How to Improve Your Soft Skills at Work

What are soft skills? They are the skills you have that go beyond your technical, measurable abilities. It focuses on your social, leadership, communication and problem-solving skills and others. Soft skills are all about how you work with others and on your own. Even though soft skills are more personality-based, you can still develop them.

How to improve your soft skills

These are the eleven steps to develop your soft skills:

1 Accept feedback

A huge part of improving your soft skills is being open to feedback you may receive from supervisors, managers, and coworkers. When you're free to feedback, you can be better able to accept constructive criticism and use it to improve your role, including your soft skills. As you're receiving feedback, consider thanking the individual who's providing it and developing a plan by speaking with a supervisor to improve and learn.

2. Always communicate

Although you may have responsibilities that don't require anybody's help, take the chance to form relationships with your colleagues. Communicate often to develop this soft skill. It includes communication face-to-face, through email and in presentations to a group. Since nearly every communication method differs from another, it's important to communicate through various means, so your communication skills are more well-rounded.

When you communicate, think about:

• How you address others, 
• The clarity of your message, your body language and your vocal tone. 
• How others communicate. Use their tips and techniques to find a communication style that works for you.

3. Concentrate on teamwork

Through good teamwork, you show your employer that you are great at collaboration with others. It could happen in a group setting for a presentation or one-on-one with a colleague to complete a shared task. During a shared task, each group member can contribute their share and celebrate their different skills and personalities. When you focus on teamwork, you open yourself up to learning opportunities from coworkers while improving your skills.

4. Build positive relationships with colleagues

You can develop positive relationships with your coworkers by engaging in a candid conversation about their weekend plans, family, and interests. 

There are many ways to work on your soft skills while working.

5. Step outside of the comfort zone

Step outside of your comfort zone and try something new, such as a new setting, responsibilities or a leadership role. Placing yourself in unfamiliar territory shows your manager how seriously you take your job and allows you to learn something completely new.

6. Prepare to learn

As you improve any soft skill, you may encounter failure and success. In either case, what's important is that you learn from it.

For instance, if you are in charge of a project and are working on your leadership and collaboration skills, take the time to collect feedback on your leadership and how you could improve it. Your colleague can evaluate how it went and offer their input based on their experience.

7. Adapt to workplace changes

It's normal for a workplace to go through changes, and one way to improve your soft skills is to be adaptable. You can create alternative solutions to any office issues that may occur. Be open to learning new technologies when they're released and assist with training new employees.

8. Observe your colleagues

You should pay attention to managers, coworkers and employees from other departments. See how they complete a task, including how they interact with others and their process, which may involve many soft skills. Learn from others, as everyone comes to the workplace with their own hard and soft skills.

9. Work through the conflict 

When a dispute arises, think of other ways to resolve it so you can continue your relationship with your colleagues, learn from each other and remain productive as teammates. You can demonstrate your abilities as a team player and skills as a leader.

10. Take on a leadership function.

To improve your leadership skills, consider taking on a real leadership role in the workplace. Speak with the manager about your interests. See if there's an opportunity to lead a project, group, or mentorship. Think of how you can inspire the team to do their best.

Ask your manager to consider you as an interim supervisor if they are out of the office for a meeting or planned vacation.

11. Arrive on time

Sticking to a schedule allows you to meet goals, finish work on time, and stay organised, which are skills that lead to more productivity and help you stand out from your peers.

These are the easy ways for you to develop your soft skills in your current working environment. It will take time, perhaps longer than you think, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Source: Indeed

What is AJobThing? Click to find out more about us!

Articles you might be interested in

HR Guide: Procedure and Templates for Leave Administration
What is Emergency Leave and How Does it Work in Malaysia?
Which Employees are Covered under the Employment Act?