Self and other-oriented skills
According to some scholars, we can divide soft skills into:
- Self-oriented/Intrapsychic
- Other-oriented/Interpersonal skills.
Self-oriented skills pertain to personal development and understanding, whereas other-oriented skills involve interactions with others.
This categorization can also be viewed in terms of personal and social skills. Personal skills predominantly encompass cognitive abilities, such as knowledge and critical thinking.
In contrast, social skills involve interactions and relationships with others. Engelberg reinforced that "knowledge skills involve processing information, while thinking skills entail exercising critical judgment" (Engelberg, S. (2015). A developmental Perspective on Soft Skills. Speech at “Soft Skills and their role in employability – New perspectives in teaching, assessment and certification”, workshop in Bertinoro, FC, Italy.)
In the same article Engelberg (2015) lineout also that key social skills include communication, listening, negotiation, networking, problem-solving, decision-making, and assertiveness. Soft skills provide hard skills with the flexibility needed to adapt and remain current in evolving environments. Grisi in 2014 affirmed that they are associated with cognitive processes like rational thinking and problem-solving abilities, which have developed in the human brain over millennia. While hard skills define specific professional roles such as engineering or philosophy, soft skills extend beyond these roles, enhancing adaptability and effectiveness in various contexts (Grisi, C. (2014). Management della verità. Il valore della persona nella formazione, nelle organizzazioni e nel lavoro).
Each individual bears responsibility for their actions, which stem from interconnected elements. Awareness and action are intertwined with both personal and Inter-personal competences (Kingsley, B. (2015). Self awareness and emotional intelligence. Speech at “Soft skills and their role in employability – New perspectives in teaching, assessment and certification”, workshop in Bertinoro, FC, Italy.)
Interpersonal skills could be described as skills that propel the individual’s ability to fit into a specific position and consist of such soft skills as asking questions, listening, resolving conflicts, showing empathy, and working in teams.
Intrapersonal skills are within oneself (and not between self and others) and cover such soft skills as goal setting, self-awareness, self-management, proactiveness, perseverance, and time management” (Colburn, 2018, An alternative to categorizing skills as soft or hard. OD Practitioner, 50(4). 65-66).
Other sources: Cimatti, B. (2016). Definition, development, assessment of soft skills and their role for the quality of organizations and enterprises. International Journal for quality research, 10(1), 97. Retrievable at Ijqr