A presentation for my company that reviews the importance of soft skills in the workplace, and the story of how I acquired a few of mine early in my career and education.
Transcript:
- Today I'd like to take you on a journey through a part of my life when I first began really developing soft (or people) skills early in my career.
- The list of soft skills is endless, so for the sake of time we'll just cover these today.
- I joined the Coast Guard when I was 19, armed maritime service with military, law enforcement, marine environmental protection, search-and-rescue (SAR) missions.
- In the Gard you learn many things; how to swim, how to deal with emergencies, weapons handling, but largely how to deal with stress.
- After basic training, I was assigned to a polar class icebreaker that took me all over the world - the perfect environment to learn a few soft skills.
- Adaptability: being 19 leaving comforts of home and entering physically demanding 68 hour work week, had a demanding boss and deployments of 4 to 6 months. Started off working in the engine room, temps ranging from 30 - 120 degrees.
- Conflict resolution: if you had a problem with someone, or the other way around, there was nowhere to hide on 400 ft of steel. You had to work it out.
- Teamwork: peoples lives depended on everyone working together, this was essential to team and unit success. These were missions you did not want to fail at.
- Spend second two years and a high endurance cutter, then opted to go back to school.
- Part of my studies took me abroad to Paris for a year.
- Critical Thinking: I was in an immersion program, just getting comfortable with the language, and debate is a much loved passtime both in and out of the classroom.
- Problem solving: socially the rules of the road where entirely different. The way you got things done, how much time you'd take, how you'd date where different with norms that needed solving for.
- Communication: obviously the language component was huge. To begin with, what lacked in verbal comprehension of French I made up for by reading context and body language better, things that can be applied when any language is spoken.
- So in review, I was really able to capture the essence of these soft skills, which later complimented the all important functional skill I acquired later in my career.
- Doing so is a great step in becoming a well rounded contributor to whatever team endeavors your may have.
- Thank you.
2. “The reward is the journey, rather than the destination”
- Chinese Proverb
3. Soft Skills
Skills that characterize our relationships with other people.
Increasingly sought by employers in addition to functional skills.
Benefit anyone, regardless of the type of job they do.
4. Soft Skill Examples
Adaptability
Teamwork & Collaboration
Conflict Resolution
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving
Communication
Networking
Professionalism
Enthusiasm & Attitude
Empathy
Negotiation
Public Speaking
Time Management
Leadership
Not whole life story
Fun entertaining part
Try to weave the a theme through it – soft skills
Developer, designer, admin, finance,
Examples of just some soft skills
Sake of time, focus on these
Share a small part of my life journey, and I how acquired
The Coast Guard is an armed maritime service with military, law enforcement, marine environmental protection, search-and-rescue (SAR) missions
You learn how to swim
You learn how to deal with emergencies
Weapon handling
But most of all stress
After basic training
19 years old, polar class icebreaker
Antarctic to the North Pole
Missions: scientific platform, breaking MC sound, SAR
Perfect for picking up a few soft skills
Truly and epic journey for me
In more ways than one
These soft skills
(Adapting)
- 19 leaving comforts of home
- Physically demanding 68 hour work week
Boss that would hand my ass to me daily
Typical deployment of 4 to 6 months
(Adapting)
Worked a lot in main propulsion (engine room)
Temperatures would range from 20 - 120 degrees
Backbreaking work
Really engrained an ability to adapt
One of the many roles expected (adapting)
(Conflict Resolution)
- Have a problem, can’t just avoid it
- 400 feet of steel, same people every day all day
- Early on; Engine room fight.
(Conflict Resolution)
Bringing things to clam by confronting
I had to learn how to deal with different personalities, and settle differences.
(Teamwork)
- Ship ran because we all did our job, even if we were sick.
- Fire on the ship, we were the fire department
(Teamwork)
- Teamwork extends to the unit level as well
- In times of war, the CG fall under the Navy, coordinating with them is very important
(Teamwork)
- Part of a team that saved lives mattered
- Pride
(Teamwork)
- Part of a team that saved lives mattered
- Pride
(Teamwork)
- Part of a team that saved lives mattered
- Pride
After Icebreaker
2 years, a lot of SAR, LE
Mostly Bearing Sea
3 Universities
3 Countries
Brings us to these soft skills
Double Major in Design and French
Spent a Year abroad in Paris
(Critical Thinking)
Immersion program in a French University
The French love to debate – an art, and the love to analyze
Talk in circles for hours, challenge you
The question of “why” not just “what”
People’s attitudes were different
Immersed in a foreign culture
The rules of the road social were different
Dating was different
Signing up from class
Had good daily exposure situations I hadn’t encountered before
Had my fair share of failures to
Obviously language thing
For what I couldn’t comprehend in French, compensated by reading body language better
Reading the surrounding context of a situation
After School, I started my career in marketing
I picked up these functional skills on the right
These are things I try working on daily
But my journey isn’t over, sharing it right now with you
So in review, these are just some of the soft skills we can all continue to hone in our lives and our careers.
