What do Leaders in the Middle East Need for Business Success? Strengthening Soft Skills

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While technical aptitude, a solid business plan, and a robust strategy are critical to business success, long-term sustainability ultimately hinges on the leadership’s soft skills. 

These personal and interpersonal abilities, such as emotional intelligence, adaptability, and effective communication, are essential in fostering dynamic teams. Studies show that organizations prioritizing soft skills see a 26% increase in revenue growth, with 85% of job success attributed to these abilities. Its importance is so recognized that the global soft skills training market, worth $29.8 billion in 2023, is expected to expand to $83.5 billion by 2032. 

The Human Element

Tarek Kabrit, CEO and Co-founder of Seez, describes soft skills as the “human” aspect of work that enables teams to function harmoniously and align with a larger organizational purpose. “Effective management isn’t just about being task-oriented; it’s about understanding and motivating your team,” he explains. 

While technical skills may secure leadership roles, soft skills, particularly communication, resilience, and the ability to inspire, sustain successful leadership over time.

For Oren Kaniel, CEO at AppsFlyer, soft skills are the foundation of trust and collaboration. “Empathy, active listening, and effective communication create an environment where every voice is valued, promoting open dialogue and collective problem-solving,” he says, adding that this allows teams to operate seamlessly, share knowledge freely, and innovate together. 

Andy Coussins, EVP, International at Epicor, concurs, emphasizing that adaptability, cultural awareness, collaboration, and conflict resolution are skills embodied by successful executives. “The higher you rise, the more time and priority management differentiate good managers from great ones,” he states, adding that optimising these skills is especially key in managing a diverse team’s job satisfaction and growth.

Striking the Balance in Leadership

This is particularly important in sectors like technology, where there has been an overreliance on technical skills, especially among leadership. This imbalance is demonstrated in a survey by Deloitte, which found that while 87% of employees believe human skills are fundamental to their career development, only 52% felt their company valued workers with these human skills more than those with technical skills. 

Kaniel agrees that striking the balance is critical. Setting clear technical expectations and creating opportunities for personal growth through mentorship and feedback is key, he says, drawing from his own experience. “This ensures that while teams deliver on technical goals, they do so in a collaborative, people-centric way that strengthens our culture and fosters innovation.”

Kabrit concurs that the flexibility of switching between these skills according to the situation is key. “The best managers can speak the technical language while creating a culture of open communication and empathy,” he says. “It’s a simple but powerful way to show that technical knowledge alone doesn’t drive success—diverse thinking and strong interpersonal skills are just as critical.”

Soft skills are also becoming more important in an employee’s recruitment journey. Nearly 29 million job postings in the US require communication skills, and 90% of UK employers consider soft skills crucial. “While hiring, the number one thing I look for isn’t technical skills—it’s ownership,” says Kabrit, especially in startups with smaller teams and leaner budgets. “Startups are unique. You’re not just managing people; you’re building a company from scratch,” he says. 

“It’s intense, fast-paced, and everyone’s deeply invested. To succeed, you need to truly understand your team—their motivations, needs, and what makes them tick. It’s about ownership and the mindset of ‘this is mine, and I’ll make it happen.’”

The Cost of Neglecting Soft Skills

Neglecting soft skills can have significant financial and cultural consequences. Poor communication alone costs large companies an average of $62.4 million annually, and a single bad hire can set an employer back 15% to 21% of that employee’s salary, underscoring the need for companies to address this effectively. 

Kaniel recounts an instance at AppsFlyer where a technically brilliant employee struggled with collaborative communication, leading to delays. The individual improved their soft skills through coaching and open conversations, ultimately becoming a strong collaborator. Coussins also shares a case where a manufacturing company faced high turnover among technically skilled employees promoted to managerial roles. Partnering with Acadia, they implemented a succession and upskilling plan focusing on soft skills, improving retention and leadership effectiveness.

Kabrit has also seen firsthand how weak soft skills can throw off team dynamics in diverse, remote teams, sharing challenges from their operations, which span several countries with more than 15 nationalities. “Different cultures have different ways of communicating, “ he says. “For example, people in Denmark tend to be more direct than those in Dubai. 

This can cause misunderstandings and build frustration, leading teams to work in silos rather than collaborate.” Eventually, he says,  they overcame this by fostering open dialogue, regular check-ins, and an open-door feedback policy.“It wasn’t a one-time fix, but gradually, people improved communication and collaboration.” 

Strategies for Embedding Soft Skills

Cultivating soft skills is a journey that requires a strategic approach that can mean different things for different companies. For Kaniel, he says they view conflict as an opportunity for growth, employing methods like the “Parking Lot,” which is when off-topic or contentious issues arise that don’t align with the meeting’s immediate goals, they’re set aside in a “parking lot” for later discussion, as well as the “disagree and commit” principle, where the team aligns behind decisions once they’re made, fostering trust and sustained productivity. 

He also suggests tailoring communication methods to the context, balancing asynchronous tools with real-time interactions, and encouraging direct conversations to maintain personal connections. This balanced approach ensures that digital tools strengthen, rather than weaken, the interpersonal relationships that foster trust, collaboration, and innovation.

For Seez, Kabrit shares they have created an employee handbook, Seez CODE (Collaboration, Ownership, Difference, Efficiency), to define the culture and values that guide daily operations. Coussins highlights the importance of establishing clear development paths, objectively measuring progress, and maintaining transparency. He adds that technologies like their connected worker platform provide real-time guidance, accelerating skills development. 

Integrating soft skills into daily operations starts with leadership modeling desired behaviors. “If you want your team to communicate better or show more empathy, demonstrate those behaviors yourself,” Kabrit says, advising a strong feedback culture, recognition of soft skills, and creating environments where employees feel heard of fostering ownership, collaboration, and resilience. “When your team understands these qualities matter as much as meeting deadlines, they’ll prioritize them.” 

As industries continue to transform, the leaders of tomorrow will be those who excel in both technical expertise and human-centric capabilities.