For decades, career advancement was believed to be driven primarily by technical expertise. If you mastered the tool, the software, the machine, or the code, you were valuable. But the workplace has evolved, and the data is clear. In the age of automation and AI, the skills that set people apart are increasingly human.
Businesses today are realizing that expertise alone does not guarantee impact. You might be the most knowledgeable member of the team, but if you cannot collaborate, communicate, solve complex problems, or adapt to change, the value of your contribution is limited.
Forward thinking companies are reporting tangible results from investing in soft skills development. Increased productivity, improved retention, stronger morale, and measurable growth are no longer distant benefits but visible outcomes. Teams that communicate well make decisions faster, experience fewer conflicts, and are better prepared to respond to unexpected challenges.
From my personal experience during the internship placement season at NIT Trichy, the importance of soft skills is hard to ignore. The Group Discussion round, which many assume is only a basic screening stage, turned out to be the point where the highest number of eliminations happened. Not because students lacked technical knowledge but because many struggled to express their ideas clearly, listen actively, or navigate the flow of discussion.
I also saw technically outstanding candidates get eliminated at the HR stage. They could build, code, calculate, and solve, but they were unable to articulate their stories, respond with clarity, manage their anxiety, or demonstrate how they fit into a team-oriented culture. These experiences reinforced a simple truth. Soft skills are not just helpful. They are decisive.
Communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, teamwork, adaptability, problem solving, and critical thinking are emerging as universal priorities across industries. They are not traits that people are born with. They are skills that can be intentionally developed, strengthened with practice, and applied with confidence.
In the coming years, technology may handle more tasks, but it cannot automate intuition, empathy, trust, negotiation, creativity, or leadership. These capabilities shape decisions, build relationships, and influence outcomes in ways machines cannot replicate.
The soft skills revolution represents a fundamental shift in how work is understood. Companies no longer hire solely for what candidates know today. They hire for how they think, adapt, connect, and lead tomorrow.
For students, professionals, and leaders alike, this shift opens opportunity. Soft skills are timeless and transferable. In a world changing faster than ever before, they are the one investment that continues to grow in value.
Rajbir Singh, PhD
Rajbir Singh is a founder and Consulting Partner at Value Centria, a boutique business consulting firm that leverages customer centricity and digital to drive growth and innovation. Additionally, he is the co-founder and CEO of the i4 Mentors Foundation, a startup accelerator. As a not-for-profit, i4 Mentors Foundation is working for “Build for India”, and Healthcare is one of their focus sectors.
Before this, Rajbir led Global Business and IT Consulting businesses at IBM, Oracle, HCL Technologies and Tata Unisys for 25+ years. He has led large, multi-cultural teams spread across the globe and has consulted with Fortune 500 clients across industries, including BFSI, Media, Telecom, Utilities, CPG and Manufacturing. His areas of expertise include Customer Strategy, Innovation Strategy, Business Strategy and Change Management. He has received recognition from Forrester, Pega, SAP and HCL Tech for developing innovative products.
Rajbir has been a visiting faculty at IIIT Delhi, IIT Delhi, NSUT and BIMTech. He is also on the board of a few startup incubators.
Rajbir is an Electronics Engineer from IIT Delhi, an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a PhD from IIT Delhi.
Websites: https://www.valuecentria.in/; https://www.i4mentors.com/
Sudarsan Chakravarthy
Founder, Chief Mentor & Success Coach – myDharma Global
A Spiritual leader, leadership coach, motivational speaker, accomplished global business leader, and an author with keen interests in ancient wisdom, spirituality, science, philosophy, and the arts.
An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B, Class of 93), India’s premier B-School, with a proven track record in building business, driving revenue & profitability growth and maximizing stakeholder delight.
Versatile and highly accomplished Management Professional with 25+ years of experience in the IT industry spanning across India, ME, Europe and North America.
Has rich experience across a wide range of areas – Digital Transformation, Line of Business Management, Business Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT Strategy, Operations, Finance, Product Management, and Service Delivery Management.
Worked with GBM (IBM GMSR) in Dubai for 20+years and championed several key strategies, including Business transformation, SAP implementation, Market Coverage, Growth Initiatives, Merger, Organizational restructuring, Low-cost services delivery, Market Research, IT Strategy, Business Partner / Channel Management, Operational Excellence, Sales Management, CRM, etc.
A motivational speaker with rich experience in running inspiring empowerment workshops; Has been inspiring and enthralling audiences of all age groups – individuals, groups, youth, families, corporate leaders – across several parts of the world with his captivating lectures; Meticulously gleans profound insights from the treasury of ancient wisdom and presents them in a way that illuminates the contemporary mind and resonates with today’s needs, interests, and challenges.
His life’s mission is to instill nobility and greatness across various strata of society.
Skillfully harmonizes the seemingly conflicting material and spiritual worlds and empowers individuals with a revitalising transformation and helps them to strengthen faith in their limitless potential; Is dedicated to unlocking the God given talents and highest abilities in people and empowering them to celebrate life through their unique contributions to the making of a new and beautiful world.
Subha Parthasarathy has been working with children, parents, and adults since 2006 and is the founder of Magichive. She is a Counselling Psychologist with over 20,000 counselling and training hours spent on 1-on-1 sessions with adults/children and group training sessions. Subha is an experienced trainer and facilitator who delivers workshops and programs that focus on enriching relationships with self and others. Her workshops “Chetana” (parenting workshop since 2009) and “Compassionate Communication based on NVC (since 2016)” are centred around increasing self-awareness and equipping participants with tools and insights that can help in leading an enriching life.
Person Centric Therapy, Mindfulness, and Nonviolent Communication form the cornerstones of her work. She is a Vipassana meditator and has certifications on various methods of interventions based on NLP, CBT, TA, NVC, Gestalt, Movement therapy, Reiki, Deep Listening, etc. She has delivered sessions in IIM Bangalore, IIM Kashipur, Infosys, Infosys BPO, Cap Gemini, Northern Trust, HSBC, etc.
Case Study: Case study on Magichive through Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Canada (Click here for details) published in Oct 2024
Podcasts: Subha has hosted more than 20 free podcasts centred around mindfulness hosted on Spotify ( Click here for details)
Book: A book of 19 poems titled “Verses for Better – Parenting Lessons from Parenting Failures“, a collaborative effort between Magichive and Wunderman Thompson, was published in 2018. The book was nominated for two categories in the prestigious National Level Kyoorious Creative Awards 2019.