To Get Ahead…Go Green!
Early in my career, I was obsessed with building my technical skills.
After all, I was in Information Technology. The only way I could get ahead (or so I thought) was to keep learning new technologies. So I read more technical books. I took more courses and got more certifications to build my technical skill stack.
And it worked…kind of. I made small incremental advances. I got modest raises. I was given minor promotions. I felt stuck. On a treadmill of having to learn new technologies that were quickly replaced by even newer ones. The payoff wasn’t worth the investment. It was tiring and frustrating.
Then one day it dawned on me.
I realized I needed to work on myself harder than I worked on my technical skills.
I decided to work on my soft skills.
It was one of the most powerful decisions I have ever made.
It started a journey of self-discovery and learning skills that were exponentially more valuable than technical skills. Skills that gave me leverage. Skills that made me hard to replace. That was when my career really started to take off.
Technical skills expire. Soft skills are evergreen.
- Being a Servant Leader will ALWAYS be a valuable skill.
- Managing your time well will ALWAYS be a valuable skill.
- Being Emotionally Intelligent will ALWAYS be a valuable skill.
- Being an effective communicator will ALWAYS be a valuable skill.
The next time you are looking for a new skill to develop, do yourself a favor.
Go green. As in evergreen.
Build your soft skills.
