We often push the importance of soft skills for the workplace, but today I would like to tell you why the skills we teach in our workshops are necessary in our every day lives...
What prompted me to write this blog? Well, I'm planning a wedding and, as you can imagine, it's a lot of work and it comes with a lot of stress.
But, thanks to the knowledge I have gained from the workshops we offer, I feel like I am actually coping quite well.
So,
I've decided to list some of the skills, or workshops if you will, that have helped me on this journey and how you could utilize it in your 'day to day'...
1.
Basic Project Management
This should come as no surprise! Planning a wedding is a project. For you it could be that you need to plan a party or get together... Or, if you think about it, parenting- that's a whole lot of project managing in itself. Fact is, it always seems simple, until you're in the thick of it.
Having the basic knowledge and understanding of successfully planning and managing a 'project' makes life so much easier!
2.
Stress Management
Again, no surprise there... Wedding planning and stress are basically synonymous (Insert nervous laughter here). If you had to ask me what I think one of our 'must do' workshops are at Staff Training, I would say our Stress and Time Management workshop. Get your whole team involved! It has always been necessary, but after these past few years (think covid, lockdown and all that very unfun jazz) it really is essential. I probably don't even need to tell you how this could benefit you, I'm yet to meet someone who doesn't feel stressed in some aspect of their life... But
knowing how to manage the stressful times and being able to come out the other side unscathed and still motivated is a win for everyone!
3.
Emotional Intelligence
This is another 'must have' skill that will help you in so many aspects of your life! Yes, Emotional Intelligence can be classified as a skill, one that helps you to understand and manage your emotions and the emotions of others. If Emotional Intelligence was the umbrella, under it you would find
the following abilities:
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
When you're planning a wedding, or any event/project, or just dealing with people in general- you are going to be dealing with your own emotions, you are going to be dealing with other people's emotions (and a lot of people politics), as well as unexpected obstacles.
Having the emotional intelligence to navigate your way through the maze of voices, thoughts, feelings and opinions will make things so much easier for everyone involved.
4.
Resilience
What does it mean to be resilient?
Resiliency is defined as "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness."
Let's face it, life requires us to have a certain level of "toughness" about us. Life has difficulties, there is just no way that we will ever be able to avoid it completely, I'm sure we all wish we could! But we must have the toughness and strength to soldier on despite our difficulties and hardships. Now, I'm no stranger to the fact that there is a lot of heartache out there, no one's 'level of difficulty' is the same, but what it comes down to is equipping ourselves as best we can.
What can resilience look like?
• Choosing to bite our tongue when faced with conflict
• Working through our grief or loss in a healthy way
• Taking criticism well rather than getting defensive
• Problem solving when obstacles arise, instead of getting completely overwhelmed and lost
In my personal experience, while wedding planning, there have been so many obstacles, so many unforeseen challenges. Every time you think "ok, that's sorted", something else pops up. I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to this in both a personal and professional capacity.
In the end we have two choices, we can cry it out on the couch (which I have, let's be honest) or we can handle the situation at hand (please note that this definitely includes having the courage to ask for help!)
So, what's my point? Well,
we need to start recognising the benefit of investing in these skills. Not just for workplace success, but because it can truly benefit us in every aspect of our life. If you're in HR, management or a leadership role, I want you to think about how equipping your team with these essential skills can take them from a team that performing to a team that is excelling, happy and healthy!
Staff Training is a South African soft skills training provider with more than 60 workshops on offer.
Email us at
info@StaffTraining.co.za for more info or give us a call at 0861 996 660
