{"id":8252,"date":"2020-11-19T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/?p=8252"},"modified":"2020-11-19T03:45:09","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T11:45:09","slug":"soft-skills-to-cultivate-for-2021-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/soft-skills-to-cultivate-for-2021-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft Skills to Cultivate for 2021 and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"
This year has put organizations, communities, governments, and individuals to the test. We\u2019ve been pushed out of our comfort zones and forced to adapt to uncomfortable changes. Most of us have learned a lot, and many have begun to find their footing in the new normal. As we look ahead to next year and prepare to deal with similar challenges, it’s necessary to take stock of what we\u2019re doing well and what we need to improve.<\/span><\/p>\n While many of us needed to cultivate new hard skills this year (like learning how to use Zoom to meet the immediate survival needs of the moment), there are other, softer skills that may help us thrive in the long-term.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a fast-paced individual who skims through emails and replies on the go, now would be a good time to check yourself. With emailing and messaging being a primary form of communication, your coworkers need you to slow down long enough to read the whole <\/em>email and respond to each <\/em>question. If you find yourself rushing through written documents, emails, and comments, it\u2019s time to change up that behavior.<\/p>\n On that same note, make sure you\u2019re intentional about how you reach out to your colleagues:<\/p>\n That way, you\u2019re not interrupting your coworkers more often than needed, and you\u2019re allowing them to be as efficient as possible in their response.<\/p>\n On that same note, being helpless when it comes to answering your own questions isn\u2019t a good strategy. We need to become more self-sufficient and teach ourselves how to do things effectively. If you\u2019re an \u201cI don\u2019t learn that way\u201d type of person, you\u2019re not doing yourself any favors. Just because you\u2019ve done something one way for years doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t learn a new approach. And that is what this changing world demands of us.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t know how to use that program? Look up classes online. Ask Google. Watch how-to YouTube videos.<\/p>\n There is a world of information at your fingertips; \u201cnot knowing how to do something\u201d isn\u2019t a viable excuse anymore. To stay ahead of the game and function effectively in your role, it\u2019s time to stop being stubborn and get yourself in a learner\u2019s mindset. New solutions, new programs, new approaches all take effort to learn.<\/p>\n So be prepared to make an effort and choose to do it before you absolutely must.<\/p>\n Working from home can soften your routines and blur the lines between work life and home life. This can make it difficult to set boundaries around your time, take breaks, or even stay on task. Most people haven\u2019t had practice working from home since they were in school and had homework.<\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re not struggling to get work done, your coworkers might be juggling children at home or other challenges that make it difficult for them to manage their time. Make extra sure you\u2019re getting things to people when they need them. Also, know how and where they rely on you. Be conscious and intentional about your approach to your time. Make adjustments and advocate for your (or your team\u2019s) needs when necessary.<\/p>\n With more communication taking place over email and channels like Slack, it\u2019s incredibly important to write in an exact, concise, and grammatically correct way. Don\u2019t make it difficult for people to understand your emails. Don\u2019t leave them guessing what you mean.<\/p>\n Make an effort to learn etiquette for email, Slack, and other communication channels. It can be difficult to convey tone through writing, so be intentional<\/em>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t send an email with a question in the subject line and six question marks in the body. At the very least, say hello and wish them a good day. Without some personal engagement, you risk upsetting someone, coming off as rude, or looking unprofessional. Everyone deserves this: your coworkers, your boss, your clients, your employees\u2014everyone.<\/p>\n You wouldn\u2019t scream at your coworkers, so leave out all caps words unless that\u2019s what you want them to think. Writing is your new voice. Treat it with respect and consideration, or you\u2019ll end up with bad results.<\/p>\n In the end, it\u2019s on us to figure out what works best. It\u2019s on us to adapt and learn new tools. It\u2019s on us to show up every day and give 100%. Sitting around in frustration about all the things you have to learn isn\u2019t going to help you. Take responsibility for your success. Ask for help when you need it, and rely on yourself when you can. In times of change comes growth, it\u2019s up to us to decide whether we grow or get left behind.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Photo by kristo74<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Content provided by\u00a0<\/em>Q4iNetwork<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and partners<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This year has put organizations, communities, governments, and individuals to the test. We\u2019ve been pushed out of our comfort zones and forced to adapt to uncomfortable changes. Most of us have learned a lot, and many have begun to find their footing in the new normal. As we look ahead to next year and prepare … Continue reading Soft Skills to Cultivate for 2021 and Beyond<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":310,"featured_media":8255,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15,36],"tags":[10,16,37],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinnaclehrs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Developing a systematic approach<\/h3>\n
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Proactive learning<\/h3>\n
Time management<\/h3>\n
Strong written communication<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s on you\u00a0<\/h3>\n