from knowledge to awareness
Demonstrating leadership skills, managing stress well, and active listening is neither a simple nor an easy task. Soft skills, unlike hard skills, are difficult to measure
Talking about these skills as if they fell within established and precise parameters and/or ranges is a complete misunderstanding. A different approach is required, first and foremost: a genuine process of understanding and awareness. Only then can these skills be implemented, refined, pragmatically enhanced, and strategically deployed within the dense networks of work dynamics.
Talking about problem-solving almost sounds ironic. After all, all animals — including humans — possess this ability. It's part of our genes.
The same goes for empathy. Every human being is empathetic to some extent, of course with some exceptions that can border on psychopathology.
Some skills can certainly be strengthened. But others call for a deeper process of genuine empowerment.
Managing conflict, negotiating, adapting to change and practising active listening all require drawing on different aspects of one’s character, personality and life experience, as well as the ability to process and reflect on these.
Unlike hard skills, these abilities are not acquired through automatic processes.
In today's world, the role of purely “hard” knowledge has become relatively marginal. This shift, however, may have started long ago.
The true focus now revolves around our mindset and skillset, which form the backbone of success, performance, tangible results and, above all, quality of work.
The key words? Soft skills.
A must-have set of transferable skills
Finding and recruiting people with a set of soft skills is becoming a real mission for HR departments in all private companies and public administrations.
At the same time, these skills have become a distinguishing feature — the element that truly makes the difference and provides a genuine competitive edge. That extra gear, so to speak.
Soft skills can be learned, trained, strengthened, and therefore valued, and in fact allow us to "live better", just as the World Health Organization.
They are "life skills."
Talking about transversal skills therefore means talking about the Person, that is, referring to their cognitive facets (problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, creativity); relational architectures (empathy, communication, conflict management, team collaboration); and emotional aspects (self-awareness, emotion management, stress management).
People, not resources
Soft skills, therefore, refer to the Person, and a human resource is not simply a work resource. The term "transversal skills" comes from the fact that they are inextricably intertwined with every aspect of an individual's professional and personal life. This, too, is awareness. Finally!
Soft skills, therefore, as key, central, and crucial competencies. To foster a true and meaningful cultural shift, it is necessary to inform, raise awareness, train, and develop. Implementing detailed and specific training programs is a necessary and useful step, as is disseminating online courses, interactive workshops, coaching sessions, simulations, and even the strategic use of seriousgames. But this, I suppose, is just the tip of the iceberg.
Transversal competencies as a top priority
Going beyond any reflection, according to the World Economic Forum in its update of "The Future of Jobs Report 2025", soft skills represent, in all respects, a top priority for companies all over the world.
The study highlighted some particularly striking findings:
- 94% of companies consider soft skills more important than technical skills. Excellent finding.
- The most in-demand skills include: critical thinking, creativity, empathetic leadership , and change management. Easy to say!
- Soft skills are strategic for tackling the evolution and dominance of new technologies. An undeniable truth.
communication , effective interpersonal skills , and problem-solving are almost mandatory. They always have been!
REFERENCES
Abele-Brehm, A., & Oberg, S. (2022). The Importance of Soft Skills for Career Development: Implications for Educational and Organizational Practice. Routledge.
Anderson, M., & Roberts, S. (2024).Soft Skills in the Workplace: A Critical Review of Current Practices and Future Directions. Harvard Business Review Press.
Duggan, C., & McDonnell, A. (2024).Developing Soft Skills for Career Success in the Age of Automation. Cambridge University Press.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2023).Emotional Intelligence and Leadership: An Update for the 21st Century. Jossey-Bass.