Curiosity Unbounded Hard facts on soft skills — Namrata Kala
Apr 9, 2024
Namrata Kala, MIT professor, discusses soft skills with MIT President Sally Kornbluth. They cover communication skills and productivity, building relationships for climate work, and MIT's climate efforts.
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Origin of Interest in Soft Skills
- Namrata Kala's interest in soft skills stemmed from observing factory workers in India.
- Managers and workers valued collaboration and communication over technical skills.
Measuring Soft Skills Impact
- Soft skills training can be assessed with randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- This involves randomly assigning workers to training groups and control groups.
Spillover Effects of Soft Skills Training
- Coworkers of those trained in soft skills became more productive, even without direct training.
- This spillover effect is more pronounced in collaborative work environments.