Getting to the CORE: Putting an End to the Term "Soft Skills". (April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Parlamis, Jennifer; Monnot, Matthew J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of management inquiry. Volume 28:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 225
• Page End: 227
• Publication Date: 2019-04
• Subjects: CORE skills -- soft skills -- reframing -- workplace competencies -- leadership; Management -- Periodicals; Organizational behavior -- Periodicals; 658.005
• DOI: 10.1177/1056492618818023
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1056-4926

Abstract

We need to retire the term "soft skills." A new vocabulary for describing critical social and organizational skills is long overdue. Substituting the acronym "CORE" (Competence in Organizational and Relational Effectiveness) for the loaded word "soft" provides a more fitting term for the important skills the term describes and, in doing so, reframes the perceptions of these key skills to reflect their importance for career and organizational success.