Soft and Hard Skills: Which Are More Important?

In the debate between soft and hard skills, we are facing an epochal challenge.

• On one side, we have Hard Skills, the technical competencies that are essential for solving concrete problems and ensuring precision and innovation.

• On the other, we have Soft Skills, intangible attributes that foster human connections and collaboration, which are indispensable for team success.

So, before discovering which one is considered more important, make your prediction: which one will be rated as more crucial in the studies?

Soft and Hard Skills: Is There Really a Difference?

Simon Sinek, a coach and author, directly addresses this issue. Sinek suggests we stop calling them "Soft and Hard Skills" for two main reasons:

There is nothing “soft” about the first one. Defining them this way makes it seem like they are in opposition, but they shouldn't be viewed that way.

Sinek continues saying:

“If you work in a company and collaborate with me, I won’t teach you soft and hard skills. I will teach you the technical skills you need to do your job, and I’ll teach you human skills that are essential to being a better person. If you master both, you will thrive in this organization."

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His message is clear: both skills are fundamental and shouldn’t be seen as separate or in competition with each other.

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Soft and Hard Skills: A Study on the Matter

It might be difficult for those focused on technical competencies, but the value of soft skills has now surpassed the value of hard skills in the world of work.

When it comes to career and professional success, the ability to gain the trust and loyalty of colleagues, clients, and potential clients has become more crucial than technical expertise, especially when moving up the corporate ladder.

According to research conducted by Harvard University, Carnegie Foundation, and Stanford Research Center, soft skills are responsible for 85% of professional success, while only 15% is attributed to hard skills.

And how often have you heard someone say:

“Yes, I studied at university, but in reality, I only use a small percentage of what I learned there in my job”?

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Soft and Hard Skills: Why Do Soft Skills Prevail?

The skills that Sinek refers to as human skills seem to hold more importance in people's lives. And they likely are for these reasons:

• Hard Skills are useless without Soft Skills. A skilled technician who cannot communicate with colleagues will be ineffective.

• Soft Skills are harder to learn. Learning to code is challenging, but changing behavioral habits ingrained since childhood is even more difficult.

• The modern work environment is interpersonal. Rarely will you work alone; most large companies are built on teamwork, which requires communication skills, empathy, and the ability to collaborate.

Soft and Hard Skills: Conclusion

Both competencies are indispensable, though, as we have seen, some studies suggest that human competencies are more decisive for long-term success.

The good news is that there is no need to choose between the two because at Wibo, we focus on both! 🤯

Wibo’s Leadership Academy trains managers by combining both technical and human skills. With guidance from top executives from the best Italian and international brands, participants in our one-year program master all aspects of leadership: from feedback management and artificial intelligence to self-management, negotiation, and team management.

Find out more by clicking here! 👈