VA for Professionals

18 March 2024

Most jobs involve working with others to some degree. And your ability to effectively cooperate, manage conflict and contribute to a collegial workplace oftentimes plays a large role in whether you will be successful in the role.

There are numerous different types of interpersonal skills, and depending on the specific job, there may be more emphasis on certain skills than others. However, some interpersonal skills have proven to be highly transferable and valued across a range of different roles. We’ve compiled a list of ten of those skills below.

1. Collaboration - Effective collaboration involves harnessing the ideas, knowledge, opinions, and skills of multiple individuals to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Collaborating effectively involves establishing goals and a way of working, active listening and getting everyone on the same page.

2. Leadership - Leadership skills involve being proactive, asking for help when needed, and exuding confidence. Therefore, whether you are a director or intern, leadership skills will most likely help you to be more successful in your career.

3. Teamwork - People who are team players are reliable, supportive, flexible, open-minded, and respectful of others.

4. Relationship management - Maintaining good relationships with clients, vendors and business partners is key to any successful business. Relationship management is about building long-lasting, trusting professional relationships that are viewed as a partnership, more than as transactional.  

5. Problem-solving - In the workplace, problem-solving is oftentimes not done in isolation. Although one individual may first recognize the problem, the process of generating a solution usually requires obtaining resources, knowledge, and input from others to solve it. As problems inevitably arise, problem-solving is a key interpersonal skill.

6. Persuasion - For certain fields, such as law or sales, persuasion and a positive attitude is vital in order to be successful. However, regardless of your job, persuasion can be a valuable skill.

7.  Customer service - If a role requires any interaction at all with customers, then customer service skills will usually be a requirement. After all, businesses wouldn’t exist without their customers. So, employers want to know that their employees have the skills required to retain customers, and not lose them.

8. Empathy - Empathy is one of the five dimensions that make up emotional intelligence. And with emotional intelligence expected to be one of the most in-demand skills, according to the Future of Work study (PDF), empathy is hugely important. You can develop empathy skills through active listening, asking questions and making an effort to understand the perspective of the other person.

9. Patience - Although patience is in some ways a character trait, it is also a skill that can be developed. And in order to work well with others and develop effective working relationships, patience is key.         

10. Conflict management - Conflict is an inevitable aspect of working with other people. It is often caused by difference of opinion or miscommunication. And since conflict is so common, employers value workers who are skilled at managing conflict in a healthy and productive manner that restores harmony.

Read the full article here:

10 Top Interpersonal Skills Employers Value in the Workplace (careeraddict.com)

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