Soft skills guide

Discover the KEDGE Business School soft skills guide!


Steering

I know how to carry out an action and meet its objectives. I’m efficient on operational and organizational matters: I can anticipate, organize, plan, master risks, and take a project to its goal without giving up in the face with obstacles.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Time management
  • Anticipating
  • Organizing an action
  • Tenacity
  • Prioritizing

Characteristics

  • If I commit to several objectives as parallel operations, I know how to manage my time to fulfill all my commitments.
  • To succeed with a long, difficult project, I determine reachable “mini-objectives” to allow for motivating mini-successes and lead regular debriefings.
  • When there is an objective to reach, I see the steps to get there and the means to succeed clearly.
  • When I am faced with difficulties or obstacles, I keep going “like a dog with a bone”.
  • When necessary, I “roll up my sleeves and dive in” with everyone else.
  • I can untangle apparently complex situations.

Typical situations of use

  • I am in charge of a team.
  • I steer projects with very limited time and resources.
  • I’m responsible for time-management at work.
  • I lead missions comprising both risks and hazards.
  • I am present in the field.

Self-Management

I know the extent of my own resources as well as my limits. I pay attention to my emotions; I understand them and know how to manage them. I know how to practice self-care and maintain balance for a lasting feeling of comfort in my own skin.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Awareness of my own talents and difficulties
  • Managing emotions
  • Emotional awareness
  • Self-care
  • Resilience

Characteristics

  • Before throwing myself into a project, I identify those areas in which I need to be vigilant, make progress, or find support for.
  • I know how to postpone a decision or an action when I deem it necessary.
  • I do not hesitate to do what I think needs doing; I do not wait to be asked to act.
  • I maintain a healthy balance between my work and my personal life because it’s necessary for my continued well-being.
  • I practice healthy living: sleep, food, physical activity, social life, enjoyable moments…
  • When something is difficult for me, I take stock of what happened – if possible with someone else – and I learn from the experience to apply those lessons in the future.

Typical situations of use

  • In my profession, I make decisions alone.
  • J’assume une fonction qui m’amène régulièrement à ne pas aller dans le même sens que les autres.
  • I have a fulfilling job which also leaves me time for myself.
  • I intervene in urgent and stressful situations.
  • At work, I organize my time.

Togetherness

I am a good team player. Attentive to others, I can grasp what they feel as well as compromise to more efficiently serve the interests of the community. I know how to develop and maintain a professional or personal network.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Empathy
  • Sense of community
  • Attentiveness
  • Appeasement
  • Teamwork
  • Networking

Characteristics

  • To have good interactions with others, I try to imagine what things are like from their point of view.
  • I always check and make sure that the people I speak with understand what I’m saying and why I’m saying it; I take their concerns into account.
  • When I’m part of a team, I endeavor to identify the needs and interests of the group so as to serve them better.
  • What’s important to me is the team’s success.
  • It’s important to me to find sustainable, lasting solutions everybody can be pleased with.
  • I develop my business and my career by leaning on my own networks.

Typical situations of use

  • I practice conflict mediation.
  • I lead meetings and workshops, making sure they are efficient and satisfy everyone.
  • It is my responsibility to create conditions favorable to success.
  • I handle negotiations.
  • I develop, facilitate, and draw on a professional network.
  • I am part of a trans-disciplinary team.

Agility

I react to unexpected mishaps with flexibility, and find solutions to adapt. I am open to new things and ideas, and can question my positions. I can exercise critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Open-mindedness
  • Questioning
  • Querying the obvious / the standard
  • Summarizing and grasping the essential
  • Adaptability
  • Creativity

Characteristics

  • If necessary, I can change my project, objectives, and mode of operation partway through to ensure quality and success.
  • I am not attached to my usual ways and know how to adapt to different methods.
  • It’s easy for me to work within interdisciplinary or transcultural teams.
  • Hazards and contingencies seem usual to me; I anticipate them and accept them to adapt best.
  • I question habits, standards, and obvious considerations: I seek the optimal way for the current situation.
  • I love creating a project, a proposition, a reflection starting from a blank page.

Typical situations of use

  • I work internationally.
  • I design or lead complex missions calling on diverse fields of expertise.
  • My responsibility is to transform an activity which used to perform but doesn’t anymore.
  • In my work, every day is different and presents me with new situations.
  • In my work there are innovation challenges.
  • I oversee teams of experts.

Personal commitment

I give my all for the missions I accept as well as in my personal choices. I commit with seriousness and have high expectations of myself. When I need to evolve or get more training, I do so.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Dedication
  • High standards for myself
  • Personal responsibility
  • Initiative
  • Self-development
  • Proactive learning

Characteristics

  • I strive to go beyond the bare minimum required to reach an objective.
  • To fully accomplish what I am entrusted with, I am a person who strives, evolves, and trains.
  • When I commit, it’s important to me to stay the course until the end, even if it’s difficult or slightly risky.
  • When I fail at something, I observe and analyze, try a different way, and seek advice.
  • My colleagues never hesitate to call upon me: they know I’m ready to help them when needed.
  • I do not hesitate to do what I think needs doing; I do not wait to be asked to act.

Typical situations of use

  • My work allows me to express my potential and my talents.
  • I am responsible for meeting the objectives and for the quality of the work.
  • I am a reference; people come to me in search of information and advice.
  • At work, I prefer to be challenged and learn than to be lulled in the comfort of a routine.
  • The team I’m a part of has a lot of autonomy.

Vision

I am able to look at a situation from all angles and to fit choices I make within a strategic, ethical vision, always in the service of performance. I can discern which changes are necessary and can guide them while respecting the culture I am working in.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Cognizance of organizations
  • Holistic view
  • Cognizance of ethical impacts
  • Results-oriented
  • Sense of purpose

Characteristics

  • To guarantee a project’s achievement and safeguard its commitments, I manage the complexity of all stake-holders taking part.
  • When environments are complex, I bring others an understanding of the global picture as well as the aims.
  • I set up dynamic systems in which responsibilities, roles, and teams are not frozen rigid.
  • Through observation and analysis of the relationships and processes operating in a given ecosystem, I nourish my decision-making.
  • I understand the social purpose and environmental impacts of the projects I take part in.
  • I define the “why” of a project as well as its commitment.

Typical situations of use

  • I communicate internally to bring meaning and wholeness to my ecosystem and its actions.
  • I oversee the complexity and interdisciplinarity of projects and organizations.
  • I discern risks and opportunities in order to design strategic plans.
  • I check that the projects and processes are true to the mission of the organization.
  • I design the evolution and the strategy of the organization where I intervene.

Assertiveness

I am confident enough to make difficult choices and stand by them unwaveringly. I understand the risks and the impacts that accompany them. Once I make a decision, I am able to explain it respectfully and calmly to convince others

Other soft skills attached to

  • Clarity of expression
  • Impact awareness
  • Assertiveness
  • Power of conviction
  • Decision making
  • Taking risks

Characteristics

  • When I have a vision for a project, I formulate it, I explain the stakes, and I take action.
  • I am able to make my point of view heard in groups with divergent views.
  • People often say I’m quick-thinking (and respond quickly to a change in situation).
  • Usually, when I speak, people listen and take my words into account.
  • When I think the moment is right, I take action. Doing things, meeting and wrestling with reality, that’s what’s important to me.
  • I remain calm when the stakes are high; I keep my eye on achieving success and take risks if necessary.

Typical situations of use

  • I bring together the resources necessary to launch projects.
  • I’m an influencer; I speak at conferences, in videos, for papers.
  • I convince collaborators and partners to get involved in ambitious projects.
  • I defend projects and decisions before decision-makers.
  • I am in charge of risky decisions.

Leading

I rally others around an objective, explaining its meaning. I help everyone develop their sense of responsibility by giving them autonomy. I am attentive, supportive, and have high standards.

Other soft skills attached to

  • Rallying others
  • Showing the way and imparting meaning
  • Boosting others’ self-reliance
  • Empowering others
  • Boosting others’ responsibility
  • High standards for others

Characteristics

  • I help the members of my team to identify their fulcrums, their talents, and their vision. With learning and progress in mind, I leave them room for trial and error.
  • I delegate and allocate tasks cogently, both in trust and with high expectations.
  • I make sure to be available for my collaborators, to listen to them, support them, and motivate them.
  • To motivate and inspire, I always ensure the tasks and projects I lead are contextualized in terms of impact and usefulness.
  • I know my own limits and those of my collaborators. I respect those limits to ensure the success of our projects.
  • My attention is focused on work performance, client satisfaction, and the well-being of my collaborators.

Typical situations of use

  • I address people to motivate them and give meaning.
  • I create a new team.
  • I rally people who are checked out.
  • I define precise objectives and steer results.
  • I explain the strategic planning to the teams.
  • I assess the work of my collaborators.