Learning Soft Skills

The trend I’m seeing is that companies offer professional development to their employees, but it’s rarely used. Some attend conferences, but for the most part, there doesn’t seem to be an urgency to learn new skills (outside of Ai) to make ourselves indispensable. Companies don’t often have the time or inclination to train, give honest feedback about career trajectories or evaluate people’s potential. My first day in agency land was learning how to use a Mac but hunting through navigation with a frustrating trial and error approach. No YouTube tutorials, no help button, no onboarding. And I feel like I’m doing that again with new tools. Looking around for a hidden door. Using search and Ai to get the software to do what I want it to do. Swearing and slamming my laptop. And then trying again. There are learning stacks for these types of skills, but I haven’t quite gotten myself invested in taking a course on Canva, for example (yet.)

With that in mind, it doesn’t surprise me that people aren’t trained on the softer skills: Leadership. Communication. Strategic thinking. Facilitating conversations. Or getting people to want to work for/with you (this is a big one.) And no one seems to be teaching people to write killer briefs, even though every company I’ve worked with as an employee, consultant, coach or freelancer would see a financial gain from training their people on this skill. In a way, it’s a new game with new rules and new skills to learn, but in another way, it’s really mastering the basics that are the foundation of our collaborations and creative development. I’m creating a space to teach these skills…and this is my nudge to individuals to empower yourselves to learn a skill that will likely change the trajectory of your career with an investment of a weekend. It frames HOW YOU THINK and how you inspire others to understand what you’re asking for. You can write a brief for a partner, a house, and a dog. You’re MUCH more likely to get what you really want if you can articulate it. In writing. In a brief format. And in a creative way.