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LinkedIn recently analyzed hiring trends across its platformto determine both the hard and soft skills companies need most in 2020. The trends align with what I see in my executive coaching practice, where I help leaders manage stress, build resilience, unleash creativity, develop emotional intelligence, and communicate and collaborate better.

Hard skills are often technical in nature and tend to be both teachable and measurable. Design, engineering, economic analysis, and AI all fall in this category.

Soft skills include interpersonal and communication skills, as well as the ability to be creative and to view problems from multiple angles. Self-awareness is also essential here. Leaders, teachers, and coaches can help develop soft skills in others, but they tend to be trickier to measure.

We underestimate (and undervalue) the latter set of skills by calling them soft. As I have written before, soft skills are imperative to be an effective leader. Accordingly, Dartmouth University president Philip Hanlon calls them power skills, a high-value currency in todays workplace.

For the second year in a row, LinkedIns analysis finds creativity to be ranked the highest in-demand soft skill. As technical tasks become outsourced to computing and AI, it is the ability to see things differently and to connect the dots in new ways that distinguish great companies from good ones.

Daniel Pink noted this trend fifteen years ago in his book A Whole New Mind, where he argued that creativity and other right-brain skills were going to be the key to the future. We were, he said, moving from the information age to the conceptual age. That observation is even more valid today.

The ability to persuade and influence others is required in sales, but its applications are much broader. Leaders are responsible for communicating and igniting the organizations purpose and mission to employees, customers, clients, and other stakeholders. Conveying vision and influencing others to believe in that vision is a fundamentally persuasive skill.

Persuasion also figures more subtly in another essential interpersonal activity, developing one-on-one rapport with colleagues and employees. When leaders can effectively communicate the why of a task, tackling the how becomes far more manageable. Great leaders have a contagious conviction that persuades others to be believers.

The greatest ideas and innovations, argues Frans Johansson in The Medici Effect, do not come from lone wolf inventors, but from the intersection of different fields and perspectives. In order to think out of the box, we have to break out of our siloes. The most innovative companies and leaders create an environment that fosters collaboration.

Encouraging cognitive diversity is a complementary leadership skill. The Harvard Business Review finds that teams solve problems faster when they are more cognitively diverse. Leaders must orchestrate collaboration, and a diversity of background and perspective, if they are to stay on top.

Disruptive is a popular buzzword to describe ground-breaking ideas and cutting-edge companies. In order to ride the constant waves of change, leaders and their organizations have to learn to be adaptable, agile, and nimble.

The skillsets required to be adaptable are both personal and organizational. Leaders need to manage their stress and build resilience through a growth mindset and healthy habits in order to adapt and thrive in high-pressure environments. They must also be able to pivot and let go of assumptions and preconceived ideas. An open and receptive mind is essential. Organizations, in turn, must be able to respond quickly to unexpected changes in the market. Creativity, resilience, and the ability to collaborate will enhance an organizations adaptability.

Emotional intelligence is the secret sauce that enables all of the other soft skills. We cannot collaborate with or win over others unless we can read them accurately and can be empathic. We cannot fully tap into our creativity and agility unless we are self-aware and able to manage our thoughts and emotions.

Emotional intelligence is a foundation for succeeding and thriving in a complex and ever-changing world. Although this set of skills yields the most significant results in the interpersonal realm, it starts with the individual, and with the tough inner work and self-development influential leaders commit themselves to. Developing mindful self-awareness and self-mastery is the core of my executive coaching work, and leads to the biggest breakthroughs, both personal and professional.

One measure of just how essential soft skills are in todays world comes from Googles process of organizational introspection. Google was founded by a pair of computer scientists and conceived as a company that would be driven by the ideas and needs of engineers, not managers. As it evolved, however, the company examined what made for its most creative and productive teams.

The results of Googles internal analysis surprised many. Of the eight most important qualities found in its top employees, technical expertise came in last. All of the top characteristics were soft skills.

If soft skills can provide the competitive edge at one of the worlds most innovative tech companies, imagine what they can do for your organization.

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5 Of The Most In-Demand Soft Skills Companies Are Looking For This Year - Forbes