Good Parenting Requires/Involves Great Leadership – Part 5 (Soft Skills)
Some of the topics covered in my previous articles on parenting include the importance of modeling & teaching children self-control, the necessity for parents to challenge their children and allow them to fail, the importance of interacting with your children in ways that will benefit them intellectually, and well-intentioned mistakes parents commonly make that lead to unintended consequences.
This entry focuses on the importance of teaching children soft skills. Soft skills are a set of personal attributes, qualities, and abilities that enable people to interact with others effectively in various settings. Some concrete examples of soft skills are: Problem-solving, Communication skills, Adaptability, the ability to Collaborate with others, Leadership, and a Positive attitude.
Gone are the days when academic excellence alone guaranteed success. For far too long, most parents have mistakenly believed that education trumps all. Of course, education is important, but over the past decade, an impressive body of research has made it clear that non-cognitive skills may be even more important.
“Soft skills get little respect, but they will make or break your career” – Peggy Klaus
The research has shown that soft skills predict success in life and that they causally produce that success. Today employers and institutions seek individuals with diverse skill sets that combine technical knowledge with soft skills.
Maybe more importantly than setting them up for success, soft skills enable children to grow their self-confidence by learning to express their thoughts and emotions more accurately. This helps them foster healthy relationships and minimize conflicts.
Mastering as many of these soft skills as possible will enable your children to navigate the complexities of life effectively and help them achieve success in their personal and professional pursuits. What good is a high-paying job if you are unhappy? Learning to deal with things is the true “secret” to finding happiness.
“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it.” – Mahatma Gandhi
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