Managing Director Linda Bergqvist - “Soft skills are old, but gold”
Linda started building Crowd Collective Linköping, our second office in Sweden, in 2021 together with Carl Johansson. Since October 2022, Linda has been the Managing Director of Crowd Collective Stockholm. And since forever – she's been an advocate for soft skills in the tech industry.
"For me, soft skills are business critical if you want to stay relevant for both your employees and your customers and clients. The society of today is driven by technical innovation and if you want to take it to the next level, soft skills are extremely needed."
Linda talks about soft skills from two perspectives - business and employees.
To succeed as a consultant company, Linda does believe that it comes down to the people in your company. The ability to work as a team, active listening, creativity and emotional intelligence are a few of the most important soft skills that Linda sees in our consultants today.
Some people might think that soft skills are something “new” in the IT industry. It’s not. The way of working has changed during the last decades, and the way of working in an agile context makes greater demands on our soft skills. But it’s not something revolutionising, however something extremely important.
"The agile way of working comes with teamwork. You need to be able to work with different departments, different teams and different people. Tech is not just a department anymore, tech is everywhere. And therefore, excellent communication skills, sense of responsibility and kindness in vital to stay relevant as a company."
From an employee perspective, soft skills are important to make sure that people are heard, seen and respected. To create an inclusive workplace where people take time to help each other does not come for free and it does take time, but it is worth every hour. Nothing happens by happy accidents, you need to work with your culture and your people, and of course hire people who share these values.
"You can show your soft skills in different way - not everyone has to be a public speaker, be the funniest woman at the office or always be the facilitator of meetings. By sharing our view of soft skills and always trying to both become a better version of yourself and help others to do the same, you will always have a place at Crowd Collective."
Our Crowds are a great way of creating the sense of belonging and a place where the soft skills in our teams are clearly shown. This is a place for knowledge sharing, challenging each other's ideas and expressing your opinion. A safe space, where you are seen, heard and listened to, and a place that can build trust and community.
The most important soft skills, if you ask Linda, are taking responsibility, the ability to work in teams and emotional intelligence. And of course, to be kind. Always.