What interpersonal skills do you need to get ahead at work?

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills are personality-based social skills which allow us to interact, communicate, and work with others effectively. They are also called ‘soft skills’. While there is no exam you can take to improve these skills, as you interact and work with more people, you can continuously learn and improve upon them. 

It’s not enough to ‘be good at your job’ to succeed in the modern workplace. We have pulled together a list of interpersonal skills we think people will find helpful as they advance in their careers and develop their skills. 

1. Effective communication

Communication is how we express our thoughts and opinions effectively to others. This allows us to understand what others mean when we are conversing. Developing your communication will help you foster good working relationships, and also spill over to help you in many aspects of the workplace. For instance, in clearly demonstrating your thoughts and ideas, and understanding the needs of others through body language.

How to develop your effective communication

Anything that gets you interacting with people is great for developing your communication skills and improving your active listening. Here are some helpful ways you can grow your effective communication.

• Grammar and spelling tools: Use a grammar and spell checker to make sure your written language is clear and easy to understand. 
• Networking: Attend social and networking events, or sign up to a local sporting club or community group. This provides you with excellent opportunities to interact with a diverse group of people and develop your social and communication skills. 
• Clear communication: Practice being as clear and direct in your communication as you can. Consider – are you providing all the information this person will need to do their job? What are their follow-up questions likely to be, and can you answer these preemptively? If you could only describe the situation in three sentences, what would the most important information to convey be?
• Seek mentorship: Chat with people who you consider to be excellent communicators and ask for their advice or mentorship. If you have an important presentation or meeting, ask someone to proofread it or test audience it for you.

2. Emotional intelligence (EI)

Emotional intelligence is our ability to recognise, understand, and regulate our own emotions, and how we can influence others. There are four key elements to EI that can directly help you in the workplace. These are:

• Self awareness –  being able to identify your own emotions.
• Self regulation – the ability to regulate your emotions, and being able to express them effectively and positively.
• Motivation – being able to inspire yourself and others by maintaining positive attitudes.
• Empathy – acknowledging the emotions of others and making them feel understood.

Developing these skills can help create better relationships and help you manage your own emotions in social settings and at work. This is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal, especially when things get stressful or don’t go to plan. Being able to articulate your thoughts and feelings calmly in a crisis can help build respect from your co-workers.  

How to strengthen your emotional intelligence

Your emotional intelligence tends to strengthen over time as you experience life and deal with difficult situations. This skill improves through inward reflection and is more personal compared to the other skills. 

• Formal training: Learn more about EI through formal training, like workshops and seminars. In doing this, you can reflect on your experiences, and identify how you could have handled them with differently.
• Journaling: This can help you identify your emotions, and understand how you respond to different emotional situations by writing through them.
• Volunteering: Getting involved in a local charity is a fantastic way to connect with people. Doing so will help you engage with others with more empathy through community service. 
• Reading literature: Explore emotional intelligence and self-motivation through reading novels and/or non-fiction on the topic. This is a good way to expand your knowledge.

How to improve work relationships in a hybrid environment

3. Teamwork

How we’re building rapport in a team and collaborate effectively is changing in the modern workplace. Adapting to a team split between in-office and remote work can be challenging but it can also open up more opportunities for growth and team bonding. Being able to motivate a team and work effectively despite the barriers of a hybrid team is an invaluable skill and will put you ahead of the rest.  

The modern worker performs at the top of their respective field, not only through experience and technical skills, but because of their ability to create and maintain quality relationships. Good team working skills give leaders the tools they need to properly motivate teams, understand and solve difficult problems, and communicate effectively among all levels of the business. 

How to improve your teamworking skills

Improving your team working skills can come from working on your leadership skills, working on how you interact with others, or can come from directly working with your team. Developing this skill will help you identify your role in a team and how to navigate the different individual personalities and skills.

• Team building activities: Participating in workshops with your team is great for building trust and respect among team members. Activities such as office trivia, or virtual escape room, are perfect examples that help showcase the skills of each individual. 
• Set clear expectations: Determine what your ‘role’ is in a team and discern how everyone in the team fits in while taking their personalities and skills into account. Being clear with what role everyone in the team has is important for establishing an effective team. One resource you can use to help you understand how you may work best in a team is using the Belbin Team Roles. These are team roles that are groupings of behavioural attributes that are beneficial to effective team work. 
• Stay open to feedback: Accepting feedback and constructive criticism from people you work closely with is very valuable. Learning to take it on board without viewing it as a personal attack is essential to personal and professional growth. 
• Set team goals: Having shared goals and a collective vision to work towards gives a team purpose and value. Celebrating milestones along the way can also boost team morale.

4. Conflict management 

Conflict management and resolution is an essential skill for everyone, not just in the workplace but in every aspect of life. These skills come very naturally to some, but handling difficult conversations with card can be stressful. Developing this skill will help you communicate professionally with difficult clients, solve problems among your team, and help you advance your career by expressing concerns respectfully.  

How to improve your conflict resolution

• Practise solving small conflicts: Tackle a tricky situation head-on. Whether that’s dedicating time to complete a task you’ve been actively putting off, or reaching out to a friend or family member to discuss an issue with their behaviour that’s been bothering you. 
• Focus on the issue, not the people: Separating the problem from the people can help you get an objective opinion. Remember to stray away from personal attacks when developing a solution.
• Seek out common ground: There isn’t always a clear solution to every conflict. Finding space for parties to compromise and both come out happy is a great skill to develop. This means avoiding the mindset that you must ‘win’ every argument.
• Formal training: If you’re looking for something more formal, there are some great workshops you can participate in to learn helpful tools to manage disputes and conflicts.

5. Reliability and adaptability

Change is scary. But it’s how you respond to change that makes all the difference. In a constantly changing work environment, it’s important to be able to adapt to your surroundings and continue to work your best under these circumstances. 

By adapting calmly and effectively with changing conditions, teams, and projects, you set a great example for others. This will further solidify yourself as a reliable modern worker and teammate. Continuing to produce reliable results – despite changing environments – becomes invaluable as you climb the career ladder. 

How to become more reliable and adaptable in the workplace

Growing your reliability and adaptability in the workplace isn’t always straightforward. These skills develop over time and mainly come from life experience. However, there are still some techniques you can incorporate into your routine to help show your flexibility.

• Practice punctuality: Being on time or early to meetings, events, and interviews is one of the easiest ways to show your reliability. Try setting your alarm earlier, or packing everything you need to the night before. You can also use digital calendars with reminders, and get in the habit of scheduling time in your calendar to prepare for commitments and meetings.
• Focus on your follow through: We sometimes make commitments we can’t keep. Not because we don’t have the capacity to do it, but simply because we forget. Practise your project and task management by immediately writing down any commitment you make in a meeting or during conversation to help you remember.
• Take accountability: As much as we hate making mistakes, they can happen. It’s important to own up to them instead of making excuses. This will help to build trust, and people will appreciate your honesty and initiative as you work towards finding a solution.
• Embracing a growth mindset: This is the belief that your abilities, knowledge, and talents can be improved over time.  A growth mindset allows you to be open to new challenges and learning opportunities. Learning to embrace this mindset means you’ll be become more open to change and can help you adapt to new things with ease. 
• Go back to study: Looking to trusted training providers to complete a diploma focusing on interpersonal skills or to advance your career is a rewarding learning opportunity. By taking on a new challenge, you show you’re able to adapt to various working environments, helping you build resilience in the workplace.

How to get ahead in your career

These interpersonal skills are some of the most valued skills in new hires, as they aren’t as easily attainable as technical skills. Since these skills are highly transferable across both the professional space and in personal life, it is very advantageous to continuously build upon them.

Demonstrating these skills effectively during an interview and through your work will immediately put you ahead of other candidates. Managers prefer to promote employees who understand both the complexities of a role and can relate to others effectively. The easiest way to do this is by continuously improving your soft skills throughout your career. Highlighting your want to constantly grow in all aspects of your professional career shows how you value your personal growth and professionalism, which is vital for success in the workplace.