How Soft Skills (a.k.a. Leadership) Save Time And Make Money!

Just recently, I was talking with a HR expert who works in Executive placement in larger companies. I asked him to estimate for me what it costs for a company to have the wrong person in a role and have to hire another person or to hire a person who is a bad fit for their team who only last 6 months?  He estimated that it costs at least $100,000 to the company in lost salary, momentum and reptutation (having 3 people in a role within 12 months).  Of course that figure could be far higher depending on whether the company was depending on this person to launch a major product or handle a major account.

This is an example of how the ‘Soft Skills’ are critical to a company or organisation’s success. A company is far more likely to hire the best people if they have:

• Established and fleshed out very clear vision, mission, values and corporate culture (all soft skills).
• Developed a strong leadership culture in which everyone is empowered to contribute (soft skills)
• Built real teams where everyone is accountable to agreed outcomes, including the leader (again soft skills)
• Have understood each current team member’s personality profile (using a tool like E-DISC) in order to establish clear communciation and heightened function (soft skills).
• Worked out the kind of person they need to hire in terms of personality profile as well as skill set (soft skills).

Soft Skills are the key to growing your organisation.

Soft Skills (a.k.a. Leadership Skills) include:

• People skills – learning to inspire, to relate, to communicate
• Team building skills – learning how to work together, to build synergy
• Relationship skills – connecting people to other people and to vision
• Motivational skills – inspiring, challenging holding people accountable
• Skills related to building culture and momentum – where everyone belongs and builds
• Strategic planning skills – making the strategic plan a living working document
• Skills related to empowering and releasing people to flourish
• Mentoring skills – where everyone is learning and growing
• Coaching skills – where everyone is lifted and challenged to be the best they can be

Every organisation needs technicians and managers with excellent skills in order to conduct their core business. Every organisation needs administration and financial management.

However, the truth is that while managers, administrators and technicians are necessary it takes Leaders with Leadership Skills to grow a business or organisation. That’s right – if you analyse the growth of any business or organisation in every case you will find that it’s a Leader using ‘Soft Skills’ that has been behind the growth.

This is why I find it difficult to understand why less than 40% of Australian Managers have had any specific Leadership training. (Worklife Magazine in 2010).

I believe that Leadership Development is the key to increased productivity in Australian businesses.

I believe that Leadership Development is the key for Not-for-Profits to become more effective in their fields and to maximise their funding dollar.

“Everything rises and falls on Leadership” according to Leadership author, John Maxwell.

So, yes, the Soft Skills do save time and make money. They are critical to every business and organisation. I wonder why it has taken us so long to know this.