The Most Valued Team Soft Skills in 2024

The past year has brought many changes on a global level, which are clearly reflected in the work environment. Due to the changing circumstances, they brought many challenges for individuals and teams, but also an opportunity to change and improve the key skills of team members and teams as a whole.

Theoretically, there is a distinction between so-called hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are technical in nature and are specific to a particular profession and job. For them, you need to have the appropriate education and pass professional and technical certifications. Soft skills, on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to define, as they cover a very broad spectrum, but are essential and crucial for an individual to perform well in a team and in the overall work environment. The fact that soft skills – unlike hard skills – cannot be replaced is eloquent enough. Soft skills are often crucial in the selection process of candidates, as employers, according to research, largely give preference to candidates who express a wide range of soft skills and do not rely solely on their technical knowledge.

What exactly are soft skills?

Soft skills are actually the personality traits a person needs to succeed in the workplace. Some are already part of our personality traits, others we can learn or improve over time.  Soft skills are therefore a kind of added value of each individual.

As said before, new circumstances in the workplace have brought new needs, so the scale of the most important and desirable soft skills in the workplace, and especially when working in a team, has also changed.

Top 7 most valued soft skills in 2024

Learn which are the top seven most important and desirable soft skills in 2024 as we identified them in the light of changed business circumstances. They can also be a good guide to what is worth building on within teams in companies or when hiring new employees.

#1 Flexibility

It’s certainly no surprise that after a tumultuous year and many challenges facing businesses, flexibility has moved to the top of the most demanded soft skills. Things do not always go as planned in any business or project, so it’s extremely important that employees know how to react at the right moment and adapt to new ideas and solutions. The most successful people are those who know how to act in unforeseen situations and roll up their sleeves when faced with challenges in any situation.

# 2 Responsibility

Responsibility is a highly valued soft skill that stands out, especially in a team, as it is key to team members being able to rely on each other. A high level of responsibility is mainly ensured by qualities such as discipline, trustworthiness, motivation, and conscientiousness in completing tasks. Taking responsibility means that you are willing to fully commit to the overall goals of the company and also take initiatives to improve the processes, take responsibility for possible mistakes and truly strive for the path to mutual success.

The road to success without great team support is a very lonely and also short-lived journey.

# 3 Communication Skills

We use communication every day, but it is far from saying that good communication skills come naturally. In fact, our communication must always be adapted to the content, the person we are talking to and other circumstances. We need to communicate clearly and constructively, especially within a team. Knowing how to effectively put our thoughts into clear words is crucial. This skill is not only useful at work, but also in life. It is important to remember that part of good communication is the ability to really listen to the person you are talking to. Often, when exchanging opinions, we just wait for our turn to express our thoughts, although the result would be much better if we learn to listen well and deeply to our interlocutors.

# 4 Critical Observation

Numbers and other data do not mean much if we do not know how to analyze and interpret them properly. Critical observation in a team brings new perspectives, offers new solutions and ideas, and helps improve internal processes.

It is very wise to focus on whether there are established patterns that you can start to optimize and improve – for example, points where deviations or errors usually occur, appropriate times of the day or week for individual tasks, the strongest competence aspects of individual team members …

# 5 The Growth Mindset

More than ever, there is a need to adapt to changes in the job market as a whole and in your own company, which is why the growth mindset stands out among the desired soft skills. What does it actually mean? A growth mindset is a concept that involves motivating individuals to better themselves and reach milestones by constantly learning new skills and adapting to changing circumstances. Within the team, the growth mindset leads to faster and more innovative solutions and creates a stimulating environment for the overall growth of all participants in the process.

# 6 Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is also becoming an increasingly important concept in the world of work, and especially in teams, because it represents the ability to perceive, process and respond appropriately to the emotions of others. A well-developed emotional intelligence is especially crucial in conflict situations, as the right approach can contribute to a better, healthier and more collaborative working relationship between co-workers. It also helps you think soberly and find constructive solutions to the challenges at hand.

In stressful situations, such as the aggravated situation, emotional intelligence is one of the keys that can help the entire teamwork more calmly and successfully, and in the long run, create greater trust between team members and within the business environment.

# 7 Self-motivation

The team works most successfully when individuals are self-motivated and do not even need supervision as they complete all tasks on their own initiative and on time. Self-motivation is also closely related to reliability and commitment to the team, so this is certainly one of the soft skills worth developing and encouraging. In any case, not only is it enough for individuals to work on themselves, but the business environment must also provide a suitable springboard for growth and the development of potential as a whole.

Even stronger together …

At  easy.bi, we have identified many opportunities for internal growth and development of our own teams as well as for connecting and working together on projects.

Would you like us to get together? We are available to provide you with all the answers. We are just a click away… Contact us!