Emotional Vs Technical Skills in Design.

The industry of Design has traversed through the landscape of creativity, became captured by capitalistic incentives and now has become imperatively impactful, and so with hope, will return to the space of creativity and imagination.

The builder of the fire is parallel to the energy that fire creates.

I want to discuss the industry of User Experience design and the emphasis placed on these two departments of skill and experience, one being rooted in the ability to do the work and the other being about the methods and considerations around how the work is done. These factors are always present in workplaces or anywhere humans coalesce. It is often that a person is valued more by their technical skills, as those are the skills that are able to be obtained from a resume or job application. It is usually not until months into working with someone that their internal nature is revealed. What if it was this is what was measured to be considered for a position on a team? How important is the way in which people operate and how can it be measured?

I believe that much of this disparagement in values is rooted in the capitalistic view of humans as sources to be extracted, just like the planet, and less as individuals with the potential to be recognized and leveraged. In order to locate a persons’ gauge on their “soft skills,” the method of discovery needs to be rooted in “soft skills”. In other words, you can’t find a diamond in the rough with a hammer. What even are soft skills? I consider such skills to be representative of a person’s character and could include:

1. Self-Awareness
2. Empathy
3. Compassion
4. Willingness
5. Humbleness
6. Courage
7. Trust

Let’s break these down a little bit.

Self-Awareness is the ability of a person to be aware of themselves in the moments of their actions and in retrospect. It is an underlying observation of ones’ own patterns, needs, wants, and boundaries. An individual with a strong awareness of themself holds the potential to navigate situations in their life through open communication with agency and passion.

Empathy is a broad term that in this context I am referring to the ability of someone to be able to take that aforementioned self-awareness and recognize that every other living being on this planet also is a self that is worthy of recognition. It is a general understanding that the “you” is a part of a whole and to feel for another as if it were your own pain because, in a theoretical and mystical way, it is.

Compassion is like empathy in practice. To show compassion for oneself, and for other living beings is forever intertwined. The softer we are with ourselves, insert self-awareness, the more soft and vulnerable we will be with others, which in essence is compassion. Giving people the benefit of the doubt, when it’s called for.

Willingness is the ability to accept being wrong or to accept that sometimes we may be received in a way that strays from our intention. It is what comes with compassion, as we open ourselves up to learning and growing.

Humbleness is rooted. It is a mixture of the concepts of knowing and not knowing and the acceptance of the wavering line between them. It is knowing that everyone else is trying, just like you, to simply be OK and also knowing that you could never possibly know what someone else is going through unless you ask.

Courage is knowing one's values and leveraging them through all circumstances. To be courageous is to stand in the face of opposition and give voice/action to the value one holds. Courage is being able to ground oneself in moments of tension and make decisions that are emotionally considerate and sensitive.

Trust is what builds when someone supports their own inner work and development. Trust is knowing that there is a purpose underlying the actions we take as individuals. Trust occurs when one is impeccable with their word, and consistent in their commitment to their values and for taking ability when called for.

These are just 7 concepts I would consider emotional skills, worthy of learning and practicing in all the work we do as individuals and professionals. I believe that companies would be able to create more impactful, important, and human-centered products and services if they invested into their teams’ soft skills. That could mean offering emotional intelligent workshops among the teams and/or hiring people in a way that seeks out those who have an understanding of the soft skills needed to collaborate on the specific team.

In the mean time, we can always practice our soft skills, and I would argue that it is often the soft skills over the technical skills that require attention and consistent practice among organizations and companies. User Experience Design knows that, now they just need to reflect it upon the way that we treat the positions themselves.