In the ambit of people management and in the labor market, it is common to look a lot at issues about our skills and how we can use them to add value to our work, whether in a technical way or dealing with people on a daily basis.
That’s why we want to bring in this article more details about Power Skills and Soft Skills, where both are important and should be applied with different focuses.
Soft skills indicate some personal attributes that help in the interaction of a person with others. These attributes are related to communication, problem-solving, teamwork, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and empathy with others. While Power Skills are more related to the ability to lead, manage, and influence people. These characteristics help in decision-making, strategic planning, and effective resource management.
However, we cannot forget the Hard Skills, which are somehow also valued and analyzed in the job market and add to your roles in your own company or the one you work for.
The Hard Skills involve technical capacities of each person, capacities that may involve any area of expertise. Thus, looking at it globally, when hard skills come together with soft and power skills, they lead to more effective and productive work processes.
How can we identify some personality nuances for Soft Skills vs Power Skills
| Soft Skills | Power Skills |
| Communication | Decision-making |
| Collaboration | Strategic thinking |
| Empathy | Visionary |
| Adaptability | Resourcefulness |
| Emotional Intelligence | Critical thinking |
| Active Listening | Problem-solving |
| Conflict resolution | Negotiation |
| Leadership development | Time management |
As we said before, in this framework Hard skills do not apply, because they are not involved with a question of behavioral and emotional skills. Although individual personality traits are also related to Soft and Power Skills, it is important to keep in mind, that all people can work on and develop these skills. And companies are increasingly aware and concerned about encouraging these skills in their teams, as they are clear benefits for technical work and for the work environment in general.
What are the main Power Skills?
- Problem-solving
- Making strategic and assertive decisions
- Taking the right inputs into consideration
- Knowing how to self-manage
- Being collaborative
- Having a broad vision
On the other hand, Power Skills are not restricted to the company’s internal environment, but also cover the macro environment, the market, trends, the brand, customers. Allowing us to understand how the company has an impact on the market, and how it is being impacted by all other external factors (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal).
And in a current scenario of rapid technological evolution, digital transformation, and a highly competitive market, professionals who gather these skills (hard, soft, and power) present, a priori, greater relationship skills, and assertive communication. But in reality, everyone can develop power skills, find out how!
How to help your team develop and boost Power Skills?
- Emotional intelligence: recognize your emotions and know how to deal with them, always encourage self-awareness of colleagues and lectures on the subject;
- Communication: fostering communication at work is beneficial in many ways, including the reduction of conflicts, greater engagement of employees and increases productivity. This can be motivated through meetings and dynamics with an exchange of experiences;
- Adaptability: flexibility is essential to get through, especially, in periods of adversity. To encourage adaptability, it can be interesting to encourage employees to grow and try new things;
- Collaboration: keeping the team together and working as a group involves collaboration, and to encourage this you can hold events and activities together.
We know that technical skills have always been essential in the job market, but increasingly we are giving importance to behavioral skills for building a successful team, better job performance, and higher productivity.
Investing in developing power skills is essential for the success of your company, and promoting the development of these skills and training them is also taking care of your organizational culture.
How do you stimulate and develop both, your own and your team’s Power Skills? Tell us all about it!