapters.

The ability to adapt and to picture a bigger picture, the grand vision or outcome at the other end of the tough journey. Mindset shifts and forward thinking. These qualities aren’t measured by traditional multiple choice questions or A-F grading systems.

I recently completed a semester at Harvard University, an Ivy League institution, and it was a welcomed change to traditional grading systems. The focus has shifted from  just traditional grading to a blend of evaluating tools such as team work, contribution, time management and freedom learning. These measurement metrics are at the forefront of a new generation of education and recognition of interpersonal skills and ability to handle critical work. More emphasis on whole body wellbeing and life style medicine rather than the traditional burnout 90-100 hour work week.

These intangible qualities can be added to your team KPIs - key performance indicators to help monitor and promote them within your business. Here are some examples of ways these skills can be integrated within your teams.

Time management

~ create a well defined plan setting time limits and a timeline for each actionable item. This helps to establish clear priorities and accountability.

Collaboration

~ as a team leader those involved in the decision making processes should be involved with regular communication and a schedule into touch base and update each other throughout the project to ensure teamwork.

Logical thinking

~ At an interview a friend was asked how many pound coins would be needed for the stack to reach the top of the Eiffel Tour. They were flabbergasted, how on earth would they know that answer?!

The reason behind the questioning was not for the precise answer, it was to assess their logical thinking skills. The interviewer was looking for the candidate to assess the equation… how tall is the Eiffel Tour? How many coins equal an inch or centemeter, how many coins per foot or metre, then estimate the answer. The answer may not be correct but the assessment was of the thought process.  

This proves the team member would be able to break free from traditional conformity and think in broad and flexible terms.

The good news is soft skills like time management, collaboration and team work, along with logical or critical thinking can be learnt. As a communications major at UNLV, University of Nevada Las Vegas was my first chapter in further education. The course taught us a mixture of hard and soft skills. Methods of communication along with marketing and branding strategies.

Hard skills can often be taught more quickly and have a standard grading system. Whilst learning soft skills are situation dependent and can’t be mastered through instruction manuals or exams.

Soft skills are developed and mastered through experience lead learning. Training these less tangible skills requires modeling interactions amongst team members, guiding them through the process for them to experience the key moments.

Giving the team a platform to practise, discuss and consolidate their range of abilities in communication, team work and critical thinking promotes a proactive project based setting.

Focussing on combining both traditional education and skill sets with intangible soft skills will facilitate successful teams work and projects within your business.

Thank you for reading, if this was useful please 🩷 and if it could help someone in your network, please share.

Thank you ~ Diana x