How well do you adapt ? Change is a constant in today ’ s world , and being able to adapt to whatever the world throws at us is incredibly important . If you ’ re a ‘ we ’ ve always done it this way ’ type of person , or someone who simply hates a change in routine , you need to flick the switch !

And what about your critical thinking ? Being able to rationally analyse and assess information is another soft skill that ’ s highly valuable . You might need to do this when a customer requests some work that you simply don ’ t think is right , or when you ’ re creating your business strategy – whenever you need to employ it , critical thinking is incredibly valuable .

‘ Soft skills ’. It ’ s always seemed a bit too ‘ touchy-feely ’ hasn ’ t it ? After all , if you can do the job , then what else matters ? A lot , it seems . In reality , soft skills – essentially your personal attributes and behaviours – have always been important , but with the world changing at a rate of knots they ’ re becoming ever more important .

Why ? First of all , people are much more in-tune to this sort of stuff today generally , and secondly they ’ re essential if you are looking for a new job , or – particularly – if you want to

establish yourself in a new career . After all , soft skills determine how well you work with others – and how you adapt to change .

So , here ’ s a few questions to ask yourself about the soft skills needed to be a top-performing professional – and if there ’ s one or two on here that you maybe don ’ t have , get working on it !

How well do you resolve conflict ? When you ’ re working in a team and with clients , there ’ s always going to be conflict of some description : it comes with the territory . But how well do you

resolve the conflicts that you come across ? That ’ s the question . If you see red when confronted by an angry customer , then you ’ ll need to work on that . Calming them down , seeing their perspective and turning the situation around into a positive is a huge skill to have .

How well do you communicate ? Communication is massive . Huge . Humongous ! If you can ’ t communicate well with your colleagues and your clients then you ’ re onto a loser , right away . Good , clear , concise

Time management – do you excel ? Are you someone who ’ s always late ? Does a job that should take two hours usually take you four ? Are you always prioritising the urgent , rather than the important ? If so , your time management skills may need a little refining . Being able to manage your own time effectively is highly valued – no one wants to be micromanaging their people ’ s time – so if this is something you struggle with , it ’ s smart to pay it some attention .

By working on your soft skills , you can enhance your career prospects , get more business and really maximise the benefits of being a human ! n