Recently I’ve been designing and facilitating unique training experiences (like gratitude storytelling retreats) that seemed to tap into something even softer than the usual “soft skills” we hear about in the world of leadership and organizations. Something even softer than teamwork, collaboration, public speaking, or creative problem solving. The idea came to me of  the concept of “softest of the soft skills.” So read on to learn more and reach out if we can help you with a training or workshop to develop the “softest of the soft skills” in your organization or teams.

Softest of the Soft Skills Training Workshops: A Guide for Leaders and Teams

In the world of leadership and organizations, it’s easy to focus on tools, technology, and frameworks. But behind every creative breakthrough or meaningful transformation is something less tangible—human interaction, emotion, and trust. These are what we often call “soft skills,” and they’re increasingly seen as essential in the modern workplace.

At InnovationTraining.org, we’ve helped organizations cultivate the soft skills that support innovation—communication, collaboration, creativity, and mindset. Now, we’re turning our attention to what we call the softest of the soft skills: human-centered qualities like empathy, gratitude, encouragement, trust, hope, and motivation.

This guide will explore what these softest skills are, why they matter now more than ever, and how your organization can develop them through experiential, reflective, and design-thinking-based workshops.

What Are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are interpersonal and emotional capabilities that enable people to work well together, solve problems creatively, lead effectively, and adapt to change. They include communication, teamwork, leadership, emotional intelligence, and adaptability.

They’re often contrasted with “hard skills”—technical competencies like data analysis, programming, or financial modeling. But as workplaces evolve, it’s clear that soft skills are not secondary—they’re foundational.

Our Innovation Skills Training introduces many of these core soft skills through an innovation lens, helping teams apply them in real time to challenges they care about.

Why Soft Skills Matter More Than Ever

Soft skills have always been important. But in an era of artificial intelligence, automation, and remote work, they’ve become essential.

Key research points to this trend:

  • MIT research found that soft skills training improves productivity and retention, delivering a 250% return on investment.
  • The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report shares Analytical thinking as the most sought- after core skill among employers. This is followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, along with leadership and social influence. That’s a lot of soft skills!
  • LinkedIn Learning consistently ranks soft skills as the most in-demand abilities, with leadership and communication always coming in strong. According to their 2025 report, adaptability, conflict mitigation, innovative thinking, and public speaking were 4 of the top 6 fastest growing skills. (See more report insights at Innovation Skills for the Future.)

With AI handling more routine and technical tasks, the uniquely human skills—empathy, trust, emotional insight—are becoming the differentiators that support innovation and high-performing teams. We can also leverage AI as a “creative partner” (or editor) to help us design better experiences for and with humans.

Soft Skills Workshop Training L&D

Developing Soft Skills Through L&D and Training: Our Foundation

We’ve offered a range of workshops and training experiences that develop what are traditionally called soft skills. These are central to innovation, leadership, and collaboration. Some of our core offerings include:

Creativity

Our creative thinking workshops focus on idea generation, divergent thinking, and building an environment where creativity can thrive. These sessions help participants reframe problems and explore new possibilities. Our human-centered design training and design thinking workshops exemplify this.

Collaboration

From design sprints to innovation labs, collaboration is central to everything we do. We help teams practice co-creation, group problem-solving, and cross-functional communication in highly interactive formats.

Communication (Storytelling)

Through storytelling for innovation workshops, we help leaders and team members communicate ideas in memorable, emotionally resonant ways—whether pitching a concept or influencing stakeholders.

Mindset

Our growth mindset training helps individuals and teams develop a learning-focused approach to challenges, failure, and iteration.

Adaptability & Resilience

We integrate principles of resilience into design thinking for change workshops, helping teams stay grounded during transitions and uncertainty.

Facilitation

Through our facilitation coaching and train-the-trainer programs, we help people lead more effective meetings, workshops, and collaborative sessions.

Leadership

We offer leadership workshops designed to support individuals in guiding their teams through complexity and change, grounded in principles of empathy and innovation.

From Soft to Softer: The Human Skills That Make a Difference

While the traditional soft skills above are critical, we’re seeing growing interest in qualities that go even deeper. These “softest of the soft skills” are emotional and relational—they support not only collaboration but belonging, well-being, and shared purpose.

These are the skills that help people feel safe, seen, and supported at work.

The Softest of the Soft Skills

Empathy
The starting point of human-centered design. True empathy involves active listening and seeking to understand others’ experiences and perspectives. It’s what allows teams to create solutions that truly meet user needs.

Gratitude
Research shows that gratitude boosts morale, engagement, and even physical health. When people feel appreciated, they’re more likely to take risks, offer ideas, and support each other.

Encouragement
In creative work, uncertainty is the norm. Encouragement helps people keep going, even when an idea is fragile or a project hits a roadblock. It’s a quiet leadership act that builds confidence over time.

Trust
Psychological safety—the belief that it’s okay to speak up, take risks, and be vulnerable—is rooted in trust. Teams with high trust levels collaborate more effectively and innovate more often.

Hope
Especially during periods of change, hope offers direction and energy. It’s not wishful thinking—it’s a belief in a better future and the ability to work toward it.

Inspiration
When leaders inspire, they spark creativity and commitment. Inspiration helps people connect their work to a larger mission, which fuels motivation and meaning.

Motivation
Motivation drives long-term engagement. While external incentives can initiate action, internal motivation sustains it. It’s shaped by purpose, autonomy, and shared values.

Designing Workshops Around the Softest Skills

We’re exploring new formats and learning experiences to develop these deeper skills. Here’s how we approach training:

  • Experiential activities
    Reflection, storytelling, and peer dialogue are central to creating “aha” moments and emotional insight.

  • Psychological safety
    We create environments where participants feel safe to be honest, vulnerable, and real with themselves and others.

  • Facilitated discussions
    Live facilitation helps surface insights and deepen understanding in ways that pre-recorded content cannot replicate.

  • Integration with innovation
    These skills aren’t taught as standalone modules. Instead, we embed them within the flow of design thinking, leadership development, and problem-solving experiences.

Examples of softest skills sessions we facilitate:

  • Empathy + Storytelling
    Participants share personal or user-centered narratives to build connection and insight.

  • Encouragement Circles
    Peer-driven formats for offering appreciation and belief in one another’s potential.

  • Trust-building Exercises
    Structured yet authentic activities that help teams increase vulnerability and psychological safety.

  • Hope in Change
    Visioning exercises and facilitated reflections to help teams rediscover meaning and possibility in uncertain times.

Why These Skills Matter for the Future of Work

As AI becomes more integrated into daily tasks—from writing and analysis to logistics and customer service—organizations must prioritize what remains uniquely human.

What can’t be automated? (This is AI saying this btw!)

  • Emotional connection
  • Trust and empathy
  • Leadership through uncertainty
  • Caring for people’s growth and well-being
  • Creating meaning and motivation
  • Designing solutions that deeply resonate

These are the human skills that fuel innovation, resilience, and transformation. The more we practice them, the more adaptable, inclusive, and creative our organizations become.

Bringing Soft Skills Training Workshops to Your Organization

If your team is navigating change, developing leaders, or building a stronger culture of innovation, consider integrating the softest skills into your learning and development strategy.

We can help through:

  • Onsite or virtual workshops
  • Reflective facilitation
  • Custom innovation programs that embed emotional and human-centered learning

Explore our workshops and training experiences, or contact us to co-create a session or program that fits your unique goals.

Let’s train the skills that AI can’t replicate—and that people will always need.
Because in the future of work, it’s not just what we know—but how we connect—that will define how we lead and innovate.