The name is new; the contents go back to the time of Adam and Eve.
Soft Skills.
Much in vogue today. Websites, books, seminars, training programmes tell us what they are, why they matter and how to develop them.
Why this surge in interest?
Which do you expect more from your parish priest—that he can drive a car or that he gives good sermons?
What do you want in your new provincial—that she can cook well and repair broken gadgets—or that she relates well and really understands those going through a rough patch?
What kind of a husband or wife does a young person look for—someone who knows all about smartphones and laptops or someone responsible who will not cheat or ill-treat?
The answers are evident. The first option in each sentence is a “hard” skill; the second is what comes under “soft” skills.
Soft does not mean easy. It is easier to make a PowerPoint presentation or repair a motorbike than to make a marriage work, or be a good parent or effective counsellor.
Hard skills deal with handling machines, and are applicable to one type of work. Soft skills are about how we treat human beings; they come into play in all walks of life.
We can manage life without particular hard skills. Only some people need to master them. Thus, I know how to write this article using Word, but I do not know how to do heart surgery. The surgeon may not know cooking, and the cook need not know mechanical engineering. The bus driver need not be good at embroidery, and the tailor need not be an expert in law.
But we all need soft skills—how to manage our moods, how to deal with different types of people, how to communicate with one person or with a group, how to work responsibly without supervision, how to take right decisions.
Hard skills are certainly useful. They help us manage things and get us jobs, and help us “get ahead.”
Soft skills are not just useful; they are essential. They include emotional balance and caring relationships, attentive listening and effective communication. They teach us how to “get along.” The surgeon and the cook and the engineer need to handle life and relationships.
We not only need these skills. We need to teach them to those in our care. That is why they are even more necessary for leaders—parents, teachers, CEOs, religious superiors, trainers.
That’s the focus of this issue. Cover Story I shows us how soft skills matter. Cover Story II looks at three skills which make a significant difference in the ministry of religious and priests. Cover Story III is a quick look at the whole range of soft skills.
Developing soft skills is no soft job. It will involve hard work—and at times professional help. But, then, dealing with us will become a joy for others; our daily life and our many commitments—especially our dealings with people—will become smooth and refreshing. Isn’t managing life and relationships far more important than knowing how to put on a switch or flip through websites?
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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