"These skills are not the icing on the cake. They are the cake."

We call them soft skills, but they’re anything but soft. These are the human skills; the ones that help us listen deeply, navigate tension, build trust, and get things done with style and grace.

In this week’s article, we explore why it’s time to stop treating these skills as optional.

In a world of AI, rapid change, and rising complexity, human skills are what truly set us apart. Empathy, communication, adaptability; these aren’t just nice-to-haves. They’re essential.

So maybe it’s time we stop calling them soft...

Latest article

✍️ The hard truth about soft skills

Latest Podcast

🎙️ Episode 7 of The Smoosh Podcast
Title: The heart is more than a pump

What's happening with Melis

Reading:
A passage from the Tao Te Ching every morning upon waking. It's the illustrated version and translation by Stephen Mitchell.
It gives me something to contemplate before I start a new day, something profound and very grounding.

Listening to:
An audio book called Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. Dragons and magic. A nice escape from the heavier parts of life.

Doing:
Managing all the transitions in my life, so many this year. The most recent one is becoming an empty nester. Big. HUGE.

Pondering:
How we have been trained to think linearly about the way things unfold in our lives. Some weird notion that it all happens in some fixed order and understandable sequence.

It's kind of a spiral really, sometimes you think you're on the downward swing, but really you're not in the same spot you were before. There's always something new to learn, no matter what the lesson, if you're open to it.

What's happening with Ben

Reading:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. This one will take a while. Loving it though.

Listening to:
A Different Kind of Power (a memoir by Jacinda Ardern). Not long to go with this one. It's soooo gooooood! Highly recommend. I listen to it while driving to and from work. I'm welling up a lot. The power of kindness. Embodied. Wow.

Doing:
Juggling a busy, busy schedule. Tired eyes. Full heart. One day at a time.

Pondering:
Why we need permission to be our true, amazing selves. I meet dozens of people every week in workshops I facilitate. A consistent pattern I see is a holding back. A contraction. An old conditioning to keep playing small. Not on my watch. ;-)

We hope you know that you are essential to this life, this planet, this time. And...

You've got this.

Love,