The soft skills gap: What managers miss in authentic leadership
Employees rank integrity and authenticity as the second-most important skill for effective leadership, behind communication. Managers rank it seventh.
By: Lyss Welding, Edited by: Valerie Black
Published: August 18, 2025
Recent edX survey data has shown that many workers are reskilling in response to economic pressures and rapid advancements in AI, including managers. People leaders are more likely than staff to point out gaps in their industries' AI expertise and pursue AI upskilling for themselves.
But in the race to learn AI, are managers missing out on critical soft skills? It turns out that just over half of workers (51%) — including 58% of managers — say there is a lack of interpersonal skills in their industry.
Below, we examine the soft skills that employees and managers say are most important for effective leadership and offer tips for current and aspiring leaders who want to prioritize their professional development.
Ranking the soft skills of effective leadership
When asked to identify the most important leadership skills, managers and individual contributors alike rank effective communication and influence as the top skill area, topping strategic thinking, innovation, and other soft skills.
However, managers and non-managerss weren't fully aligned on key leadership skills. Employees rank integrity and authenticity as the second most valuable skill for effective leadership. Managers rank it seventh.
Managers are more likely than non-managers to select talent development, change management, business acumen, delegation, and innovation as top leadership skills.
Further, when we look at the differences between employees and leaders at every level of management, we notice some telling findings. Specifically, non-managers are more likely than upper management (e.g., C-suite executives) to pinpoint effective communication as the top leadership skill, by a difference of 10 percentage points.
Nearly one-third of non-managers say integrity and authenticity are top skills, but the option didn't break the top five for frontline or middle management. Middle managers are more likely than other employees to recognize talent development and team building as a top skill.
Generally, upper management's responses are less uniform as a group, with fewer significant differences between any of the skills listed in the survey, perhaps reflecting the importance of each of these skills, especially in the highest levels of leadership.
| Skill | Staff (Non-managers) | Frontline managers | Middle managers | Upper managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effective communication and influence | 41% | 35% | 43% | 31% |
| Integrity and authenticity | 31% | 21% | 19% | 23% |
| Collaboration and relationship building | 30% | 26% | 20% | 25% |
| Strategic thinking and vision | 28% | 22% | 33% | 31% |
| Sound decision-making and judgment | 23% | 34% | 21% | 20% |
| Emotional intelligence and self-awareness | 21% | 23% | 16% | 21% |
| Innovation and creativity | 20% | 23% | 29% | 25% |
| Talent development and team building | 16% | 20% | 27% | 19% |
| Driving execution and results | 15% | 17% | 16% | 21% |
| Change management and adaptability | 12% | 15% | 16% | 22% |
| Delegation and empowerment | 9% | 22% | 13% | 15% |
| Business acumen and industry expertise | 8% | 10% | 14% | 19% |
How leaders and aspiring leaders can act
These findings remind leaders not to lose sight of soft skills in the pursuit of technological skill-building.
We asked leadership career coach Holly Lee what people leaders and aspiring managers can take from the survey data. Lee has over 20 years of experience helping professionals level up in their careers, with a focus on the tech industry. Here's what she has to say.
For people aspiring to gain a leadership position:
"Start by improving your listening skills — talking less and observing more. Often, I find that senior-level leaders speak over each other to demand attention from the room, which doesn't add value.
"Research has shown that in order to influence the room, they need to speak less and provide concise and clear responses that add value to the discussion, ones that include data points to highlight the overall goal."
For leaders struggling to find the time for their own training:
"The first step is to block off time on your calendar for self-development, which will contribute to your overall career growth and benefit your role. The second step is to set aside 60 minutes for lunch — this may sound crazy for most leaders. Many leaders either skip lunch or eat small snacks between meetings, which prevents them from fully engaging their mental capacity.
"Additionally, establish realistic objectives and key results (OKRs) and commit to following them closely. These OKRs should function as a strategic plan with measurable goals, allowing you sufficient time to achieve them without feeling rushed."
For anyone wondering where to start leadership skill-building:
"Invest in cultivating the right mindset instead of pushing toward burnout. One of the biggest mistakes I have observed leaders make is operating in an egocentric mode, imposing unrealistic deadlines on themselves and their teams. This approach can hinder the opportunity to build rapport and earn trust within the team.
"For new leaders, I highly recommend seeking a senior leadership mentor, whether from within your organization or outside of it. Ultimately, I have seen all tiers of leadership struggling with this."
Some of Lee's responses have been edited for brevity.
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