This Tip discusses findings that five soft skills are keys to job success, including analytic thinking, leadership, and self-awareness.
Soft Skills are the Keys to Job Success
Soft skills account for 85% of success on the job, according to the Stanford Research Center.
In their 2025 Future of Jobs Report, the World Economic Forum reported that the top five core skills for workers are soft skills:
- Analytical Thinking
- Resilience, Flexibility, and Agility
- Leadership
- Creative Thinking
- Motivation and Self-Awareness
Let’s examine why job success is so dependent on these soft skills, which are so uniquely human.
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Analytical Thinking
Our world is complex and getting more complex every day. There are technological breakthroughs and economic upsets. To survive, we need to be able to analyze, to see through the complexities to define the underlying problems and propose thoughtful alternative solutions.
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Resilience, Flexibility, and Agility
Change is constant. With resilience, we are able to adjust and calmly manage stressful situations. We also need the flexibility and agility to quickly and effectively respond to challenges, make difficult decisions, and implement them as circumstances fluctuate.
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Leadership
This is a skill that anyone, regardless of position, can possess. The leaders among us build trust and cohesion around common goals. They motivate us. If there are conflicts, they mediate them. Leadership is necessary to keep everything and everyone on track.
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Creative Thinking
Creativity and innovation are essential to keeping organizations competitive. They require a psychologically safe work environment to risk and make mistakes as they discover new products, services, and solutions to hard problems.
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Motivation and Self-Awareness
When we are self-aware, we know our strengths and weaknesses. As a result, we also know what we need to work on. There is also an element of emotional intelligence, which enables us to be empathetic and maintain a collaborative work environment.
The exercise of these skills results in a more harmonious and cooperative experience on the job. They help teams thrive and organizations achieve their goals.
As AI takes over routine work, that frees us to analyze and resolve more complex problems with creativity, resilience, and agility.
These five uniquely human skills will continue to be essential as we work together to ensure that our organizations and our work lives are healthy and sustainable.
May your learning be sweet,
Deborah
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