Embracing Your Soft Skills: The Softer Side of Leadership

Leaders are can often be strong figures in our minds. They can guide the course of history and define countries, businesses, communities, and more. Good leadership has always been integral to success. But what makes a leader successful?

It’s a question anyone in a leadership position has asked themselves at least once, if not on a daily basis. Is success driven just by good strategic planning, analytical skills, and project management? As Eugene Habecker reveals, a leader’s true path to success lies not only in the hard skills they know, but also through the soft skills they display every day to those around them.

Spending time as a leader can give you a pretty good idea of what makes or breaks leadership. Habecker’s time as president of Taylor University gave him experience dealing with the unexpected, personal, and stressful problems that cropped up as a natural part of that leadership role. Your standard self-help book doesn’t really address those kinds of issues in meaningful ways. Unlike most leadership books, The Softer Side of Leadership explores the importance of how leaders use their soft skills to relate to others, provide stability in stressful situations, and give guidance in an often chaotic and everchanging landscape.

Instead of merely giving suggestions on how to improve your leadership skills, the book offers you actionable advice that can be tailored for your specific situation. Some examples include:

• Creating sacred spaces where you can rest and reflect on your responsibilities without distractions is something that can help each and every one of us in our daily lives.
• Understanding the importance of continuous learning can help you expand your horizons, keep your mind sharp, and continue your growth as a leader.
• Cultivating playful creativity opens new avenues for growth and development that traditional by-the-books planning may not produce.
• Building mutual trust with people you serve with or preside over is vital to the success of the organization on a foundational level.

Habecker’s experience shines through with poignant leadership advice that can help to guide you through multiple dimensions of life as a leader.

Habecker also shows how all of these soft skills are exemplified throughout the Bible. Many key figures within the Bible were important leaders in their time. Their decisions show the results of both good and bad use of soft skills in their leadership role. Whether focusing on Jesus’ ability to always ask people the right questions at the right time or on Peter’s successes and failures as a leader of the early church, Habecker examines Biblical examples in a unique light.

The Softer Side of Leadership is an invitation to examine your priorities as a leader and find ways to improve your walk. Even if you aren’t a leader yet, this book will give you a solid head start with smart tips, wise counsel, and actionable ideas that you can start applying now. Read it and take it to heart, and you may find more success and blessings as a leader than you ever thought possible.

Order your copy of The Softer Side of Leadership.