Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities.
hard skills vs soft skills:
In the world of work, “hard skills” are technical or administrative procedures related to an organization’s core business. Examples include machine operation, computer protocols, safety standards, financial procedures and sales administration. These skills are typically easy to observe, quantify and measure. They’re also easy to train, because most of the time the skill sets are brand new to the learner and no unlearning is involved.
By contrast, “soft skills” (also called “people skills”) are typically hard to observe, quantify and measure. People skills are needed for everyday life as much as they’re needed for work. They have to do with how people relate to each other: communicating, listening, engaging in dialogue, giving feedback, cooperating as a team member, solving problems, contributing in meetings and resolving conflict. Leaders at all levels rely heavily on people skills, too: setting an example, teambuilding, facilitating meetings, encouraging innovation, solving problems, making decisions, planning, delegating, observing, instructing, coaching, encouraging and motivating.
Examples of soft skills:
§ Participate in a team (see team building)
§ Lead a team (see leadership)
§ Unite a team amidst cultural differences
§ Teach others
§ Coach others
§ Motivate others
§ Provide services
§ Negotiate
§ Decision making
§ Problem solving
§ Observe forms of etiquette
§ Active Listening
§ Maintain meaningless conversation (small talk)
§ Maintain meaningful conversation (discussion/debate)
§ Defuse arguments with timing, instructions and polite, concise language
§ Foresee situations
§ Establish rapport
§ Empathic communication
§ Self-awareness
§ Proactive Attitude
ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_skills
Top Soft Skills a Managerial Candidate needs to possess -http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/01/26/top-10-soft-skills-for-job-hunters/
Top 60 soft skills at work - http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/jan/08soft.htm
Top 10 Soft Skills for a Manager - http://management.about.com/b/2008/09/28/top-ten-soft-skills-for-managers.htm
