Rethinking Soft Skills in the Age of AI

[00:00:03] Welcome to the Quick Take Podcast, the show where you get targeted advice and coaching for executives by executives. I'm Susie Tomenchok.

[00:00:12] And I'm James Capps. Give us 15 minutes and we'll give you three secrets to address the complex topic of issues that are challenging executives like you today.

[00:00:23] Hey, welcome to Quick Take. I'm your host, Susie, along with my co-host, James. How are you, James?

[00:00:28] I'm living the dream. How are you?

[00:00:30] Living the dream. I'm working with a longtime client that I adore and we've been working on mindset.

[00:00:38] She has a bunch of leaders, great, successful sales team. Their numbers are amazing.

[00:00:46] And we had a strategy meeting and was really interesting because we challenged her team to think really outside the box.

[00:00:53] And the activity was really fun. We do this as entrepreneurs, but we had them do their strategy and their, you know, all the things they're going to do for 2025.

[00:01:02] And we told them to really stretch how they thought. And then they got done presenting and we said, now double it.

[00:01:08] And it was super interesting to see, first of all, what are you talking about?

[00:01:13] This is impossible to, okay, but I can't do, I can't do. And it's like, nope, no limitations.

[00:01:21] You can spend whatever you need to, but do that. So mindset's really interesting to kind of look into.

[00:01:28] And I thought that would be a good topic.

[00:01:30] No, it's a super interesting topic. And I think that, you know, that, that type of open mindset is how,

[00:01:36] is one of those soft skills that I think is so important that we continue to discuss, because I think you need to be open to the way that you interact with your team,

[00:01:47] the way that you interact with your clients. And what I think is even more interesting, and I love the way you looked at that was,

[00:01:53] you know, how do we manage those soft skills? How do we keep that mindset in, in the state, you know, where this, this bombardment of AI.

[00:02:03] And so, you know, some of the folks I've been talking to, some of our listeners have been saying, you know, do we no longer need soft skills?

[00:02:11] And does AI take that away? And it's an interesting conversation, but I think it, I've got some really unique articles I've been reading about how we can use AI,

[00:02:24] we can use large language models, we can use these tools to actually improve and enhance our soft skills.

[00:02:30] I am so curious to know how that seems so impossible to me, because I feel like it should be what you learn on your own.

[00:02:42] I think that, and what a perfect tee-up that is, it's really about the learning.

[00:02:48] And there was a really great article, Harvard Business Review recently had, and the article was,

[00:02:53] The Future of Leadership, AI and Emotional Intelligence and The New Workplace.

[00:02:59] And Dan Dolan was one of the authors, and, you know, he talked a lot about the fact that the way that he is seeing,

[00:03:08] and the people they've interviewed, seen executives who are using this for that particular purpose are really clever.

[00:03:15] And I think that there's a handful of ways we can talk about that AI can be a, can add to your soft skills in a way that you probably didn't think you could,

[00:03:27] and also in a way that will really differentiate you as a leader.

[00:03:31] How would I do that as a leader? Are you going to get to that?

[00:03:35] Like, what are the things that I need to think about?

[00:03:37] No, I think that, look, I think that at the end of the day, a lot of what we do is learning how to do things, right?

[00:03:45] We learn, that's what soft skills are.

[00:03:48] We listen, we learn, we adapt.

[00:03:51] And imagine that you can just have a tool that does that and helps you, right?

[00:03:56] And so rather than thinking that you have to be the sole brain in the room,

[00:04:00] think of it as a coach or a sidekick or a co-pilot that allows you to, you know, look at what you're doing.

[00:04:08] And that's really cool because certainly it's objective, it's real time, it's nonobtrusive.

[00:04:13] And I think there's some fun tools here and some suggestions that I'd love to make that says,

[00:04:18] hey, you know, it is that voice whispering in your ear saying, all right, now double it.

[00:04:24] What would you do if you doubled it?

[00:04:26] Yeah.

[00:04:26] And that's a neat, that's a neat opportunity.

[00:04:29] You know, I do this in my, and I'm glad, I'm happy that I'm ahead of my curve.

[00:04:35] And I challenge myself when I'm going to go in and speak on a topic and the questions I'm going to ask,

[00:04:42] I even say like, what am I forgetting?

[00:04:44] Or how can I look at this differently?

[00:04:45] And how will this feel to the other side, you know, the audience?

[00:04:49] And what's super interesting about what you said, it does be, it is objective.

[00:04:53] It's easier for me to take that suggestion than if I ask somebody that is not competitive with me,

[00:05:00] but somebody that has experience as I, because it'd be like, it would feel personal.

[00:05:05] So it can help you without you feeling like, if you have some history with somebody,

[00:05:10] I'm not saying that's with everybody, but it's also, it allows you to hear it.

[00:05:15] I totally agree.

[00:05:16] I mean, it's like asking your mom if she looked pretty, right?

[00:05:19] That doesn't go very far.

[00:05:20] But having somebody objective give you feedback goes even further.

[00:05:24] But even take it the next step, somebody not only objective, but somebody who is objective

[00:05:29] and has ability to look at multiple facets is even more interesting.

[00:05:34] And I think the first suggestion that I often give and we talk about is doing a skills assessment.

[00:05:39] So imagine a world in which you are evaluating your soft skills as a communicator and you perhaps

[00:05:48] have a coach or you have somebody give you feedback.

[00:05:51] But one really interesting way to do that is to obviously record your communications and

[00:05:58] have co-pilot, say, evaluate areas that I have opportunity to grow.

[00:06:03] And, you know, if that virtual assistant can help you do that, it's really incredible.

[00:06:11] I mean, Microsoft absolutely implemented this with co-pilot.

[00:06:17] They assess some of the leaders' communication styles across multiple platforms, mind you.

[00:06:23] These aren't just simply looking at videos.

[00:06:26] They're looking at emails.

[00:06:27] Maybe they're looking at text messages.

[00:06:28] And they were able to improve their communications and they see an actual 30% increase in employee

[00:06:35] engagement.

[00:06:36] Think about that.

[00:06:38] So to be able to say, I'm going to use a tool to assess my communication skills and say,

[00:06:43] you could be better at listening or you are not acknowledging the speaker or you tend to

[00:06:50] lecture.

[00:06:52] That's really a powerful use of AI to help you improve your soft skills.

[00:06:56] Just to add to that too, they, you know, I've, I've read research that says that senior leaders

[00:07:01] don't repeat the message enough so that people really understand it.

[00:07:06] And so you could also ask or evaluate if you are integrating some of the themes that you

[00:07:12] want, that mindset that you want people to shift to enough to make sure that it lands

[00:07:17] and is adopted.

[00:07:19] Yep.

[00:07:19] No, I think it's so key that you can ask and evaluate so many of those areas.

[00:07:23] And, you know, obviously we can use that same approach to evaluate whether the, your, your,

[00:07:29] your, uh, you know, your core objectives as a company are coming through.

[00:07:33] Are you talking about the goals enough?

[00:07:36] Are you being diverse in your thinking enough?

[00:07:39] But as far as soft skills, that first way, you know, the first thing is to really leverage

[00:07:44] tools to evaluate and do a skills assessment.

[00:07:47] I think it's really clever.

[00:07:48] Okay.

[00:07:49] What's the second one?

[00:07:50] Second, what I love is, is really just to use them during your one-on-ones recording

[00:07:55] your one-on-ones and simply having co-pilot any number of the tours, whether it's, uh,

[00:08:02] whatever, okay.

[00:08:03] The best one of the day is whichever one you're rotating through, have it respond and provide

[00:08:08] you with the action items out of your meeting is huge.

[00:08:12] That ensures something isn't missed and it ensures that everyone is hearing the same thing.

[00:08:16] You know, the Slack CEO absolutely has implemented this.

[00:08:20] They have one-on-ones that are not only being scheduled by the tool, but then recorded.

[00:08:25] And they feel like that they have about the 25% improvement in the, uh, employee communication.

[00:08:32] So now they have that, that agreed to common language about what we agree to in the meeting.

[00:08:37] And they feel like their meetings are much more efficient because I think that, uh, the participants

[00:08:43] also know that they're, they're, that they're going to be summarized.

[00:08:46] Uh, I know that when we record meetings and I re reviewed the recording, I'm, I'm much more

[00:08:53] sensitive to the fact that I rabbit hole something, or I went down the road, uh, and squirreled

[00:08:57] on a particular topic.

[00:08:59] When there's a good notes, I tend to stay on topic.

[00:09:02] From my perspective, when I'm coaching people, sometimes it gets a little murky with relationships

[00:09:08] between a boss and a employee, and sometimes they're friends.

[00:09:12] And so sometimes I tell them, Hey, tell them you're working with an executive coach and

[00:09:16] that you have to show up differently.

[00:09:17] So you're going to start challenging them.

[00:09:19] That gives them the kind of the permission to be a little bit more prescriptive about I'm

[00:09:24] the leader here.

[00:09:25] Like I need to adjust this relationship.

[00:09:27] And you're kind of saying the same thing.

[00:09:29] It's like, it's reminding the room that this is business and that we have to make progress

[00:09:34] on what we're the business.

[00:09:36] Cause that's what we're here for.

[00:09:38] It actually makes it less personal, which I'm not saying that it's not good to be personal,

[00:09:43] but it reminds you that you got to stay with the goals and the conversation of what's really

[00:09:49] important to move the business forward.

[00:09:52] I love that.

[00:09:52] And what a great way to measure that and to reflect on that by having some sort of tool

[00:09:58] that summarizes your meetings and allows you to be sure that you're on the same page.

[00:10:03] I think it's always interesting when you go back and review the notes from a chat tool

[00:10:08] like that with the group and, and how surprised you certainly know.

[00:10:13] I was surprised when you found that people did not agree to what it said.

[00:10:16] That is not what we agreed to.

[00:10:18] All right.

[00:10:18] Well, maybe, you know, it's a hallucination.

[00:10:20] Maybe the tool is wrong, but, or, you know, offering a razor, you just heard it wrong and

[00:10:25] you, you weren't paying attention.

[00:10:27] And just to be able to have that, that, that tool in the discussion is super, super valuable.

[00:10:33] There's so many people that I've worked with in my past that we agree to something and

[00:10:39] then they, you know, have revisionist history.

[00:10:41] So I like this tool from that perspective, but to that point, I mean, this is going to

[00:10:46] change.

[00:10:47] It'll be interesting because will you, will you be judgmental of all the time you spend

[00:10:53] asking about their weekend and all these things that shouldn't, I, it'll be a shame if that

[00:10:59] human connection is damaged, but it's interesting how efficient that could be and clarity around

[00:11:09] the parties.

[00:11:10] I've certainly experienced early on during, you know, when you record meetings, you know,

[00:11:16] we used to, we've been recording meetings for years.

[00:11:18] Certainly, you know, WebEx has been doing that.

[00:11:21] I think one out of 2000 meetings that was recorded, I went back and listened to, but, you know,

[00:11:26] I'll, I'll review a AI summary of a meeting almost every time.

[00:11:30] And so you certainly in those early stages, you kind of did think about it.

[00:11:34] Oh my gosh, people are, my words are right there.

[00:11:37] But after the shock is gone, I think you do kind of fall back into your human nature that

[00:11:42] as any good leader should be thinking, you know, I have opportunity to grow and learn.

[00:11:47] And these are tools that allow you to improve that.

[00:11:50] And I encourage people to take advantage of them for your one-on-ones.

[00:11:54] The key there is good leadership.

[00:11:56] If you're looking to put somebody in a corner or really not, if you're practicing not good

[00:12:03] leadership, you could use this tool to your benefit and not into the detriment of the team.

[00:12:09] So just, I'll leave it at that, but there's definitely the good way to use it.

[00:12:14] Be thoughtful about how it feels.

[00:12:16] What's your third?

[00:12:16] A third one is actually even more interesting.

[00:12:20] And I think just, this is not something I think that our average listener can implement,

[00:12:24] but I do love it in the sense that it gives you an opportunity to think big.

[00:12:30] And as you said, you know, double it.

[00:12:32] What is the way that this could be used?

[00:12:34] You know, Atlassian, you know, Atlassian, that company owns it, well, it's Atlassian and

[00:12:40] Jira and Trello.

[00:12:42] It's the whole, that whole triumvirate.

[00:12:45] They would actually implemented a real-time employee sentiment system.

[00:12:49] So think about what that means.

[00:12:50] That means rather than a quarterly review of questions, they're able through all of their

[00:12:56] communications to understand the sentiment of their people and where they are at any given

[00:13:00] time.

[00:13:00] And now it does seem perhaps a little big brotherish and to your previous point, you know, I like

[00:13:08] to call these, you know, Spider-Man situations, you know, with great power comes great responsibility.

[00:13:13] But the truth is, is you can learn a lot about difficult challenges, difficult things if

[00:13:19] you use these tools correctly.

[00:13:20] So, you know, we have the ability to look at all of our technical or all of our digital

[00:13:26] communications and evaluate them.

[00:13:29] Certainly you can evaluate the way your employees are talking to the customers, to each other.

[00:13:35] But it is really interesting that at a high level, you can certainly understand the employee

[00:13:40] satisfaction, which is something I think a good leader should be constantly considering.

[00:13:44] Absolutely.

[00:13:45] And if you're not, you need to start doing that.

[00:13:48] And what a great way to do that.

[00:13:50] Really look at the temperature of the team.

[00:13:52] All right.

[00:13:53] So what are the three again?

[00:13:54] Take a look and give yourself a soft skills assessment.

[00:13:57] You know, think about where you're strong and weak and maybe use a tool to evaluate some

[00:14:03] of your communications to highlight areas you can improve or indicate that there are some

[00:14:08] blind spots you may not have.

[00:14:09] Second, definitely take advantage of recording or an AI assessment or AI perspective for your

[00:14:17] one-on-ones.

[00:14:17] Allows you to have clarity on the action items and the takeaways.

[00:14:22] Really just blistering clarity when you have those conversations.

[00:14:26] And I think your employees will appreciate that.

[00:14:29] And then third, you know, consider the big picture and the ways that we could be using tech.

[00:14:34] A real-time employee sentiment analysis functionality.

[00:14:38] Pretty, pretty aggressive, but also something that nobody would ever consider maybe six

[00:14:44] months ago.

[00:14:45] There are ways for you to really be in touch with your employees.

[00:14:48] And this is one of them that could make a difference.

[00:14:52] Such good, meaningful information.

[00:14:55] Thank you, James.

[00:14:56] Yeah, super fun.

[00:15:01] Susie, I have a question for you.

[00:15:03] Yes.

[00:15:05] What is the one thing about your appearance that you spend the most money on?

[00:15:11] Probably my appearance.

[00:15:12] Okay.

[00:15:13] Well, it would have to be, I have like a Peloton studio.

[00:15:16] I don't just have a Peloton bike.

[00:15:19] I have a Peloton row and I have a Peloton tread.

[00:15:24] And so that's a lot of money there.

[00:15:28] And a bike.

[00:15:28] And a bike.

[00:15:29] I have a bike.

[00:15:29] I have all three.

[00:15:30] And a bike.

[00:15:30] So you have all three.

[00:15:31] That's all they have.

[00:15:32] I have all three.

[00:15:32] And if I recall, you also have a Peloton photo collection, like a headshot wall of all of

[00:15:39] you and all of the Pelotonians.

[00:15:41] Okay.

[00:15:41] We're going to totally un...

[00:15:43] What is it called?

[00:15:44] Do this onion.

[00:15:45] What is that called?

[00:15:46] Peel the onion.

[00:15:47] Peel the onion.

[00:15:49] It's...

[00:15:49] I've gone to homecoming.

[00:15:51] They used to have an in-person homecoming.

[00:15:53] And I have met all of the Peloton people like you do.

[00:15:57] Oh, Peloton has a homecoming.

[00:15:59] Yeah.

[00:15:59] Oh, I'm sorry.

[00:16:00] Peloton has a homecoming.

[00:16:01] I've gone to homecoming.

[00:16:02] I didn't go to my high school homecoming, but I went to my Peloton homecoming.

[00:16:06] Okay.

[00:16:07] Okay.

[00:16:07] Totally cool.

[00:16:08] Yeah.

[00:16:08] And you stand in line like you're at Disney to meet the characters.

[00:16:12] And so totally did that.

[00:16:14] Yeah.

[00:16:14] And I've met them on the street.

[00:16:15] And I am the person that awkwardly goes up to them with tears in my eyes.

[00:16:20] And I ask for a selfie.

[00:16:21] Yeah.

[00:16:22] That's so adorable.

[00:16:24] Thank you.

[00:16:24] I do remember getting a picture of you and...

[00:16:27] Oh, Leanne.

[00:16:29] Leanne.

[00:16:29] Leanne.

[00:16:30] Yeah.

[00:16:30] Yeah.

[00:16:30] Well, I've...

[00:16:31] She's not the only one.

[00:16:32] I have pictures up with me.

[00:16:33] I know.

[00:16:34] I know.

[00:16:34] You're quite impressive.

[00:16:35] You're quite the stalker, I think is what they call her.

[00:16:39] Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Quick Take, where we talk about the questions

[00:16:43] that are on the minds of executives everywhere.

[00:16:46] Connect with us and share what's on your mind.

[00:16:48] You can find us on LinkedIn, YouTube, or whatever nerdy place on the internet you find your podcasts.

[00:16:53] All the links you really need are in the show notes.