Don't Ignore The Vital Soft Skills In Career Management
By Judy Mottl | 05/17/2006 - 1:48 AM EST
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Are you an IT professional looking to climb the career ladder? Whether it's moving up in management or over into new business divisions, your focus should be on shoring up vital soft skills that many don't realize are critical when it comes to job advancement.
The ability to communicate clearly, conduct an insightful and comprehensible presentation, and interact well in both semi-social and social environments with peers and colleagues are just a few business skill essentials for tech professionals, says Beverly Langford, author of the "The Etiquette Edge: The Unspoken Rules for Business Success."
Langford, who teaches managerial communication at Georgia State University's Robin College of Business, is also president of LMA Communication.
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"I call them business survival skills instead of technology skills," says Langford, who offered up the following advice on boosting soft skills:
- Get familiar with the company's business issues. "This includes getting familiar with the whole company rather than just the IT area. Technology professionals tend to have a silo mentality where they stay within the department and speak their own language. To move ahead IT leaders have to move out of that," says Langford.
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