The Importance of Soft Skills

The thing is, these days, any non-trivial system is but a cog in a much larger system which includes humans as elements, and the complexities around communication and collaboration are the dominant factor in success or failure.

#TechBros and #CowboyDevelopers, however, are concerned about the increasing importance of these “soft skills (•), usually because

• • Imposter Syndrome: “I’m not good at that stuff”
• • Diminishment: “What does that mean wrt my mad golang skillz?”
• • Kubler-Ross: “I am the smartest architect, therefore I am also the best manager. Also, everybody loves me”

Does your manager get this? Worse, does your manager respect this? Remember, the only thing worse than a “Professional manager” is the “#TechBro turned manager who hates management". You know the kind — they suffered through the former, and when given a chance at control, either turn into dictators (they know best!) or devolve into chaos (let a thousand flowers bloom!)

Soft skillz are HARD, even more so than necessary because, in most companies, there is no language for it. At best they are undeserved, and at worst, they are actively rejected.
“Everybody hates Bob, but he gets the job done” may be acceptable when there is no other choice, but, make no mistake about it, ONLY when there is no other choice. If you are working for Bob, and you have the option, leave. If you can’t, learn from Bob on how not to do stuff, and rigorously use this in your life. Your colleagues, your peers, your staff, and you will give thanks for the rest of your life…

(•) Look at your colleagues, and remind yourself “A good rule of thumb is, the harder something is to talk about, the more likely that it’s important.” — https://goo.gl/m1wXLP