Listening is Not a “Soft” Skill — Let’s Stop Thinking About it That Way

(L-R) Adi Y. Segal, CEO, Hapi Technologies, Inc.​ hosting a panel during the Listening & Leadership in the Workplace​ Summit. (Panel) Raoul Davis, CEO, Ascendant Marketing Group​; Amy Coles, Chief Talent Officer, Finn Partners​; Daniela Acosta, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, Hunter:

The great professional divide these days is between “hard” and “soft” skills: Can you code using Python? That’s a “hard” skill, per most hiring managers. Can you communicate your objectives to your direct reports? That’s considered a “soft” skill. 

Both types of skills deserve praise. Though thinking about them as separate types of skills is self-defeating, labeling the ability to communicate effectively as “soft”—with connotations of weakness—is just not going to lead to effective business outcomes or even a healthy workplace. 

In fact, it’s just this connotation of weakness that leads to supposedly “soft” skills like listening to be devalued. After all, how can listening be productive?

The most crucial part of communication is listening. Yes, in order to communicate effectively you must, at some point, speak. First, though, you must listen to what others are saying, and after you’ve spoken, listen to how others respond. Maybe someone didn’t understand what you were saying, and they need clarification. Maybe they’re raising a point you haven’t thought of, or they have a novel way of looking at a problem. Maybe your customer feels you haven’t actually delivered a satisfactory solution. If you aren’t listening, you’ll never know.

Whether you’re a C-suite exec or the newest member of a team, listening is the most valuable thing you can do—in meetings, in sales pitches, in your everyday life. By making others feel heard, you form a connection with them. Social skills like listening have been identified by the Harvard Business Review as the most important skills organizational leaders can have.

Not everyone starts off as a great listener, and that’s all right. Like any skill, listening can be learned. That’s why we created the Atlantic Listening Academy in the first place—to help everyone reach their full listening potential.

It’s 2023. Let’s make this the year we stop labeling skills as “hard” or “soft,” and the year we start labeling listening as an invaluable skill that everyone in your organization can develop and use.