Enculturing Soft Skills for Social Commerce

Research spanning twenty-five years has consistently indicated that soft skill competencies such as self-esteem, initiative, good communication, makes a significant difference in the self efficacy of individuals. Such competencies represent what is now commonly referred to emotional intelligence and are predictive of superior performance in work roles. Can emotional intelligence as a competency go beyond an individual’s performance to become something a group or entire organisation can build on and utilize collectively? Social learning is key to migrating the modelling of soft skills across an organisation to become adopted as the cultural norm.

Daniel Goleman authored the internationally best-selling book,  Emotional Intelligence, (1995, Bantam Books),  that spent more than one-and-a-half years on the New York Times Best Seller list. Goleman developed the argument that non-cognitive skills can matter as much as I.Q. for workplace success in “Working with Emotional Intelligence” (1998, Bantam Books), and for leadership effectiveness in “Primal Leadership” (2001, Harvard Business School Press). Goleman’s most recent best-seller is Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships , (2006, Bantam Books).

Daniel Goleman’s interview was recorded on December 10, 2007, at the CASEL Forum, an event in New York City that brought together seventy-five global leaders in education and related fields to raise awareness about social and emotional learning (SEL) and introduce important scientific findings related to SEL.
CASEL is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that works to advance the science and evidence-based practice of social and emotional learning (SEL).

Roger Martin is the Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in Canada and the author of The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Press, 2009).In 2009, he was named one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by The Times of London and in 2007 he was named a Business Week ‘B-School All-Star’ for being one of the 10 most influential business professors in the world. So when he writes, people listen and I certainly hope they are paying attention to his latest article.

Roger has embarked upon declaring the dysfunctionality of corporate life and all its ramifications.  The article entitled ‘Why modern business is bad for your mental health’ speaks specifically to the financial world but could equally find its measure when applied to any major corporation culture.

‘After all, within the course of a single decade, we had the Enron/Worldcom/Tyco/Global Crossing/Adelphia accounting scandal, the options backdating scandal, and the sub-prime mortgage scandal. This is not an accident. This is the direct result of the rules of the unhealthy community we have created.’

Many of us who have left corporate life,  jumped rather than be pushed for the very reasons he highlights. The discrepancies of personal values tallied against the inappropriate demands of a business that put profits before people.  He even embarks of outlining the possibilities of a ‘healthy culture’:

Think about it. A healthy community:

• Believes in reciprocity rather than exploitation.
• Believes in long-term relationships rather than one-off encounters.
• Protects its weakest members rather than targeting them for gouging.
• Worries about the externalities it creates rather than turning a blind eye to them.
• Discourages its members from playing games that endanger the community rather than encouraging them.

What serendipity.  RMI sets it’s very raison d’etre towards fulfilling these considerations and so I shall be paying close attention to further follow ups promised from Mr Martin pursuing this objective. Authentic cultural change includes changing people’s attitudes, values and beliefs about their work and the workplace is a gradual, evolutionary process requiring careful planning and follow-through.

Gareth Morgan describes organizational culture as: “The set of the set of beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities, that represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it.” Beliefs and values are translated into behaviours and accepted working practices, in turn, manifesting the cultural climate. Culture has a powerful reach infusing the business with an intangible sense that impacts the customer. It bodes well to invest in creating healthy values that all personnel can adopt with purpose, passion and pride.



Jim Clemmer co-founded and led The Achieve Group to become Canada’s largest training and consulting company. He is a clear advocate for grooming leaders and advantaging individuals in the adoption and application of great soft skills. Jim declares that ‘Of course there are some people who remain unconvinced of the value of these “soft skills.” , they’re typically managers with minimal leadership qualities, who prefer to focus on being bottom-line driven, strategists, marketing aces, technical experts, “snoopervisors,” and so on. These managers often talk about the importance of personal effectiveness and development. They pledge undying allegiance to values, mission, and vision. They go on about people issues, like communication, teamwork, respect, and service. But they really think it’s just a lot of fluff. Well, maybe they should think again’.

According to results of a Workforce Profile, (source: http://www.workforce.com/), a valuable employee is one who will grow and learn as the business changes. Soft Skills are defined as all the skills other than technical skills required for a building a successful career. Research has indicated that whilst technical skills account for only 15% , apparently soft skills fuel 85% of a person’s productivity especially in the context of the current stressful business environment. The study analyzed careers of successful businessmen, managers, professionals, salespeople and points out that there are critical key skills required for each professional track which appears to augment retention and job satisfaction.

In the report soft skills are considered “are as important, if not more important, than traditional hard skills to an employer looking to hire regardless of industry or job type. This could offer a major breakthrough as educators and training providers seek to develop and cluster training courses to fit business and industry needs.”

Top 60 soft skills

The Workforce Profile defined about 60 “soft skills”, which employers seek. They are applicable to any field of work, according to the study, and are the “personal traits and skills that employers state are the most important when selecting employees for jobs of any type.”

1. Math.
2. Safety.
3. Courtesy.
4. Honesty.
5. Grammar.
6. Reliability.
7. Flexibility.
8. Team skills.
9. Eye contact.
10. Cooperation.
11. Adaptability.
12. Follow rules.
13. Self-directed.
14 Good attitude.
15. Writing skills.
16. Driver’s license.
17. Dependability.
18. Advanced math.
19. Self-supervising.
20. Good references.
21. Being drug free.
22. Good attendance.
23. Personal energy.
24. Work experience.
25. Ability to measure.
26. Personal integrity.
27. Good work history.
28. Positive work ethic.
29. Interpersonal skills.
30. Motivational skills.
31. Valuing education.
32. Personal chemistry.
33. Willingness to learn.
34. Common sense.
35. Critical thinking skills.
36. Knowledge of fractions.
37. Reporting to work on time.
38. Use of rulers and calculators.
39. Good personal appearance.
40. Wanting to do a good job.
41. Basic spelling and grammar.
42. Reading and comprehension.
43. Ability to follow regulations.
44. Willingness to be accountable.
45. Ability to fill out a job application.
46. Ability to make production quotas.
47. Basic manufacturing skills training.
48. Awareness of how business works.
49. Staying on the job until it is finished.
50. Ability to read and follow instructions.
51. Willingness to work second and third shifts.
52. Caring about seeing the company succeed.
53. Understanding what the world is all about.
54. Ability to listen and document what you have heard.
55. Commitment to continued training and learning.
56. Willingness to take instruction and responsibility.
57. Ability to relate to coworkers in a close environment.
58. Not expecting to become a supervisor in the first six months.
59. Willingness to be a good worker and go beyond the traditional eight-hour day.
60. Communication skills with public, fellow employees, supervisors, and customers.

How many soft skills do you possess?

When it comes to taking soft skills seriously is that most bosses think they are just about ‘touchy-feely’ people skills. Soft skills are powerful in creating great workplace environments, happier relationships and better communications. Encompassing listening, sharing with clarity, heightened awareness, both personal and communal, we raise the bar on being self motivated and professionally respected as a value to any team. In a world where getting, keeping and succeeding at work is imperative, anything we invest in that can make us irreplaceable has to be worth learning. Good leaders are forged from the fire of engagement at every level of the business rockface. Great CEO’s build on the strength of their people. The dot’s aren’t difficult to connect.

Among Peggy’s important workplace lessons are the following:

•Knowing yourself is as important as knowing how to do the job.
•Learn when to stick and when to shift or the details will hang you.
•Your procrastination is trying to tell you something.
•Get smart about asking dumb questions.
•You don’t need to be everyone’s best friend—that’s what dogs are for.
•Know where to draw the line between self-improvement and self-destruction.
•When it comes to gossip, learn the art of deflection.
•Keep your visibility when you’re not face-to-face.
•Don’t take it personally.
•Stop stereotypes from sinking you.
•You’re the boss, stupid, that’s why they hang on your every word.

And, perhaps, most favorite of all: Get out of your own way.

Peggy Klaus reveals The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner (Collins, January 2008). Peggy is a world class communicator who understands why important soft core competencies are invariably ignored and reveals the fact that soft skills can be the key to enduring success.

Interpersonal soft skills are significant in their ability to build relationships forged on trust. Honest communication, mutual respect, even where there are differences of world view or personal opinion, integrity and ethical behaviour, contribute to underpinning the trust factor. Trust is required in constructing healthy communities and organisations, and when it upheld, has been seen to unleash creativity, engender empowerment, optimise teamwork. Fostering a culture of trust, therefore, rewards communities and organizations that hold true to the principles as a highly valuable intangible asset. Both Jack Welch and Warren Bennis maintain it as a key component to business succcess and yet few companies or institutions seem to manage in enfranchise trust sustainably because of a failure to transmit it as a cultural norm.

The characteristics of trustworthiness include integrity, reliability, fairness, caring, openness, reciprocality and, within appropriate caveats that does not transgress a core value set, loyalty. Organizations and institutional policies might promote a culture of trust by promoting open communication, by modeling behaving in socially responsible and ethical ways to every employee.

According to Charles Green, creator of the Trust Equation, ‘the way we use the Trust Creation Process model is really just outcomes of the principles we hold.’ What I understand Charles to impute, it that who we are and what values we hold to be true, informs how we engage and behave with others across the board.

Green maintains that the only way to become trusted is to act consistently from a set of core principles and the four specific principles governing trustworthy behavior that he cites are:

1) A focus on the Other (client, customer, internal co-worker, boss, partner, subordinate) for the Other’s sake, not just as a means to one’s own ends.

We often hear “client-focus,” or “customer-centric.” But these are terms all-too-often framed in terms of economic benefit to the person trying to be trusted.

2) A collaborative approach to relationships.

Collaboration here means a willingness to work together, creating both joint goals and joint approaches to getting there.

3) A medium to long term relationship perspective, not a short-term transactional focus.

Focus on relationships nurtures transactions; but focus on transactions chokes off relationships. The most profitable relationships for both parties are those where multiple transactions over time are assumed in the approach to each transaction.

4) A habit of being transparent in all one’s dealings.

Transparency has the great virtue of helping recall who said what to whom. It also increases credibility, and lowers self-orientation, by its willingness to keep no secrets.

According to Green, applying these principles to all of our actions will develop the fullest potential of trust that bonds and binds relationships, and thereby, builds longevity and reward born from such a strong tie.

As this erudite research on trust reveals, ‘Trust has several beneficial effects. It helps build teams, where trust acts as a bond of tying people together. It reduces energy otherwise required for controls. It helps in cases of conflict. Overall, it reduces task complexity.’

The benefits trust rewards us with professionally, socially and personally, are worthy of our time, attention and investment to explore, accomodate and demonstrate. Make no mistake. your ‘relationship capital’ is being accounted for with every interaction, so it is a wise person that conducts themselves with every meritricious endeavour of creating relationships bound and bonded in trust.