Soft Skills Shouldn’t Be Hard Work
Are you the kind of person who recoils at the thought of having to do a presentation to your C-Suite Colleagues?
Or maybe you get that fluttering, sick feeling when dealing with that awkward person in your team?
Or it could be that you find it hard to connect with people, to build those relationships that you need to get stuff done?
Or you have to attend the board meeting, but no one is listening to you?
Well, this is for you.
It's alright for John in sales, he seems to thrive on talking to people, on sharing his ideas in meetings, and presenting fabulous and interesting products to the masses, while you sit there in the background wishing this would just end. Well, good for John, huh?
And how come Jenny, the Ops Director always seems to be listened to in meetings, when you feel that no one really wants to hear what you've got to say?
Maybe it seems that they think Tech is a bit of a by-product of the business rather than an integral part, but you can’t seem to change their minds, or get them interested?
Well, maybe your amazing tech skills, great ideas, and systems thinking is top notch, but those much-needed soft skills feel like hard work for you?
And we need those soft skills, and that leader’s mindset to be able to change the way people think.
- They way they think about Tech in the business
- The way they see your team
And we also need those skills to change the way people see you.
- That’s your team, your peers and your boss
They need to value you, see you as belonging in the team, and listen to what you have to say.
But they don’t.
And maybe it’s because it isn’t enough to be good at the Tech and Tech alone.
If you want to contribute at C Level, you need to be able to Think, Be and Do at C Level, including your ability to build relationships, grow teams and engage your audience in what you stand for.
Otherwise, you are right – No one is listening!
But people are messy, people are difficult, and code is so much easier!
But it doesn’t have to be so hard.
One of the things we teach on our CTO Impact Accelerator is that these skills, even if they don’t come naturally are, in fact, learnable.
It’s like a jigsaw puzzle.
Once you understand some of the rules, and the approaches that work for different people you select your approach from your various options.
Once you know how you need to be thinking, behaving and showing up, then you can apply the tools you need for each situation.
Yes, it needs practice, but it is possible to become relevant, interesting and valuable to those around you. Even if they are not Tech people.
They need you, and the business needs you.
You need to be integrated into their world and they yours. Because when that happens you are then less likely to be cast off to one side but brought in from the cold.
You need to be integrated into their world and they yours. Because when that happens you are then less likely to be cast off to one side but brought in from the cold.
of their business and trust you to lead them towards it.
Julie.
Julie "Chief Impact Engineer" Hutchison
Email: [email protected]
P.S. Whenever you are ready...here are 4 ways I can help you increase your impact as a leader:
1. Join The "Quiet Leaders Lab™ Facebook Group and connect with other leaders who want to grow
It's our Facebook community where those that are The Quiet Leaders can learn and share how to increase their impact, influence and outcomes – Click here
2. Grab a free copy of my leadership impact report: The Team Performance Engine™
It’s the Road Map to your journey to increasing your impact as a leader - Click here
3. Join our Leaders Launchpad™ Mastermind Group Programme
This Mastermind is a selected group of like-minded leaders, in an online community, focused on growing your results.
With training, group coaching calls, guest speakers and more, supporting and challenging you to design and implement real team performance in your business.
Send me a message or email [email protected] with "IMPLEMENT" in the subject line and we can discuss how you can join us
4. Work with me and my team privately
If you or your team just need a little more one to one attention to make change happen in your business... just message and put "PRIVATE" in the subject line... tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!