Skills are skills. Would you say a mechanic finessing a bolt is using soft skills?

Is a lawyer effective if he only knows the statutes? Is a physician effective if she only treats your child’s tumor without any bed-side manner?

OK, academically I can see why you might want to draw distinctions between hard skills – those needed to complete a specific task, and soft skills – those that have to do with emotional intelligence. However, when teaching a job if you only teach one or the other you will fail.

WARNING: The person with the budget is usually not versed in the distinctions and thinks hard skills are things we can’t do without and soft skills are things we can do without.

• Stop making the distinction.
• Just teach.
• Create curriculum that teaches to achieve results.
• Merge the two.
• Don’t have a soft skills track.
• Ensure that every class is blended rather than leaving the blending to the learner.

Effective leaders create a blended curriculum for their development.

Photo credit: Jesslee Cuizon

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