How to improve soft skills in the workplace?
How can I enhance my soft skills, particularly in navigating leadership challenges? As someone from India for whom English is not the first language, I aim to transition into a senior or staff-level role. Building rapport with peers and juniors is essential for me, but I'm unsure how to foster personal relationships in the workplace. Are there any recommended books on this topic?
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Discussion
(3 comments)- 1a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
I don't think books are the most effective way to improve your soft skills in the workplace.
I'd recommend starting with a recurring 1:1 series with various colleagues who you get along with. Come to each meeting with a few topics you're interested in talking about, and make it a point to go beyond work-related topics. For example, some discussion topics could be:
- Overall company strategy
- What projects they have going on outside work
- What they think of recent developments in the industry
If you have the luxury of going into an office, I'd strongly recommend that. It's much, much easier to build social relationships IRL while you're getting coffee, lunch, or simply passing each other in the hallway.
- 0a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
I asked Gemini for advice on recommended books and got back a solid list (we did a training for Crucial Conversations at Facebook):
- "Crucial Conversations" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler: Focuses on how to effectively communicate and resolve conflict.
- "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves: Provides a practical framework for understanding and improving emotional intelligence.
- "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey: Offers timeless principles for personal and professional effectiveness.
- "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott: Explores how to be both kind and challenging with your team.
- 0a month agoEng @ Taro
There's an old school book (written in 1936) called "How To Win Friends And Influence People". Even though it's an older book, humans haven't evolved that much in the last 100 years so it's still very relevant. The gist is to be genuinely interested in people's lives which leads to you asking them a lot of questions about their live and understanding their motivations. Be open minded to different interests that other people have.
I would also add, just be genuinely helpful to people with no strings attached.
