Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to Today’s Young Talent
By Bruce Tulgan
Wiley
Available through Amazon in hardback, paperback, and Kindle editions. You can find it at other online and offline booksellers, as well.
Summary of Bridging the Soft Skills Gap
Soft skills — those hard to define qualities that make working with others easier and more productive — are just as critical as hard skills. “People get hired because of their hard skills but often get fired because of their soft skills.” In this book, Bruce Tulgan explains what soft skills are, presents a case for teaching those skills to the current young workforce, and provides tools for teaching them, as well.
What I liked about Bridging the Soft Skills Gap
This book is well written and organized. It is filled with case studies and stories that illustrate the problem managers today face with the Millennial workforce, as well as explains the genesis of that problem.
Most of the book provides actionable tools that managers can use to teach soft skills to young workers. He states the lesson to be learned, why it is important to learn and even provides a script that managers can use to convince employees to value the lessons.
The book provides a nice balance of stating the problem and re-stating so that an “us vs. them” mentality is avoided. It is written with an understanding of both sides of the situation: that of the managers and that of the Millennials who are now in the front line of the workforce.
What I didn’t like about Bridging the Soft Skills Gap
The section of the book that provides lessons managers can share with their direct reports is repetitive and not fun to read. That said, it probably wasn’t meant to be read like a book at that point anyway.
What I’d Love to See in the Second Edition
I would love to see all the content for teaching provided as either a companion workbook or (and?) as downloadable lesson sheets.
I would also love to see a version of this book written for Millennials. I’m sure there are young people today who are pro-active and would pick up a book like this to help them get ahead in their career.
Conclusion
If you are managing people from Generation Z, this book could really help you overcome frustrations that you may be experiencing.
If you are a Millennial, this book could be an eye-opener, helping you not only better understand your manager’s perspective but also develop that soft skills that are critical for success in career or business.
Rating
[one_fifth]
NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.
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