Key Takeaways

I realized technical skills alone aren’t enough, and certain human traits make all the difference in driving adoption and impact.

Focusing on these five soft skills transformed how I evaluate candidates and build high-performing teams.

Three months ago, I faced a choice between two candidates for a critical role.

One had a resume loaded with AI certifications and technical credentials. The other had modest technical skills but an extraordinary ability to explain complex ideas to non-technical audiences — a skill critical for winning skeptical stakeholders.

I chose the second candidate. Six weeks later, she transformed our most resistant department head into our biggest technology champion. The technically brilliant candidate? He’s thriving elsewhere, at a company where

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