The Unteachable Advantage

Emotional stability > Every Badge You’ve Ever Added to LinkedIn.

Soft Skills Will Take You Further Than Any Degree - But No One Tells You That at 22

I saw a TikTok this week that really stuck with me.

A girl said she works with some of the smartest people in her company - engineers, analysts, technical geniuses, and yet every time she gets feedback, it’s never about her “technical abilities.” It’s always about her soft skills.

Her communication. Her demeanor. Her attitude. Her calmness under pressure.

She shared it with this tone of confusion and worry for her career.

I get that.

I didn’t realize what soft skills mean until I was a few years (or a few crises) into my career.

I say that as someone who spent years not understanding this and then suddenly realizing I had been sitting on the most valuable currency in the workplace the whole time. Here’s what else I learned:

1. You Can Teach Anyone Technical Skills But You Cannot Teach Them How to Act Right

You can train someone how to use a system.
You can teach someone Excel formulas.
You can walk someone through an SOP, a workflow, a process.

But you cannot train someone to be:

• emotionally intelligent

• respectful

• calm under pressure

• self-aware

• a good communicator

• easy to work with

• someone who doesn’t implode when something goes wrong

These aren’t “nice-to-haves.”
They’re the difference between someone who grows in a company and someone who plateaus.

2. People With Strong Soft Skills Can Spot Each Other Instantly

This is the part I love.

People with solid soft skills can identify each other immediately - it’s like a secret handshake.
The calm people gravitate toward the other calm people.
The problem-solvers spot each other across the room.
The emotionally intelligent people quietly build alliances.

And that’s where the real career growth happens:

• opportunities shared

• mentorship offered

• trust built

• decisions made

• recommendations given

It’s not politics.
It’s presence.

3. Let’s Be Honest: Some of Us Didn’t Learn Calmness. Life… Installed It

Some people learn emotional regulation from books, mentors, or corporate workshops.

Me?
I learned mine through childhood trauma.
(You know, the kind that accidentally turns you into a crisis management expert.)

But however it landed in your lap, whether through therapy, experience, or pure survival instinct - it’s a superpower.
Use it.

Because people, businesses, clients, and entire teams need calmer voices now more than ever.

If you’re entering the workforce, or trying to stand out in it, ask yourself:

How do people feel after interacting with me?

Because that answer determines your career far more than technical skills ever will.