An over-employed software developer recently told me how he manages his four jobs — three remote full-time jobs and a gig. He made it sound almost effortless, breaking down his day into hours dedicated to each role.
What stood out was his emphasis on communicating with employers whenever he couldn’t meet a deadline. He believes he has a strong work ethic, and as far as his employers and clients are concerned, he fulfils his obligations, is transparent, and delivers quality outcomes.
But is this always the case?
Babajide Duroshola, General Manager, M-KOPA, raised a similar point in a tweet expressing his disapproval of Nigerian developers who overestimate their abilities.
According to him, many developers bite off more than they can chew and prioritise pay over quality, miss deadlines, and deliver poor-quality work.
His tweet resonated with other people, sparking a debate on whether these issues stem from a lack of technical skills or if tech talents just want to survive because their primary jobs don't offer sufficient compensation.
A comment stood out to me, “It takes an insane level of time management skills to juggle multiple jobs with stellar performance and results across the board,” making reference to an important soft skill.
Talking about non-technical skills, Duroshola made a different tweet, which further portrayed how a deficit in essential soft skills might force an employer to choose between retaining a top-performing talent or letting them go.
Technical proficiency remains a must-have in tech roles, but where do soft skills like time management, communication, and accountability come in?
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How important are soft skills?
A Leadership IQ study indicated that attitude/soft skills were responsible for 89% of new hire failures within the first 18 months. Only 11% of failures were attributed to a lack of technical competence. This statistic makes it clear that soft skills play a critical role in an employee's ability to succeed.
Tech development expert, Blessing Obiyomi, CTO, RegtechAfrica and Co-founder of The Setup Academy, explains that the definition of “quality talent” is multi-faceted. While it’s easy to measure someone's technical skills, the more elusive but equally important factors, which are often harder to gauge, can make all the difference in long-term success.
"While there's been a lot of focus on technical proficiency, not enough attention has been paid to soft skills, like communication, accountability, time management, etc.," Obiyomi says. "We have to use a more holistic approach; it is very important that we integrate this across all our education initiatives — tech bootcamps, university curriculum, professional development programmes, etc."
Ashley Immanuel, COO of Semicolon Africa, a tech training institute, emphasises the importance of developing these skills during training. For instance, the startup offers a one-year course that builds technical expertise and equips students with the soft skills needed to succeed in today’s workplace.
Obiyomi points out that soft skills like communication, time management, and teamwork often dictate how well someone can take on responsibilities. These skills ensure that, beyond coding proficiency or technical know-how, a talent can work collaboratively, meet deadlines, and contribute positively to a company’s culture.
He makes an important note encouraging talent to find out which soft skills are the most valuable to their employer or manager so that they can hone them to make their stay at the company memorable.
"Each talent has to do some sort of self-assessment to know what skills they are lacking and deliberately work on them."
What important soft skills have proven helpful to talent over the years and make them stand out?
Communication
Communication is a critical soft skill in any job. Whether it’s setting realistic expectations, handling conflicts, or giving and receiving feedback, the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully can make or break workplace relationships.
In Obiyomi's words, "Talent needs to communicate. What that helps with is knowing where the project is, if there's any problem, and how it can be solved. What's the essence of being able to code when you can't work with a team?" He asks.
For remote workers or those juggling multiple jobs, communication is even more essential. Employers need to know when to expect deliverables, and team members need to feel confident that their concerns or ideas are noticed.
Time management
One of the biggest challenges in the tech space, especially for overemployed talents, is effective time management. It could even be considered a survival skill because of its necessity to balance competing demands without getting overwhelmed.
However, this appears to be the most challenging skill to master, especially for those juggling more than one job, or working in the creator economy.
Failing at this would mean missing deadlines, delivering subpar output, or risking getting extremely stressed.
Those who have mastered this soft skill use some sort of automation tool or set up accountability systems to help with discipline.
Teamwork/collaboration
Developers often see themselves as lone wolves and might want to work and deliver their jobs in isolation. Unfortunately, projects, especially in startups with lean teams, cannot be successfully carried out without collaboration across departments. Besides, teamwork is an integral part of any healthy workplace culture.
Obiyomi points out that there's always an overarching idea behind every project, so it's counterproductive for an employee to choose to work without carrying the team along.
Moreso, regular check-ins are unavoidable with agile teams. Managers will quickly spot talents who lack this soft skill because they'll often struggle with tasks that have dependencies. It's only a matter of time before their stay at the company is at risk.
Companies intentionally promote the use of collaborative tools like Slack, Notion, etc. to encourage teamwork; however, there are arguments against their effectiveness.
Creative thinking
Obiyomi recalls a former boss who was very particular about this skill. She insisted on individual contributions during brainstorming or strategy sessions because she believes everyone has something to offer.
Survival in such a workplace is a function of employees' problem-solving abilities.
Companies that boast of being innovative typically look out for talent with creative thinking skills who can also iterate quickly.
Such employees are easily brought into business strategy discussions and conversations about company growth.
People management/leadership skill
Without ignoring the dearth of middle management, which has led to the rise of many accidental managers, the average tech talent would typically grow into leadership roles as they grow in their careers.
This explains why people management is a core competency that can set individuals apart, regardless of their technical expertise.
Whether managing a small team or overseeing projects, the ability to lead, inspire, and motivate others is key.
Managing people is a complex task, often requiring delegation, conflict resolution, and mentorship, and these skills are required more in high-stake environments like startups.
