The ability to project manage, relate to colleagues, speak in public, and other human skills will be consistently relevant over time.

Soft skills pay.

More than half (56%) of employers say communication skills, written and verbal, are their most valued human strengths, followed by collaboration and problem-solving, according to the Global Talent Shortage Survey. These soft skills will help your career both in the short and long term.

Whether you are looking for a job or want to move up, mastering the soft skills will help. Here’s how to polish these necessary elements.

Nurture your creative side

One of the ways to differentiate yourself is to become the person known for generating the greatest and most creative ideas. This process shouldn’t be viewed as another thing to add to an already over-scheduled day but viewed as a means to create a competitive advantage. Follow this model on the Universal Creative Process.

Be accountable

You can measure your progress by meeting with your manager and asking them to keep you accountable for your soft skill growth. For example, you may ask your manager to rate you on your leadership ability before and after you join committees at work. Having this external measure at the end of a development cycle will help keep you motivated and accountable.

Practice Learnability

New problems will arise as the digital landscape continues to change how we work. In order to meet these new challenges, learnability is necessary. Learnability is the desire and ability to continually learn and grow throughout careers. Ask yourself, when was the last time you read something from an unusual perspective? When have you taken the time to wrap your head around a new industry? To keep your learnability skill sharp, take the time to find unfamiliar topics and dig beneath the surface.

Finally, go back to the beginning when you checked all these boxes. Mastering soft skills isn’t a one-time task. Keep going.

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