Going to college has a purpose and that purpose is to provide you with the necessary and latest knowledge in whatever particular field you wish to major in. Simple right, you study the books do the labs write the reports and get the grades to earn that diploma. Here’s the problem with that for most college students you add your first taste of freedom from home with parties and dating and your plate is pretty much full for those years.
The majority don’t have time to work a job that would require you to learn the real life skills of leadership and influencing people in business. Softer skills like communicating with others working laterally and negotiating issues are for the most part things you can not learn any where else but in the workforce.
More and more colleges are bringing classes like these to their regular curriculum which is a great thing. The trick of course is stressing the real value these classes will have to you in the business world. It does not matter if you are going to college to be a doctor, lawyer, therapist, mechanic, musician or any other field of choice you may go into.
Having the skill set of leadership, negotiating and influencing others through communication are perhaps the most valuable tools you can learn in your life. Why? Because you may be a genius in your field you know absolutely wicked smart at the top of your class which is great of course. You need to be able to tell people that by explaining your ideas demonstrating by example getting people to see your perspective and yet respecting theirs but ultimately influencing them to follow your lead.
Leadership and influencing people skills are very delicate to balance and sure enough some people are much better at it than others. Still it’s a skill set that can be learned like any other and the sooner you focus on them the sooner you will realize the true value they have. These are skills that will always evolve as your relationships change in both business and life but they are invaluable when it comes to exploiting your other skills for more than you could have ever dreamed.
What is your take on leadership and influencing skills. Are these skills focused on enough in the college years? Are these really skills that can only truly be learned while on the job? Please share your opinions.
