https://hbr.org/2022/07/the-c-suite-skills-that-matter-most

An important piece of research, finding that assessing and developing ‘social’ skills is more relevant today for C-suite executives than traditional domains of technical skills and experience.

This validates what we have known for years but I really wish we could shift away from describing such social skills as ‘soft’.
We use the term interpersonal and relational skills but even more fundamentally, we are referring to what Daniel Goleman coined as emotional intelligence skills almost 30 years ago.

Such skills are anything but ‘soft’. they are tough and can be fierce and their relevance is not only for C-suite. In fact, there isn’t one role in any industry where EI skills have not been found to be the most important factor for success.

Beyond this article and building on EI, a leader’s ability to be inclusive and cultivate belonging is the difference between teams that flourish and those that don’t. As I wrote recently, this is because feeling that you ‘matter’, that your efforts contribute to the Pupose of your team is the most critical factor (right now), in driving how one does their job and their overall performance.

While the article tries to identify why social skills are so critical, the crux of the matter must be that the more our human experience is automated the more important empathy becomes.

With most organisations relying on similar information handling and processing technologies, your culture remains the one thing that truly differentiates your organisation from your competitors – a culture where leaders live diversity and inclusion, where people feel they belong and matter, is a true competitive advantage. As Kim Cameron has shown us, money follows virtuousness – it is causal relationship.

https://hbr.org/2022/07/the-c-suite-skills-that-matter-most