The Human Factor at Work: Part One - In Praise of Social Skills

Human interactions rule our lives. Our social skills may be even more valuable than we realize. In a world where technological advances increasingly provide solutions and perform jobs, our social skills can increase or diminish our value at work.
I see this in companies where I work and provide coaching services. We take our social skills and our natural abilities to interact and work well together for granted. Most of us—professionals, employees and managers alike—undervalue our social skills. This is a short-sighted and less durable approach to outstanding performance.
“When people in an organization develop a shared and intuitive vibe for what’s going on in the world, they’re able to see new opportunities faster than their competitors, long before that information becomes explicit enough to read about in the Wall Street Journal. They have the courage of their convictions to take a risk on something new.” –Dev Patnaik, Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread …