Matthew J. Monnot, PhD

Getting to the CORE: Putting an End to the Term “Soft Skills” (2019)

Authors: Jennifer Parlamis & Matthew J. Monnot
Journal: Journal of Management Inquiry, 28(2), 225–227
DOI: 10.1177/1056492618818023

1 · TL;DR

This essay argues that the label “soft skills” is misleading and devalues the very capabilities that are central to modern organizational effectiveness.

The authors propose the term CORE skills – Competence in Organizational and Relational Effectiveness – to emphasize that these are:

  • Critical to performance and leadership,
  • Observable and measurable,
  • Trainable and developable.

2 · Context and Rationale

  • The term “soft skills” has roots in 1970s U.S. Army training language and has long carried an implicit contrast with “hard” technical skills.
  • Contemporary research in emotional intelligence, relational leadership, and team effectiveness consistently shows that these “soft” skills predict performance, retention, and culture outcomes.
  • Employers repeatedly cite these capabilities as top priorities, including in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, where analytical thinking, resilience, leadership, and social influence top the list of needed skills.¹

3 · Key Points

  • Language shapes practice: if we call these skills “soft,” we risk funding and prioritizing them as though they are optional.
  • Reframing them as CORE invites:
    • Rigorous measurement,
    • Serious inclusion in competency models,
    • Investment in systematic development.

4 · Implementation Ideas

For Leaders & HR

  • Replace the phrase “soft skills” in competency frameworks and job descriptions with CORE competencies, with behavioral anchors.
  • Make CORE skills a visible part of:
    • Hiring criteria,
    • Performance reviews,
    • Promotion decisions.

For Education & L&D

  • Embed CORE skills training throughout curricula and leadership programs rather than treating them as one-off workshops.
  • Use evidence-based interventions from emotional intelligence and coaching research (e.g., Boyatzis, 2009; Cherniss, 2010).

For Future-of-Work Strategy

  • Use data from Future of Jobs and similar reports to validate investments in CORE skills as part of digital and AI-era transformation strategies.
  • Frame CORE skills as the uniquely human layer that allows organizations to realize value from technology and structural change.

5 · Endnotes (APA Style)

  1. World Economic Forum. (2025). The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
  2. Parlamis, J., & Monnot, M. J. (2019). Getting to the CORE: Putting an end to the term “soft skills.” Journal of Management Inquiry, 28(2), 225–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492618818023
  3. Boyatzis, R. E. (2009). Competencies as a behavioral approach to emotional intelligence. Journal of Management Development, 28(9), 749–770.
  4. Cherniss, C. (2010). Emotional intelligence: Toward clarification of a concept. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3(2), 110–126.