When you ask someone what the secret to their success is, there's hardly a limit to the answers you may get. And yet, those we consider pioneers and leaders in the tech, finance, and business industries almost always respond with soft skills.
Soft skills are more abstract than traditional hard skills like coding or Excel, but an easy way to think of them is that they relate to a person's ability to work with others.
In October 2023, Business Insider's Tim Paradis reported that soft skills have become increasingly in demand in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.
"What we're developing is a whole generation of people who don't even know what soft skills mean because they assume the whole world is about the tools that they have," Norman Bacal, author of "Take Charge: The Skills That Drive Professional Success," told Paradis.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2029, millennials will outnumber all other generations in the workforce, with more than 38.5 million members.
But the US is already seeing a shift toward a younger workforce. Glassdoor reported in 2023 that Gen Z would likely overtake baby boomers in full-time roles for the first time this year, even making millennials seem like old fogeys in certain industries, BI's Amanda Hoover reports.
In short, it's young professionals who'll be setting the standard of success at work for years to come.
So, with that in mind, BI took to the streets of NYC to ask Gen Zers and millennials what skill they credit their success to. Here's what they said — and how their answers reflect qualities business leaders also emphasize.
Suliman Halimi, 25, client services associate
Halimi told BI that learning how to communicate with people "definitely got a lot easier" over time.
Amy Lombard for BI
Halimi, who works at Citi, said learning how to communicate has been instrumental to his current role, even though it hasn't always been easy.
"At first, it was kind of tough trying to get into it," he said. "I'm dealing with high-net-worth clients, so it's a little intimidating at first because I'm a young kid in the industry."
But prior to working in finance, Halimi said his experience was mostly in sales, which helped strengthen his communication skills.
"I was always selling a product or talking with clients," he said. "I started not being able to read people, but being able to understand what to say, what not to say, how to talk to them."
Still, he says his current role's day-to-day responsibilities have helped sharpen what he already knew about speaking to people.
"I deal with a lot of people on a daily basis, like clients coming in, calling clients," he said. "Over time, it definitely got a lot easier. Now, I'm a pro at it."
Incremental improvements can reap rewards, Warren Buffett once told author Gillian Zoe Segal. "A modest improvement can make a major difference in your future earning power, as well as in many other aspects of your life," he told her for her 2015 book, "Getting There: A Book of Mentors," CNBC reported.
Kilby Bronstein, 32, entrepreneur
Bronstein, an entrepreneur, said patience and learning to fail fast have been important.
Amy Lombard for BI
Bronstein, who owns women's clothing boutiques in Charleston and Buffalo, credits her success to two things: "patience and failing fast."
"Failing fast is the first thing they'll teach you in any kind of business school, and it's really hard as an entrepreneur to do that because you're someone who wants to keep going and creating, and you have this like baby that's your business," she said.
Even though pivoting when a venture isn't working is hard, Bronstein recommends it every time.
"My best advice to anyone is fail fast when you realize something's not working," she added. "Get out before investing more money and putting more money into it, whether how big or small it is."
Her advice echoes that of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who once said failure and inventions are "inseparable twins" as one cannot be an innovator without making mistakes.
When it comes to success, Bronstein also said it doesn't hurt to "have a lot of patience for employees and managing people, and for your own success. And stay creative."
Gregory Bratone, 33, teacher
As a teacher, Bratone prioritizes empathy.
Amy Lombard for BI
Molding the minds of the next generation is no easy feat.
To do his job, Bratone prioritizes empathy.
For Bratone, who works at a transfer school — an institution helping students who have either dropped out of other schools or have fallen behind on credits — success is simply "understanding" what his "students are going through, the stuff they are dealing with."
Alice Wolf, 23, government worker
Wolf credited her psychology degree with helping her see the value in putting herself in others' shoes.
Amy Lombard for BI
Wolf prefaced her answer by saying that her key to success is rooted in how she studied psychology in college, which enabled her to see the value in putting yourself in other people's shoes.
"I always carry that with me," she said. Like Bratone, Wolf said success comes from relating to others — which could also be thought of as empathy, a skill that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said is crucial for a CEO to have.
"Trying to understand where people are coming from and what are those unspoken things that people might be dealing with? I feel like that helps me with bosses and people that I encounter just like being understanding," she added.
Matthew Gutierrez, 30, city planner
Gutierrez told BI it's good to communicate and "be realistic about what's possible."
Amy Lombard for BI
Gutierrez also credited communication for his success.
"I think a lot gets lost when people aren't clear about expectations," he said. "I think it's better to just have all of your cards out in the open and just be very blunt if you don't have time to do something. Be realistic about what's possible."
Gutierrez added, "I think people are very perceptive to that or appreciate when you kind of show that kind of honesty."
He also said that as "a bit of a perfectionist," it's been important to give himself "a little bit of slack," especially when starting a new role.
"No one is expecting me to know everything immediately," he said.
Fania Muthia, 23, interior designer
Muthia told BI, "It's important to take some time away for yourself."
Amy Lombard for BI
For Muthia, it's important to take things one day at a time, "because some days could be overwhelming, whether it is personal or financial, or whatever it is."
She added, "It's important to take some time away for yourself."
Work-life balance has become an increasingly important topic of conversation — especially among Gen Zers — although CEOs have mixed views on it.
In March 2023, Sheila Williams, the managing director of talent acquisition at Deloitte, told BI, "Work-life balance or work-life integration is one of those key areas that often does come up" during interviews.
"We're seeing a greater shift to candidates wanting to align their personal values, goals, purpose with the organization," she said.
While Gen Z has been leading the charge for increased boundaries in the workplace, the idea itself isn't new.
Former Coca-Cola CEO Brian Dyson famously delivered his "five balls" speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1991. There, he told graduates to imagine life as a game of juggling five balls: work, family, health, friends, and spirit.
He described work as a rubber ball — "If you drop it, it will bounce back," but cautioned that the other four balls are made of glass. "You must understand that and strive for balance in your life."
J.J. Martinez, 42, state worker
Martinez also cited communication, and told BI he's learned to communicate differently based on his audience.
Amy Lombard for BI
"I've always been, like, a people's person," Martinez said, but it's been developing that skill and taking it to another level that's made a difference professionally.
Martinez said he's learned to adjust his speech based on his audience, communicating differently with CEOs or directors compared to community members.
Martinez added that since he's from Puerto Rico, connecting with others in New York hasn't always been easy.
"I don't consider myself to be a New Yorker and will never, right? So I still feel like I'm not a local, so I'm still struggling with that, but I've been able to develop that skill," he said.
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