The Importance of Soft Skills

In wireless networking, we tend to focus on technical details. Wi-Fi is complicated, and the strength of a Wi-Fi professional should be in their expert knowledge of how Wi-Fi works.

If you are looking to break into working in Wi-Fi, there is also another important thing to brush-up on: your soft skills. Information Technology workers often get so wrapped up in the "Technology" part of their job that they forget about the most important part: people. We work primarily with, and for, people. The solutions you create and problems you fix ultimately help other people.

What if your personal physician was a brilliant M.D. from Harvard that was well respected in their field for in-depth knowledge, but who was also rude, late to appointments, and could not communicate well? Would you keep that doctor?

Soft skills are defined as "personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with with other people." In other words, behave in a way that doesn't make your co-workers want to stab you. Here are some of those skills:

• Effective oral and written communication. Be able to clearly communicate the information that you want your audience to digest. 
• Describe technical details to non-technical people. Be able to describe why something, for technical reasons, will/won't work to people not versed in the jargon. Use analogies and metaphors to get a point across. 
• Don't scoff at people for their lack of knowledge of something you are knowledgeable in. Making someone feel stupid is a quick way to sour your relationship with them. Conversely, don't be intimidated by people that may be knowledgeable in other fields that may question your expertise. Be confident, but not cocky. 
• Have integrity. Do what you say you will do. 
• Be transparent. Don't hide your reasoning for choices you make. 
• Be a team-player. Find value in your coworkers and encourage them to learn more. 

Developing these skills takes time and effort. One sure way to develop many of these skills is to teach. Hold seminars or workshops, or teach at a community college. I taught college classes for years before I started in I.T., and even a few years after. Teaching helped me hone my soft skills. 

Be and expert in your field, but don't neglect the soft side of Information Technology.