Last year I attended a joint venture of MIT and IMD titled Driving Strategic Innovation, and it was such a nice time in a sunny spring at Lausanne. The faculty was outstanding: one of the program directors, Professor Charles Fine, argued that the much‐used terms hard and soft skills were inaccurate. He preferred “sharp” skills to denote cognitive abilities and “smart” skills to capture the life and interpersonal competencies that, in his view, are among the most crucial tools we wield every day. This perspective echoes a broader shift in leadership development, championed by MIT Sloan faculty, to reframe what we once called “soft” skills as strategic, essential capabilities.
Lausanne
In their book The Job Is Easy, The People Are Not!, Professors Charles Fine and Loredana Padurean—associate dean and faculty director for action learning at the Asia School of Business (in partnership with MIT Sloan)—outlines ten “smart” skills that leaders need to navigate the one variable that always introduces complexity: people. These skills move beyond passive notions of communication to active, nuanced practices that combine emotional intelligence, adaptability, and strategic insight.
The ten skills are:
- Adaptability
- Cognitive readiness
- Emotional maturity
- Fellowership
- Humility
- Listening
- Managing up
- Multiple perspectives
- Productive inclusion
- Validation
The first three skills focus on self‐management and situational acuity. Adaptability requires building self‐awareness around comfort zones and learning to lean into uncertainty rather than avoid it, a mindset shift that can open new growth opportunities. Cognitive readiness is about staying mentally tuned to organizational dynamics—much like athletes remain poised for an unexpected play—and stepping into challenges with agility. Emotional maturity involves creating environments where questions and exploration are valued over feigned certainty, a crucial counter to the “always have the answers” trap many leaders fall into.
Next are skills that reorient leadership around relationships and learning, an as you can read in the book The culture code these traits in a leader shapes great performing teams. Followership reframes the dynamic not as subordination, but as committed pursuit of shared purpose, reminding us that leadership and followership are complementary roles. Humility calls for recognizing that no one person holds all knowledge or skills, so collaboration and mutual respect become core drivers of innovation. Listening transforms from a passive act into an active discipline requiring presence and full attention—without it, leaders miss critical cues and erode trust.
The final four skills sharpen how leaders interact upward, across perspectives, and in inclusive environments. Managing up fosters transparent dialogue, enabling teams to voice dissent and contribute to better decision‐making. Multiple perspectives encourages continuous reflection on past actions and deliberate consideration of alternative viewpoints, fostering a culture of learning. Productive inclusion goes beyond token diversity to actively welcome and leverage differences, driving creativity and innovation. Finally, Validation acknowledges and affirms individual contributions, serving both as motivation and as a developmental feedback mechanism.
Recasting these ten capacities as “smart” rather than “soft” underscores their strategic importance: they are not optional niceties but critical skills that enable leaders to thrive in complexity. By embracing adaptability, emotional intelligence, and inclusive practices, today’s leaders can build resilient, high‐performing teams equipped to tackle whatever tomorrow brings.