Soft Skills Do’s and Don’ts

Soft skills will help you in any job and never lose their value.

They win out over IQ and work experience.

I’ve spoken to 100+ leaders and they all confirm:

They all hire for soft skills.

Here are 16 you need to develop,
with the do’s and don’ts to assist:

1. Work Ethic
Do: Embrace hard work without any complaints.
Don’t: Focus on quantity – outcomes always beat hours.

2. Professionalism
Do: Be trusted to represent your workplace publicly.
Don’t: Ever assume you can push boundaries in more relaxed settings.

3. Growth Mindset
Do: Enjoy feedback and learning, then incorporate both.
Don’t: Think you’ve got it all figured out, you never will.

4. Reliability
Do: What you say by when you say – every single time.
Don’t: Miss deadlines or under perform on promises you make.

5. Adaptability
Do: Be flexible when circumstances change.
Don’t: Stick to your negative ways, especially after setbacks

6. Active Listening
Do: Be able to resonate deeply with others points of view.
Don’t: Be so caught up in your response that you forget to listen.

7. Self-Awareness
Do: Understand how your actions are perceived by those around you.
Don’t: Be arrogant, selfish, or think you’re above constructive criticism.

8. Time Management
Do: Stay organised, and always finish projects on time.
Don’t: Procrastinate until you can’t get help or finish the project on time.

9. Emotional Intelligence
Do: Have control over your emotional impulses.
Don’t: Make hot-headed outbursts at the first sign of emotion.

10. Likeability
Do: Make things easier for others whenever possible.
Don’t: Make others lives harder of be difficult to work with.

11. Communication
Do: Speak and write simply and clearly, leading with the conclusion
Don’t: Use complex language to try to sound smart or condescending.

12. People Reading
Do: Observe responses, non-verbal cues, and emotions.
Don’t: Ignore the need to change based on clear or subtle signals.

13. Motivation
Do: Take charge, beginning tasks promptly and on your own.
Don’t: Require continuous guidance and motivation to proceed.

14. Collaboration
Do: Work well with others, sharing info, ideas, and credit
Don’t: Think “I could just do this faster myself” and ignore teamwork.

15. Grit
Do: Show resilience toward challenges and keep showing up
Don’t: Shrink in the face of hard situations or tasks and let them pass.

16. Integrity
Do: Tell the truth and be transparent, even if the news is bad
Don’t: Think you’ll get away with covering up and telling white lies.

Master these skills to become unstoppable.