in the world of “no pain, no gain”, soft skills are undervalued, and in some cases, under assault (now that “empathy” has become a bad word for some). but soft skills, or a lack thereof, are also going to eat your lunch.
without them, your vision dies. without them, you might die too. yes, we are all going to die eventually, but let’s live more fully while we are here. deal?!
when building vision, it’s easier (and perhaps more enticing) to focus on tactical and concrete skills. and yes, those are important. if i don’t know how to do surgery, i’d best not pull out a scalpel and start cutting. the relevant tactical skills and training needed to bring the particular vision to life vary significantly by context.
but there are some skills necessary for bringing vision into form that aren’t variable by context. we need them. always. they are part of the root system. the often invisible infrastructure that holds our individual bodies, minds and souls intact along with the collective effort of the team if you have one.
skills like:
self-awareness (which parts of you are present; which ones are driving the bus; resourcing and relating to your other parts to build trust with Self)
emotional attunement and processing (particularly working with grief and fear)
sourcing wisdom and direction from your body and from the universal field (knowing the difference between instinct and intuition)
calibrating your nervous system to respond flexibly, dynamically and appropriately based on the stimulus (the goal isn’t to be “regulated” all of the time; the goal is to have your nervous system meet you where you are and where you want to go without hijacking the ship and taking over without your awareness or consent)
shifting your own conscious and unconscious resistance where appropriate and staying curious in the face of internal and external resistance
expanding your capacity to feel connected and to trust a universal field that is bigger and smarter than you
navigating uncertainty and holding steady in the messy middle
holding the complexity and nuance in your experience and the experience of others
engaging with (yourself and others) from compassion, creativity, curiosity, confidence, courage, calm, connectedness, clarity, presence, persistence, perspective, playfulness and patience
relational repair
listening and communicating through all of the phases of change
individual and collective team resourcing, skill development and support
setting and maintaining reasonable limits and boundaries and renegotiating those as needed
the good news? skills can be learned.
in Potentia, we will explore which of these skills you already have and are able to deploy relatively consistently and which ones you may need to deepen in capacity. and we will help you build that capacity.
the doors to Potentia are opening soon. keep reading for more details.
Love, Booth