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Episode 64

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Published on:

31st Jan 2023

Economic opportunities with soft skills

Economic opportunities with soft skills


As a leadership strategist, I help leaders grow through the development of the

soft skills that are in demand in our job market today.

One way you, as a leader, moves from success to significance is that you become adept in

leveraging the balance between hard and soft skills every day.

  • Hard skills are demonstrated through technical expertise with clearly measured goals and action plans.
  • Hard skill development often focuses on the WHAT
  • Hard skills are vital to the success of a leader’s career.
  • Hard skills are what I call the “knowing”


  • Soft skills emphasize the transformation of people with changes that make a difference in people’s lives.
  • Soft skill development is more about the HOW
  • Soft skills are vital for the significance of a leader’s journey!
  • Soft skills are what I call “the living”


 Discerning the dynamic balance of these two skill sets provides the right questions for you as you pursue your desired goals AND empower changes in people’s lives!  I call this dynamic balance the significance framework:

Hard skills + Soft skills = Significant Leadership 

Research of David Deming, Harvard professor, economist and premier analyst in skill development reveals that there is a decline of cognitive skills in predicting labor-market wage success while the economic importance of noncognitive skills has increased. Another way of saying this is that the job market, the supply and demand of labor, has demonstrated that soft skills are now predicting wage success over hard skills.  Deming goes on to say that the share of US employment has grown at a faster rate for those professional jobs that rely on analytical and interpersonal interaction.

Here are some questions for self-reflection and discussion:

  1. When was the first time you realized how important soft skills were to your leadership development?
  2. Are you ready to clearly articulate the economic difference seen with soft skills in your work?
  3. Should there be even more intentional soft skill development in your workplace?
  4. Where do you see that soft skills are making a difference in the net margin? 
  5. How have you seen soft skills impact the profitability of your company?


Thank you for joining me on the Art of Leadership.  I help leaders who are seeking a fresh perspective to growth and development!


Call me: https://www.healthyleadership.online/contact


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About the Podcast

The Art of Leadership
The Art of Leadership focuses on soft skills... some of the hardest skills a leader will ever learn.
The Art of Leadership with Dr. Niña Ellison focuses on the soft skills of leadership, their value and the power of their influence. As a leader, if you are interested in moving from success to significance then balancing both hard and soft skills is essential!

Hard skills are demonstrated through technical expertise that results in clearly measured goals being reached. They are vital to the success of any initiative or program. On the other hand, soft skills emphasize the transformation of people. They highlight behavioral changes and making a difference in people’s lives.

This podcast is for leaders who are seeking a fresh perspective into some of the hardest soft skills a leader will ever learn. You can connect with Niña at https://www.ninaellison.com

About your host

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Niña Ellison

In 2019, after years of leading teams varying from international disaster relief and healthcare to the US Corporate world, Niña founded Healthy Leadership to focus on her passion for partnering with leaders in their growth and sustainability. Her own journey into soft skill development has convinced her that while her technical skills helped her get her foot in the door, her soft skills moved the influence of her leadership from success to significance.

As a soft skill specialist Niña takes monthly deep dives in her podcast series, The Art of Leadership, to explore the underlying dimensions of soft skills. She knows that soft skill development is not so much about WHAT but HOW a leader leads.
• From a 10,000 foot view a leader pursuing soft skills asks, “How do I problem solve; How do I manage time and energy?”
• From a 1,000-foot view that same leader, as they dig deeper into soft skills, begins asking questions like, “How do I listen; or How do gain self-control?”
• From Ground Zero the leader recognizes that there are underlying dimensions of soft skills as they ask, “How do I model respect for all; How do I sustain hope; How do I demonstrate appropriate love in the workplace; How do I maintain the right attitude?” How do I lead by serving?

Nina believes that behind every wildly effective and sustainable system and process are leaders and teams who have interwoven soft skills into every phase of their work.