Are you looking to be a leader in your field?
Do you want to reach a world-class level of performance?
You could spend thousands of hours studying for college courses to learn new skills and pay tens of thousands of dollars for professional coaching, but if you don’t have the attributes to be successful at what you want to do, the hours and the money will be wasted.
In this article, you will learn:
- The difference between skills and attributes
- Which one you should focus on for your goals
- How to develop the attributes you need for your goals
- Where you can go to develop your attributes
This blog post will discuss what skills vs attributes means and why you should focus on developing your strengths rather than trying to overcome weaknesses if you want to rise to the top.
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”
What is a Skill
A skill is defined as the ability to do something well.
- If you want to write a book, you must know how to write.
- If you want to compete in a triathlon, you must know how to swim, run, and ride a bicycle.
- If you want to convey a technical idea to a nontechnical person, you must have solid communication skills (assuming you also have the technical skills to know what you’re talking about).
What is an Attribute
“Skills don’t tell us how people behave in uncertainty, attributes do.”
– Rich Diviney on the Art of Charm podcast
If skills can be taught, then attributes are qualities we possess in varying levels.
Things like confidence, determination, and creativity are personal attributes.
Personal attributes aren’t necessarily directly related to your professional responsibilities. However, they can amplify your technical skills and soft skills, allowing you to excel when the people around you are more skilled—but lack certain attributes you’ve spent more time developing.
Confidence is a great example of an attribute that isn’t directly related to most jobs, but can open doors in any profession.
Why?
Confidence means trusting yourself and your ability to walk into the unknown and believe you’ll come out the other side in one piece.
If you don’t have that belief, why would you ever try new things? Why would you put yourself into situations you’re unsure of?
When you are confident in yourself, you are willing to step outside your comfort zone because you know that’s where you will grow and find your potential.
What is the Difference Between Skills and Attributes
Skills can be taught and attributes cannot—but that doesn’t mean they can’t be improved.
For example:
- I can teach you how to lift weights, but I can’t teach you to be strong.
- I can teach you how to paint, but I can’t teach you to be creative.
- I can teach you how to look at adversity, but I can’t teach you to be resilient.
- I can teach you how to think analytically, but I can’t teach you to be intelligent.
People can teach you what confidence is and teach you how to develop confidence, but those are not the same as teaching you to…
