New Trends in Management:

Technical skills give you

business, soft skills give
you profits
Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO: Cenlead

According to CEO, Tech Sys Ltd., Dinesh Sattrukulsinghe, "Our technical people are able
to penetrate into business and win a lot of institutional customers. But, retaining such
institutional customers, developing business with them, and earning profits, depends
largely on the soft skills of our people."
The statement of Sattrukulsinghe clearly reflects the importance and significance of
maintaining excellent relations with institutional customers.
Soft skills is the most important "job asset" today.
Why soft skills?
"Soft Skilled people are wealth creators - profit generators."
The focus so far has been on qualifications that boast of specialisation in various fields.
However, the globalisation of the industries and job scene has suddenly found us wanting
in the area of soft skills. These skills are essential for the success of any individual as
well as an organisation. Business communication, business etiquette, leadership, team
building, relationship management, and time management are some of these soft skills.
Organisations and some management institutes have realised the importance of these
skills. The focus is becoming increasingly evident. Most companies have, therefore, a
budget for soft skills training. Soft skills are also increasingly becoming important
criteria in selection and promotion of individuals.
Soft skills are skills relating to people issues. These are the skills that make client and
customers feel happy as well as keep them loyal.
Technology, customer - driven markets, an information - based economy an globalisation
calls for an increased reliance on and demand for, soft skills. Many employees today look
for a set of skills that are often developed on cross - functional assignments.

These are termed soft skills. "Soft" skills include oral communication, written
communication, critical and lateral thinking skills, and the development of an overall
sense of the "big picture".
Soft skills are the essential skills that all employees must develop to achieve success in
the workplace. Be it a CEO of a company, an HR executive, manager, counsellor or an
ordinary employee, all must master these skills.
Among others, the following are considered as the key soft skills.

* Interpersonal Intelligence
* Excellent communication skills.
* Building relationships.
* High level of drive and determination.
* Think effectively at strategic level.
* Able to initiate and manage change.
* Proven ability to lead.
* Good negotiator.
* Motivating team builder.
* Problem solving and decision making.
* Networking
* Capable of thinking laterally
* Creative in style.
* Ability to create win/win deals.
* Persuasiveness
* Flexibility
* Understanding difference
* Active Listening

Interpersonal Intelligence
This is the ability to understand and work with other people. It requires the capacity to
perceive and be responsive to the moods, temperaments, intentions and desires of others.
Interpersonal relationships are of profound significance whether at work or at social
levels. Most of the problems that we encounter at work are actually problems relating to
people. Successful people recognize the rewards that come from maintaining healthy
interpersonal relationships with those they interact with.
They know that their quality of life is contingent upon the quality of their relationships
with people. They have a genuine flair for developing healthy, rewarding and satisfying
relationships with people. Successful people are pleasant to talk to, and are warm and
receptive. They develop a magnetic personality that attracts others to them.
Persuasiveness
We have to influence someone to do what we want them to do (eg. a salesperson trying to
persuade a buyer or a negotiator trying to persuade another negotiator). You may not
consider yourself as either a salesperson or a negotiator but you are a persuader
nonetheless.
Think how often you have an idea that you need to "sell" to your boss or to colleagues.
Think how often, say in a meeting or discussion, you have a point of view that you want
to persuade other people to agree with or adopt. The plain fact is that in most of your
interactions with other people you are seeking to exert some influence - to persuade.
Flexibility
Good working relationships are like bridges: if they don't allow for some movement then
they collapse. The person who always has to be right or always has to come out as winner
will not be too successful. You need to know when to overlook failings and as when to
accept less than you might have been seeking.
That doesn't mean you always have to compromise your own views or wind up with
solutions that merely represent the least unattractive options. But you should ensure that
other people's needs and points of view are fully taken into account and those decisions
are not dictated by ego.
Optimistic Attitude
An optimistic attitude prepares you to anticipate success and to bounce back form
setbacks. A positive outlook helps you to view obstacles as opportunities and to stay
motivated to achieve what you want in work.

With an optimistic attitude you will make self - fulfilling prophecies work for you rather
than against you - if you expect things to turn out well, they are more likely to do so.
Self - Confidence
As we have seen, optimists possess many valuable qualities, such as self-awareness,
resilience and happiness. However, no attribute is more precious to the optimist than his
or her self-confidence.
By trusting in your ability to do what needs to be done, you enter into all your
undertakings in the expectation of success. Expecting to succeed is a powerful motivator
and helps you to persist even in the face of difficulties. And, of course, positive
expectations tend to lead to positive results.
Building Positive relationships
There is a diverse set of skills which we apply to the business of initiating, building,
maintaining and enhancing our relationship in life and work. It is in effect the bringing of
our personal abilities and applying them in relating to others in the working context.
As pointed out, there is a huge range of types and levels of relationships that operate in
life, and particularly in working life. Some are more formal than others. Some are nearer
to friendships or even partnerships.
Listening
* Listening solves mutual problems: It is ridiculous to disagree with someone until you
understand their point of view.
* Listening leads to cooperation: When people reckon they are important to you, they will
be more inclined to respect you in return and cooperate with you.
* Listening helps decision - making: by listening to the experience and ideas of others,
you improve your own judgment.
* Listening builds your own confidence: the more your understand others, the more likely
you are to do and say things to which they will respond positively.
* Listening prevents conflict: talking before listening leads to the foot - in - mouth
experience we never forget. You have two ears and one mouth: take the hint.
Proposing
Think carefully about how you word a proposal and practise it on yourself or a colleague
to gauge the effect before you actually say it. Again, the tweaking of the odd word can
make the difference between it being accepted and being thrown back in your face.

Here are some basic points to remember:

* Frame the proposal in the positive: in terms of what do you want rather than what you
dont want.
* Package the proposal so that it has a number of component parts which can be adjusted
or negotiated if necessary.
* Phrase your proposal in such a way that it sounds as if you are floating on objectively
good idea and inviting the other side to join in.
Negotiation skills
In the world of work, we rarely get our way in everything. Business life is about
balancing the interest of all the parties who have vested interests. Obviously, these
interests can compete or even conflict. Whether we are representing our own interests,
those of our department or function, or those of the organisation itself, we need to be able
to negotiate.
Negotiation involves discussion and agreement to maximise the benefit to all interested
parties. Notice that this is different to just getting your own way at the expense of the
other party. In business life, we talk of win-win.
Teams - the key to success
A team is a small group of people working together, pooling their talents and sharing
responsibility in the pursuit of an agreed goal. Teamworking refers to individuals and
groups working together in reasonable co-operation and harmony.
Success hinges on work ethics, communication skills and self-development. Be positive,
industrious, action, oriented, pro-active, disciplined, honest and professional. Be strong in
your fundamentals but also look beyond your subject to develop allied skills.
Self-awareness
IT sector, Business process outsourcing and other IT related sectors are fastest growing
sectors. Such sector needed more individuals who are self-aware and team players.
Career dynamics revolved around continuous learning, multi-tasking, the ability to adapt
and independent judgment. What employers look for is a consistently good academic
track record, willingness to go the extra mile, teamwork, commitment to excellence,
creativity, but most importantly, communication skills.
To become a world-class professional, you should develop customer focus, technical
skills, behavioural attributes and healthy attitude.

Master your soft skills. You will have a bright future. Your company will earn more
profits! Soft skilled people are wealth creators - profit generators.