To Train Or Not to Train? The Soft Skills Dilemma

Yesterday and Tomorrowsheen with the passage of time. As is with any
Abraham Lincoln shared a short narrative aboutdiscipline, people tend to 'get out of shape' if they
two wood cutters who decided to compete ondon't consciously and continually work at honing
who could chop down more trees in a day. Thetheir skills.
first man started out furiously and decided toThought leader, author and motivational speaker
chop away without taking any breaks. TheBrian Tracy says, 'Knowledge in most fields
second man chopped for a while and thendoubles every 3 to 4 years. Thus, an individual
stopped, to sharpen his axe. All through the day,who is not deliberate about developing or growing
the first cutter did not stop whereas the secondhimself / herself, will fall behind.' Tracy goes on to
contestant regularly took 'time out' every coupleexplain that 'doing nothing' or even 'doing little' to
of hours to hone his axe. Interestingly enough, atsharpen your axe will inevitably build the odds
the end of the day, the second cutter hadagainst you. Needless to say, your competition will
achieved twice as much and was half as tired asgain significant advantages over you just by
the first!further developing their skilled employees.
Evidently the first man exerted more, madeDelhi based certified coach and Master NLP
more noise, appeared to be busier - and yetpractitioner, Shalini Verma (founder of The
achieved far less, because after a while, he wasSkyscrapers Academy) says, 'Skilled personnel
hacking away with a blunt instrument.are the best candidates for training and coaching.
We see the same chronicle repeated in our workThese people already have a base aptitude and
lives frequently. In this ever changing and dynamicthus have a great foundation for developing
environment, success has less to do with quantityleadership skills. History has shown that any
and more to do with quality inputs. In these daysenterprise will rise and fall on leadership. The
of enhanced competition and budgetaryquality of its leaders will determine the size and
constraints, our biggest challenges are stress,sustenance of the business.' She goes on to
conflict (with internal and external customers) andexplain that when the head is strong and stable,
a kind of revolutionary change.the tail automatically aligns. So, the skilled
Albert Einstein rightly said, 'We cannot solve theworkforce, are actually the best candidates for
problems of today with the same thinking thatcontinual soft skill development.
we used to create them'.(3) And here's the great grand daddy of all
Not surprisingly, we observe an unprecedentedprotests - 'Training & motivation doesn't last! My
interest in the personal growth or selfpeople get motivated after the training BUT things
development industry. A casual visit to yourjust fizzle out over a period of time.'
nearest book shop will highlight the huge quantumMy mentor Basil Harris is a very wise man. As an
of material that is now being produced in theentrepreneur and coach, I have seen him guide a
areas of people skills, leadership, communicationnumber of people towards the accomplishment of
skills, stress management, customer service,their dreams and goals. He says, 'That's right,
selling skills, presentation skills, business etiquette,training & motivation doesn't last!..... Neither does
time management, networking, attitude,bathing; and that's why we repeat it!'
teambuilding, etc. Books, videos and other tools onOur logical minds can easily accept that the food
these and like subjects are now so pervasivelyin our stomach does not last - we need to repeat
visible across our realm.it every few hours, the air in our tyres needs
Fresh Perspectivesregular replenishment, and yes - if we are to lose
As I enter my 12th year in the soft skills andweight or get fit - just one visit to the gym isn't
corporate training business, it has been fascinatinggoing to cut it. It is not uncommon today, to see
to observe the gradual change in mindsets, in adoctors, lawyers, engineers, tax consultants, etc
multitude of countries around the world. It is nowtaking time out to upgrade or just update
becoming harder and harder for corporates tothemselves. So, why should training or any kind of
deny the importance (or rather significance) ofsoft skills development be any different?
enhancing individual skill levels not just in technicalGratification
subjects but also in the softer areas asMy good friend and business partner, Swati
mentioned above. Renowned quality managementPradhan (an entrepreneur and executive coach,
guru, Suresh Lulla, recently said to me 'Soft skillsbased in the UK) says, 'When soft skill
is the future'. This is a man who has spent thedevelopment is driven and encouraged by the
better part of his professional life researching andorganizations senior leadership - trainings are taken
teaching the subject of quality management. Heseriously and a culture of continual improvement
has also been featured in numerous reputedgets automatically imbibed. Inevitably, such a
business publications as an icon of success in thecompany earns the reputation of being a
field of quality.preferred employer - and predictably, this
More now than ever before, companies andenterprise now attracts some of the best talent
individuals alike are looking upon training and softin the industry'.
skill development as an investment rather than anMaslow and numerous other authorities in the field
expense. Human Resource professionalsof psychology endorse that 'personal growth and
acknowledge that soft skills training results in theself development' is a strong human need and
development of 'Emotional Intelligence' and thusthus - when an institution starts to fulfill this need
significantly appreciates the value of the- good quality people are attracted to it as fly's
organizations 'human assets'. Among professionalsare to honey.
today, there is a gradual realization that while IQOver time, companies that are consistent with
(Intelligence Quotient) gets you a job, EQsoft skill trainings see -
(Emotional Quotient) gets you fired or promoted.(a) Growth in turnover
In his book, Winning with People, New York Times(b) Higher profits & reduced costs
best selling author John Maxwell says, 'In life, the(c) Innovation & higher levels of staff motivation
skills you use and the people you choose, willand
make or break you'. Maxwell is considered one of(d) Enhanced loyalty
the foremost authorities on leadership and hasAll of the above represents extraordinary levels
written numerous works on this subject. Heof Return on Investment.
contends that when one learns to control theirWe live in a world of microwave ovens, instant
emotions and build good relationships with othernoodles and crash diets. So, our psyche tends to
people, there is very little that can keep themexpect instant gratification from everything. The
away from success.few that comprehend the concept of delayed
Maxwell's assertion so well elucidates the twogratification acknowledge that soft skills training is
primary components of soft skills i.e. selfnot a quick fix. While it's true that one or two
development and relationship enhancement.training programs produce little results, it is also
Trepidationstrue that a regular and methodical application
(1) A common opposition (and a protest of sorts)produces enormous tangible and intangible gain.
to soft skill training programs is - 'What if I trainThe moment we can regard soft skills trainings as
my employees and they leave to join anothera long term fitness program, rather than as a one
organization? Wouldn't that be a waste oftime purchase of machinery, we have taken the
precious resources and time?'most important step towards organizational and
Self made multi millionaire and entrepreneur, Jimpersonal success.
Dornan, responds to this objection thus - 'What ifThe Price of Success
you don't train your employees and they stay inThe second wood cutter made less noise, spent
your organization? How would you like to haveless effort (and time) and yet accomplished
the burden of large numbers of unskilled, illgreater results - all because he took the time to
equipped or poorly motivated people?'sharpen his axe.
So, while the argument to not train your peopleIn order to 'go up', we first need to 'grow up' i.e.
may have some weight, the alternative is fardevelop ourselves. And in order to grow up, we
from pleasant. Retaining a group of untutored,need to 'give up' i.e. our inhibitions towards self
unprepared or apathetic staff is one of thedevelopment, relationship enhancement and
greatest drags on any organization. Following thischange.
latest recession, very few companies can claimSoft skills development requires the element of
that their people continue to stay motivateddiscipline - nothing more and nothing less. Rest
without any deliberate intervention.assured, the price of discipline is far less that the
(2) Another point of contention is when anprice of regret.
organization abstains from training because they(Arjun Aiyar is a corporate trainer, executive
believe that they are already hiring skilled (orcoach and motivational speaker based in Dubai. He
experienced) personnel. While this argument holdshas two training companies - one in India and the
ground at the time of recruitment, it loses itsother in the UAE.