Vanessa,
Skills vary from place to place as well, good point.
Philip Campbell
Dependability, attention to detail, and a positive attitude top the list for me in any work environment.
Several skills come to mind,(in no particular order)1.having effective work relationships with one's co-workers,2. customer service and 3.common sense.
There are many soft skills that are very important for the workplace. For my workplace, the following would be important:
attention to detail
conflict resolution
dependability
positive attitude
I really think having the positive attitude will take you along way and will help you through many of the soft skills needed.
Willis,
Emotions are hard to manage and control at times. Mark Twain was a wise man.
Philip Campbell
I think managing ones own emotions is a very crucial soft skill. In todays world with a diverse group of adult learners and age range [often from 18-55+] Managing my emotions helps me face the challenges of the day to day issues.
Also,common sense. Now that I am older [56] I find that what Mark Twain said many years ago still rings true. 'Comon sense ain't so common'!
Sebastian,
Interesting. This is true and the way to interpret it is different as well.
Philip Campbell
Jim,
I think most would agree with you on these.
Philip Campbell
An important soft skill in the work place is, listening, no, truely listening. Not being fake, but really listening, not "pretending to listen". Staying focused on "what" the valuable person is saying.
I agree with common sense,but honestly I avoid even using those 2 words in class,because I don't think is teachable and besides one perceives the meaning of common sense in so many different ways.
I believe that the most important soft skills are common sense,understanding and respecting others, and dependability. Having those 3 will go a long way toward making you a successful member of any workplace.
A positive attitude goes a long way especially in terms of all the negativity that the students or coworkers may be experiencing. It's up to the instructor to make sure the students stay positive about their future careers, and keep them focused on the tasks at hand.
You must have a good attitude and common sense be able to turn negative criticism into positive criticism and do your best to motivate those aroung you.
Lavetta,
Those are two that are mentioned a lot. Being positive is often times harder to do than being negative. Keep up the good work.
Philip Campbell
It's tough for me to pinpoint, as I believe they are all important. However, I think common sense and a positive attitude are at the top. Having these two, I believe will aid in integrity and the other soft skills.
Peter,
Sounds like you are a big team player.
Philip Campbell
Falisia,
Great points. We can teach them the technical skills, but if we go one step further they could be more successful.
Philip Campbell
Interesting question...
In my opinion we do very little in schools to nurture the reflective mind. Given that it is much more important for student or teacher to reach certain academic goals. Most learning/teaching psychology authors suggest that schooling should especially focus on cognitive processes that we deem important, but that the mind does not do well naturally. By that criterion, the reflective mind qualifies for more attention in schools because quite a lot of data show that most of us do not use the it as optimally as we might.
Back to the question: Is common sense teachable? To some extent, yes. In my opinion it is with sufficient practice, students can come to recognize the types of errors the reflective mind makes, and learn to avoid them; or eventually learn.
Thank you for the opportunity,
Rody
I believe soft skills help an individual succeed further in their career than hard skills. Having a positive attitude and people skills goes a far way within in an organization. It is important as instructors that we are incorporating soft skills within our classroom.
To put it simply, there is NO "I" in TEAM.
Being a team player in any workplace is important.
An instructor call in sick. Someone needs to cover his/her class. You have taught the class before and fortunately, you are sitting at your desk drinking your coffee as you mark papers.
Well, volunteer to cover their class. GOOD TEAM PLAYER.
