Hi
While you have specified Soft skills as your immediate area of concern, I would take a more holistic approach and share with you some pointers on developing yourself as an energetic, confident and effective corporate executive. The focus is on a broader horizon and covers the overall personality.
A good personality is, broadly speaking, a reflection of the physical, mental, social, behavioral and ethical attributes you posses. It is therefore imperative that you first work out the strengths and weakness you posses in relation to each of these dimensions. To help you get a little more clarity let me outline a few specifics under each of these attributes.
Physical : looks/ grooming/ posture/ mannerisms/ style/
Mental : academics/ grasp/ thinking/ creativity / introspection / self belief/ confidence/ positive thinking
Social : Ability to socialize/ ability to be a good team player/ engaging conversationalist
Behavioral : moods/ reflection of managerial attributes like leadership; decision making etc./ risk taking ability
Ethical: Values/ discernment / moral leanings
The above is not a comprehensive list and some of the points could overlap with some other dimensions too.
Here are some additional tips to work on improving your personality.
What is important is to use your strengths to the full and work on your weakness so that you can make rapid improvements to minimize the weakness. E.g. If you do not socialize because most conversations are in English in which you are weak, then go for English speaking classes while also making friends with English speaking colleagues/ friends.
When you are criticized, objectively analyze the criticism and if there is some truth in it, then work on eliminating that weakness. If on the other hand you feel the criticism is unjustified ignore it. E.g. You could be criticized for using too many slang / unparliamentary words in conversation.
If you fail while attempting something look at it as a learning experience and with renewed practice and confidence attempt it again e.g. You made a mess of your first public speech (maybe because you were so tense that you forgot your lines). Work on the next speech with greater focus and seek out an opportunity to speak in public and regain your confidence.
If there are attributes that you cannot change, don’t blame the attribute but accentuate your strengths despite that obvious glaring deficiency. E.g. If you have a physical deformity but you have an excellent academic record, then use the academics to accentuate your personality.
I would also invite you to visit my Inspirational and Motivational Blogs listed below to read up on varied topics that could supplement your quest to improve your personality and polish up your soft skills.
www.actspot.wordpress.com – over 2,00,000 views and 1050 followers
www.poweract.blogspot.com – over 60,000 views and 235 followers
Best Wishes