Examples of Personal Skills that Employees and Managers should Own

Teamwork, critical thinking, leadership — soft skills are highly appreciated and play a big part in a company’s growth. Those skills are sometimes transferable. However, according to the industry, the job position and the corporate culture, some may be a better fit than others. A person working in healthcare might not need the same mindset as a leader from a sales department. Therefore, they are important for personal and for career growth but are also crucial as they have an impact on the development of your business. So, what are the most appreciated non-technical skills for an employee? As a manager, which ones should you highlight on your resume? deskbird has designed a soft skills list to give you the best examples of personal skills for employees and for managers.

Soft skills vs hard skills

What is the difference between soft skills and hard skills?

Hard skills are technical skills that are specific to each job position. As an example, creating graphics is a hard skill. Oppositely, soft skills, also called essential skills, are more of an attitude or a mindset. It is a personal core value. Being great at public speaking or at leading a team is a soft skill. In a certain way, soft skills are helping employees to make the most of their technical abilities. For instance, your team members can be amazing in their job, but if they don’t know how to communicate with each other, the end result may not reflect their full capacities.

Also, one of the main differences between soft skills and hard skills is that one is easier to learn than the other. When you want to learn how to create a website, you attend specific training and a few courses later you are ready to offer this new service. However, when it is not a characteristic of your personality, becoming good at communicating takes more effort and more time.

Why are soft skills important in the workplace?

A workforce without soft skills is rarely leading to success. Essential skills are key for your organisation to grow because they bring additional value. They help your employees to work together and get the most out of their technical knowledge. This can make a big difference to the potential of a business. People and their personal skills are what makes a company successful, not only their technical capacities.

For this reason, soft skills are becoming more and more a key differentiator during a recruitment process, which make you stand out from others. Managers are not just focusing on resumes with great hard skills but also applications with a soft skills list which are matching their values, the company fit. Companies with a strong culture of the workplace are often considering potential candidates according to their soft skills. For example, an organisation promoting a strong adhocracy culture like Google is looking for talents who cherish innovation and growth.

➡️ You are a hybrid company and looking for an employee-centric hot-desking software? Check the deskbird website and request a free demo!

Soft skills list for employees: 19 characteristics

As much as essential skills can be transferable from one job position to another, some of them are more valued in employee positions. We, at deskbird, researched the most common characteristics appreciated by employers when it comes to hiring a new team member. Here is the soft skills list for employees we created that can help you stand out among other candidates:

• effective communication ;
• adaptability ;
• teamwork ;
• active learning ;
• critical thinking ;
• curiosity ;
• enthusiasm ;
• perseverance ;
• self-direction ;
• attention to details ;
• analysis ;
• open-minded ;
• result-oriented ;
• work ethic ;
• self-motivation;
• innovation ;
• optimism ;
• mind mapping ;
• growth mindset.

➡️ Do you want to learn how to improve them? Here is our article about soft skills in the workplace.

15 examples of personal skills for managers

Having a management position may require some personal abilities that are less needed, even though appreciated when you are an employee. Nevertheless, both employees and managers’ soft skills are often interconnected.

Imagine, Tomy possesses great active communication skills. However, Emily, his supervisor, is unfortunately not a good active listener. There is a high chance that the outcomes of their collaboration are going to be negatively impacted. First, Tomy is not going to feel valued and listened to. Second, some key information may get lost in the conversation leading to further issues that may affect the company’s results.

This is why some people tend more to fit an employee position, while others perform better in a leadership role. By knowing which soft skills are appreciated in executive functions, you are then able to figure out where you can shine and focus on the ones to improve.

Here are some examples of personal skills that will make you succeed as a manager :

• time management ;
• active listening ;
• emotional intelligence ;
• goal setting ;
• decision making ;
• problem-solving;
• risk management ;
• transparency ;
• trustworthiness ;
• conflict management and resolution ;
• stress management ;
• people empowering ;
• negotiation ;
• public speaking ;
• flexibility.

In addition to hard skills, essential skills are vital to reveal your potential and help a company to grow. No matter if you apply for an employee or a manager position, a soft skills list is an amazing tool to define your strengths and promote them during a recruitment process. As an employer, listing a few examples of personal skills that you wish to see among your workforce is a great method to build a heterogeneous team. In the end, it is the convergence of hard and soft skills that makes you a unique team member. Also, if you are focusing on developing a people-centric culture in your office, we highly recommend our article about how to create a Positive Workplace Culture.