From the very beginning, our work has been grounded in research. We make research visible in our work and bring it closer to the everyday lives of organizations and their people. We are pleased to introduce the fourth master’s thesis connected to Academy of Brain.
Samuel Moawad’s Managerial Support for Soft Skill Development in Everyday Work examines how soft skills develop in everyday work and what role managers play in supporting this development.
The study focuses in particular on how managers can support employees in developing their soft skills and how the development of these skills is connected to everyday work.
“While conducting the research, it was interesting to see that the practices supporting soft skill development aligned with many principles of good leadership: a coaching approach, psychological safety, and enabling good performance. From an organizational perspective, it is therefore important to consider how managers are equipped with the right (soft) skills and tools so that they can both lead and support learning more effectively.” – Samuel Moawad
Would you like to explore the research in more detail? You can download Samuel Moawad’s thesis from the Aalto University website here, without logging in or providing any personal information.
You can also register for a webinar about the thesis here. (Keep in mind that the webinar is in Finnish).
Training alone is not enough
Academy of Brain CEO Toni Toivanen sees a clear connection between the findings and what we repeatedly observe in our work with organizations.
“Samuel’s thesis captures something we see repeatedly in our customer work: training alone is not enough if managers do not support the application of what has been learned in everyday work. It is great to see this now emerging in academic research as well — already the fourth thesis connected to AoB.”- Toni Toivanen, CEO (Academy of Brain)
This perspective is also important from an organizational learning and development perspective. Soft skills do not develop separately from work. People need space and support to apply them as part of their everyday work.
Managerial support helps soft skills develop
According to Academy of Brain’s Lead Psychologist Ville Ojanen, the research provides a more detailed understanding of the manager’s role in soft skill development.
“Samuel’s thesis provides a more nuanced view of the manager’s role in soft skill development: development is employee-driven but enabled by the manager. Managers cannot directly produce learning, but they can create the conditions in which it is more likely to happen. This aligns well with what we have observed: people learn soft skills by applying them in everyday work.” – Ville Ojanen, Lead Psychologist (Academy of Brain)
The research also supports Academy of Brain’s approach to soft skill development: learning is connected to everyday work and to how new ways of working can be tested and applied in practice.
Further information: Samuel Moawad, Learning Success Manager, [email protected]
About Academy of Brain: Academy of Brain develops soft skills based strongly on research and scientific evidence. We help organizations and their people strengthen the skills needed in a changing world of work, particularly in leadership, collaboration, and self-leadership. Academy of Brain was founded by psychologist and PhD Ville Ojanen and Toni Toivanen. The company is based in Helsinki, Finland. www.academyofbrain.com
