A new year offers the chance to get better as an employer. Much as it is important to develop technical skills for a job, experts argue that it is equally critical to possess people skills if you want to be successful at your workplace and experience growth in your career.

Reports indicate that people skills have proved to be at the forefront when it comes to the success of one’s career.

Needless to say, with people skills, an employee is able to work effectively and also possess the capacity to efficiently interact with others.

Author Jana Angeles highlights some of the people skills, you need to find career success:

Ability to relate to others

Being relatable means being yourself; living an authentic, consistent life with the people you lead. Being relatable doesn’t just apply to leadership but it can apply to those starting their careers or individuals working their way up the career ladder. Finding ways to relate to others has to come naturally, so there’s no point forcing yourself to be liked by other people.

Coming across as "human” is a good start in showing others how you can relate to them. This could mean sharing the challenges you went through to find career success and inspiring others to not give up when times get tough.

Accountability

Accountability in the workplace means owning your work and recognising that mistakes do happen, but there’s always room for improvement. Nobody is perfect at their jobs and if you make a mistake, it’s in your best interest to understand how it happened in the first place. Showing accountability is what can help you with your career growth because it gives you the push to find ways where to improve on how you do things to prevent further mistakes from happening.

Positive attitude

Did you know that happy employees have higher productivity levels when it comes to their work? Having a positive attitude doesn’t necessarily have to mean being annoyingly happy, but showing passion in what you do is a great start. There comes a point in time where you need to set healthy boundaries for yourself to truly flourish in your work.

Honesty

There is no room for deception in the workplace and if there is, you’re likely in an environment that’s toxic and not beneficial for your professional growth. Whether you’re leading a team or having a one-on-one meeting with your superior, it’s important that what information you communicate directly with them is of honest nature. Being transparent fosters trust in your professional connections and lets people know that you can be trusted in matters where the need to be discreet is necessary.

Strong work ethic

Having a strong work ethic isn’t working 10+ hours a day without taking any break. It’s being able to meet timely deadlines while also having quality output when it comes to the work that you do. Your work ethic is more important than you think when it comes to your professional life. It’s simply not about who can work the most hours but it’s also knowing how you can be productive with your time and creating positive change in your role.

Self-confidence

Having confidence in your own abilities is reflected upon the output of your work and this can greatly affect the people who you work around with on a daily basis. By having confidence in your work, you create a high positive energy that may help motivate others to do the same when approaching tasks at hand. This also means you have the ability to encourage others to pursue their career strengths if you’re in a position where you manage others.