Why “Soft Skills” Will Make or Break Your Business
But when it comes to leadership, particularly in HR transformation, hard skills alone won’t carry you through.
It’s not systems that derail change. It’s people.
And it’s not poor planning that disrupts culture. It’s misaligned leadership.
Soft skills—empathy, adaptability, emotional intelligence—are no longer “nice to have.”
They are the core competencies of successful HR leadership today.
The forgotten power of soft skills in leadership
The traditional view of leadership prioritised authority, decisiveness, and performance metrics.
But today’s most effective leaders build influence through:
- Empathy – understanding people’s realities, not just managing their outputs.
- Adaptability – navigating ambiguity and uncertainty without losing clarity.
- Cultural intelligence – reading context and adjusting leadership style accordingly.
These are not intangible traits. They are strategic capabilities.
When Re:find assesses candidates for leadership recruitment, these soft skills are not secondary—they’re foundational. Because no matter how impressive a CV is, if a leader can’t foster trust and engagement, they won’t shift a culture.
Why HR transformation fails without emotional intelligence
Here’s what most companies get wrong: they assume change management roles are about process.
They’re not.
They’re about people.
According to McKinsey & Company, up to 70% of transformation initiatives fail—largely due to behavioural resistance and poor communication, not flawed strategy.
We’ve seen it firsthand. HR transformation efforts falter when:
- Leaders communicate change without context or compassion.
- Managers can’t handle pushback or emotional fallout.
- Teams are “informed” of change but never brought into the why.
Change doesn’t happen through spreadsheets—it happens through relationships.
Which means your leaders must be as emotionally equipped as they are operationally skilled.
The new core competency for leadership
The profile of an effective CPO has shifted dramatically.
It’s no longer about policy enforcement. It’s about psychological safety, vision, and strategic empathy.
Today’s HR leaders are:
- Coaches, not controllers.
- Narrative-builders, not just compliance experts.
- Translators of business strategy into human action.
As organisations evolve, so must their HR leaders. The ability to read the emotional undercurrent of a business—and lead accordingly—is now a critical part of organisational development.
And no, it can’t be outsourced to comms or L&D.
It sits at the very heart of leadership.
What this means for hiring and leadership development
When you’re hiring for HR transformation or executive roles, soft skills are often buried under “15+ years’ experience” and “global remit” checkboxes.
That’s a problem.
What you should be screening for:
- Proven ability to lead through ambiguity.
- Demonstrated emotional intelligence in complex environments.
- Track record of resolving conflict and restoring trust.
Because while technical knowledge can be learned, human insight takes years to cultivate.
At Re:find, we go beyond the CV.
Our executive search and transformation recruitment processes focus on depth of character, not just breadth of experience.
We look for leaders who can handle the messy middle—because that’s where real transformation happens.
Soft skills are the real drivers of growth
If your business is evolving—and let’s face it, who isn’t, then you don’t just need smart people.
You need emotionally intelligent ones.
The leaders who will shape your culture, earn your team’s trust, and turn resistance into resilience won’t do it through frameworks alone.
They’ll do it through human connection.
Soft skills are not soft.
They’re strategic. And they’ll either make—or quietly break—your transformation journey.
Struggling to find HR leaders who bring emotional intelligence and cultural vision to the table?
Get in touch with our team at re:find, we’ll help you find and secure the transformational talent your business needs.
