When we refer to the most valuable skills for the job market, we often see a list of hard skills being mentioned. However, three soft skills will immediately improve your work and market value and make you a much more pleasant co-worker. Plus, these are also traits that are valuable in leadership positions.
1. Be a continuous learner
Today’s world is constantly changing. The only way to stay on top of it is by willing to adopt a life-long learner approach. Be ready to unlearn what you knew or thought you knew and adapt to new findings, techniques and tools.
This can only be done if you are open to constantly learning and curious about your professional environment and life.
Often the best solutions and innovations come from mixing the knowledge that comes from significantly different areas of life. Therefore, being able to observe the world and see what it has to offer is incredibly useful.
2. Admit your mistakes
We are all humans. Therefore, we are all bound to make mistakes. It is part of life.
In work environments, what often happens is that conflicts arise when someone makes a mistake.
When this occurs, one of two things happens:
Either they are unwilling to admit it to themselves or others and continue down that path, making the issue much more significant than it has to be.
Or, when being called out for making a mistake, they are unwilling to admit it, fuelling heated discussions that can harm the overall company morale or performance.
All this can be avoided by acknowledging you made a misstep. I realise it is not easy to do, but it often makes it much faster to re-pivot onto the right track. Moreover, it makes it easier to solve any issues that are born from that mistake.
See it this way: if you are being told off for a mistake, and you admit to it, you can quickly move onto solving the issue and spend less time being frowned upon. Plus, it also communicates to others you are willing to work to solve the problem at hand.
If you don't admit to it, this often translates into rage and resentment, which you most likely want to avoid.
3. Say you don't know
You don't have all the answers in your back pocket. No one has. If we did, many global issues would have been solved ages ago.
There is a tendency to answer any question related to our area of expertise in the professional world, even if we don't know it or if there is no answer.
This behaviour can cause issues that could be avoided if we take the time and say, "I don't have an answer for you right now, but I can find out for you and reach out to you". Not only this is a more honest behaviour, but it also allows you to provide a complete answer and build the relationship forward.
Don't be afraid of what you don't yet know.
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
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