Soft skills: Which one does your IT organization need most?

463 readers like this.
463 readers like this.
soft sklls

How great is the need for soft skills in IT departments? The need is growing so quickly that there's a movement to stop calling them "soft" and start calling them "core" skills. A new report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services – "IT Talent Strategy: New Tactics for a New Era" – cites the following eight core skills CIOs say will be most important in 2020 and beyond. Which one of the eight skills do you need most? Take our poll:

Which of the following core skills is MOST needed in your IT organization? (Choose one) :

Results

Communication (written, verbal, pitching, storytelling)
37% (38 votes)
Collaboration
31% (32 votes)
Consulting
2% (2 votes)
Coaching
4% (4 votes)
Influence
6% (6 votes)
Empathy
12% (12 votes)
Networking
4% (4 votes)
Problem Solving
6% (6 votes)
Total votes: 104
Tags
IT Strategy
IT Talent

Comments

Bob | February 20, 2020

I call these, "the soft skills that are hard" for many IT professionals. The first challenge we have as a group is to recognize that these skills ARE important. Right now, many of us still see them as less important than the latest tech skills. As an industry, we spend more time and attention lamenting the lack of these skills than we do in actually increasing our competence in them.