The application deadline has been extended to June 30, 2025. If you or a colleague is ready to grow as a leader in Connecticut’s transportation community, now’s the time to apply.

If you would like to learn more and submit your application, you can see the Leadership Program Overview and Application.

Contact Regina Hackett at regina.hackett@uconn.edu with any questions you may have.

Let's Stop Calling Them 'Soft Skills' They're the Hardest Ones to Master

Technical competency is valuable. But it’s not enough if you want long-term professional success.

At a recent academic conference, I noticed a familiar unease ripple through conversations about “soft skills.” Many participants winced at the term. They recognized the inadequacy of the term, yet struggled to agree on a better alternative. People floated around suggestions like “human skills,” “essential skills,” or “power skills,” but none seemed to stick.

This persistent terminology problem reflects a deeper tension in our educational system. There’s a long-standing bias that elevates “hard” technical competencies over the nuanced, deeply human capabilities that actually define long-term professional success.

Historically, hard skills emerged from the natural sciences—quantitative, measurable, and increasingly automatable. Soft skills, on the other hand, draw from the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. These disciplines help us understand human behavior, expression, and interaction. These qualities are notoriously difficult to quantify and even harder to teach.

"Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter" by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown - Book Reviewed by TLP Cohort #10 Member

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown really made me think about the difference between two types of leaders: Diminishers, who limit their team’s potential, and Multipliers, who bring out the best in others. I was especially struck by how Multipliers lead by asking questions, giving people space to contribute, and focusing on strengths over titles. The idea that even a brilliant Diminisher can hold back a whole team made sense to me, especially in environments where collaboration is key. I also reflected on how my own casual suggestions might unintentionally influence others and how I can be more intentional about when to speak and when to listen. While the book leans heavily on corporate examples and can be a bit repetitive, I found the core message valuable and would recommend it as a worthwhile skim for anyone looking to grow as a leader.