Do you ever stop and think about how much you’ve actually read and heard about social media? Especially the “how-to” stuff, or the all encompassing “list”? There’s one every day. Yet one of the things that is often overlooked in a lot of the blog posts and conferences I attend, are the soft skills needed to achieve success. What are those?

We talk or you hear all the time about C suite alignment in order to drive some type of momentum in rolling out social media, but has anyone ever explained or told you about the soft skills that are needed to get you over the top? Last night I was on a plane in the middle seat squeezed between Kevin Smith’s twin, and a poster child for Nyquil thinking about those “soft skills”.

When you get your foot in the door, know that integrating social media into the organization will take many meetings with many different opinionated, passionate, department heads who will have their own agenda. There is a reason it’s called “ducks in a row”, but have you ever tried to physically get ducks in a row?  Here are 12 soft skills that might help you.

1) It takes the touch of threading a needle and knowing when you might need a bigger needle. Or someone with better touch-don’t be afraid to ask for help.

2) It requires that you have an argument with use cases. Think Tom Cruise in the movie, “A Few Good Men”, or maybe Jack Nicholson? Just don’t act like jack.

3) You better have more than just your words. Use cases go a long way in proving out your argument.

4) Hopefully you have the oratory skills of a a Socrates or Abe Lincoln. Why? You’re going to need to strike a nerve with lots of different personalities who will be relating to different pain points. The same “spiel” doesn’t work with everyone-know your audience.

5) Let’s not forget that you must have the skill of a diplomat-Per my point in #4. Every one has a different agenda, some will have P&L responsibility. You must have the ability to let each department know that you have their best interests at heart..

6) Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee-Can you achieve the goal with the deftness and impact of a Muhammad Ali jab? You’ll need it. You cannot get bogged down-stick and move, but be effective-just like a boxer. Know when you’re getting bogged down.

7) You’ll need to possess the sales skills of a Zig Ziglar or Og Mandino. Or is that the pitching skills of the Phillies Roy Halladay?

8) Have the passion of Rhett and Scarlett-Remember this is new to them!

9) You will have to have the foresight to anticipate not only change in social, but change within the organization that you are dealing with and how that might affect what your pitching.

10) The hindsight to know what doesn’t work anymore even if it affects what you are proposing and the honesty to admit it.

11) You’ll need the insight to make it happen

12) Leave your temerity and ego at the door.

13) Trust what you know-believe it, but then listen and be able to adjust.

As you can see, the person who just sits in front of a computer screen and or just writes blog posts and articles is going to need a whole lot more under the hood should they happen to get in front of a client. Just because  someone graduates from medical school, doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be a good doctor right?

What other soft skills would you add to this list?