Business Management Coach In Chicago Emphasizes Soft Skills
While some students and job applicants naturally have soft skills, others do not. And according to a Monster survey, soft skills matter just as much to get the job done.
The top soft skills to get and keep a job include communication skills, teamwork and collaboration, adaptability, problem solving, critical observation and conflict resolution.
According to Brenda Ellington Booth, Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, those soft skills have a major impact in the business management and entrepreneurial world.
"You cannot run a business without having a rudimentary understanding of at least accounting," said Booth. "That is absolutely important. But after that base competency level, what really distinguishes people is their ability to get along with other people, and manage and motivate other people."
Having a vital support system doesn't hurt either. After her first job at Home Box Office (HBO), Booth decided to improve upon the skills she'd learned after getting a bachelor's degree in Economics from Stanford University.
Deeming her boss at HBO as "my biggest supporter," his letter of recommendation helped get her into Stanford University to get her M.B.A.. She then went on to get a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Northwestern University.
After working at Leo Barnett ad agency for five years, Booth made the decision to be a guide to other business management professionals.
"I've been at Kellogg school for about 15 years so I've had the opportunity to kind of grow as a business professional with it. I don't have the same job that I took 15 years ago. Right now I do a lot of executive coaching. About six years ago, I became an executive coach to compliment what I was doing in the classroom. What I enjoy the most is working with individuals in small groups and helping them with their own leadership development process."
Booth strongly believes that having a degree under one's belt is especially important during an economic downturn.
"It's almost like table stakes because people want to know where you're educated. And there's a whole hierarchy in business amongst what type of business school you went to. My M.B.A. students would not give me the time of day if I didn't at least have a master's. It's about credibility and it's about your branding."
Shamontiel L. Vaughn is a professional journalist who has work featured in AXS, Yahoo!, Chicago Defender and Chicago Tribune. She's been an Examiner since 2009 and currently writes about 10 categories on Examiner.com.