As a 9-5 career professional, the development of certain interpersonal skills can go a long way in helping you develop confidence, demand respect and thrive in the workplace. As you consider the various skills you want to climb to the peak of your career, keep these 5 important skills in mind:
1. Communications skills
Business is about building valuable, meaningful relationships — with clients, with colleagues, with managers and with your community. Those relationships begin and end with effective written, verbal and nonverbal communication. You should have proper email etiquette, public speaking, advocating for yourself and your causes, business writing, facilitating meetings and events, handling office politics, listening, interviewing, networking, resume writing and small talk.
2. Teamwork
No man is an island. Even if you work best alone, you need to get along with your team to achieve your organisation goals. Their strengths would complement your weaknesses. Your skillset should include resolving conflict, fostering positive relationships and building and managing a team.
3. Time management
Every career professional knows their time is money and that achieving their ambitions demands an impeccable work ethic. Your ability to manage your time and meet deadlines is important. Efficient time management not only includes punctuality, focus and the ability to meet deadlines but also attention to detail, intrinsic motivation and a knack for taking initiative.
4. Leadership
Unless you serve in a management role, this skill could be easy to overlook. Leadership skills are essential, regardless of your role within an organization. It is a lot broader than the ability to tell people what to do. To be an effective leader, your skills should include budgeting, coaching, coordinating resources, making decisions, setting goals, gathering information, mentoring and planning. The best leaders also tend to be those who possess a growth mindset, a positive attitude and a calm persona, even under pressure.
5. Personal skills
Personal skills are a broad category, which includes the hard and soft skills that associate you with competence, integrity, resilience and emotional intelligence. These skills also help you develop a vision and execute it with precision. For instance, your ability to handle personal finances, set goals, enforce personal and professional boundaries, and regulate your self-image is important in managing your own career growth and building a professional reputation.