Examples of soft skills that will get you promoted at work

Examples of soft skills that will get you promoted at workExamples of soft skills that will get you promoted at workChances are that the combination of your hard and soft skills landed you your job. While its important to keep strengthening those hard skills, its most likely your soft skills that will secure your next promotion.Use these examples of soft skills to prove your promotability in the workplace.Even if youre in your first week of a new job, its never too early to start thinking about a promotion, according to Denise Dudley, a behavioral psychologist and founder of SkillPath Seminars.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreExamples of soft skillsSoft skills are desirable qualities that are learned throughout ones life from their environment rather than their formal education. Examples of soft skills include communication, leadership ability, critical thinking, creative thinkin g, coachability, curiosity, time management, work ethic, emotional intelligence, positive attitude, and the ability to work under pressure.Observe behavior so you dont annoy your baboThe old saying is treat people the way you would want to be treated, but really you should treat people the way they want to be treated, Dudley said. And you can figure that outyou can figure out how people want things.Using observational skills, you can come to understand the behaviors that please your babo and those that dont. By knowing how your boss likes to work, youll be able to adjust your actions to fit her preferences.For example, would your boss rather hear problems at the end of the day, or should you wait until tomorrow morning to bring them up?Is she a morning part, or is she a little more chipper after her first cup of coffee? If your boss is a morning person, feel free to strike up some chit chat when she walks into the schreibstube. If not, wait until she perks up to bring up that new pr oject youre working on. But you wont know how to act until you use observational skills to judge her mood.Being able to read people is very important to being promoted because you need the people in the positions of power to remember you favorably, Dudley said. You want to be the person they put forward when promotion time comes so that youve got your champions out there.Use observational skills during meetingsUsing emotional intelligence at work is extremely important so that you possess enough social awareness to pay attention to others. Instead of being wrapped up in your own head, observe the other people at the conference table. What are they bringing up? What do they like to talk about?When do they seem irritated? When do they seem like theyre having fun?Becoming a really good behavioral observer is important to your career and its also important if youre going to get along with people, Dudley said.Monitor how people react to your storiesBeing a good storyteller is a highly un dervalued skill, according to Dudley. But being a good storyteller is more than just knowing how to deliver the beginning, middle, and end with an interesting arc. You should also be paying attention to your audience, whether youre talking to one person or five.People give you clues all the time about the kinds of stories they like to hear and the kinds of stories they dont like to hear, Dudley said.Again, using observational skills will give you the clues you need to know how a person feels about a certain story. Make sure to take note if someone seems extra interested, laughs extra loud, or pays less attention than usual.If someone seems intensely invested in a story about animals, make a note to bring up animals next time you see them. If they are someone who loses interest during a long story, make sure to tell quick and to-the-point stories.Fun stories that people enjoy will make them like talking to you more. Boring or irrelevant stories will make you less likable, and thus le ss promotable.Help your coworkers even when its not your job to do soYour bosses are going to be the ones to get you promoted, but you certainly dont want coworkers coming in and saying yea, but shes really difficult to work with, Dudley said.Dudley reminds professionals that the interviewing process definitely doesnt stop when you land the job. In fact, every day is an interview for your next promotion.Each work day is an opportunity to impress people and its important to hold that mindset toward every person in the office, including the coworkers you would be leaving behind.People only start performing for their bosses because thats who holds the keys, but honestly its just as important that everybody else has a high opinion of you, Dudley said.Make sure that youre the person everybody would be glad to see be promoted.What you do in the office really counts. If your coworker seems overwhelmed, offer to help them out. If theres a person you see in the office every day but dont know , introduce yourself. Be a problem solver, a team player, a person who reaches out with solutions rather than problems.Solve problems for your teamSpeaking of being a problem solver, its truly critical to never create problems for your team, only solutions.One of the most important soft skills is the ability to solve problems. If you go to your boss with a solution to the problem every time, theyre going to think of you immediately when a promotion presents itself.Being a problem solver frames you as a more positive person, which is most likely the type of person that your boss wants to work more closely with.Embrace change in the officeAdaptability and flexibility are crucial examples of soft skills that will get you promoted. Dont be the person that talks about the good old days when the company did things one way. That type of speak links you with the past in someones mind, instead of the future.Embracing new technology or practices shows that you can pivot and are flexible.Welco ming change is also linked to being a good problem solver. If change poses a challenge, be the person that jumps in and figures it out.Otherwise you get seen as someone whos holding back progress or whos not helping the organization move forward, Dudley said.Remember that written communication skills are just as important as oral onesEven if youre a blast to talk to or are able to convince anyone of anything during a debate, your poor written communication skills can severely hurt your chances of getting promoted.No matter how smooth you are over the phone, a poorly written schmelzglas tarnishes your personal and professional image.Im noticing that written communication skills are getting worse, Dudley said. A good way to stand out is to know your grammar.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your pr oductivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people