The need to continuously develop ourselves

Nearly 30 years ago, when I started my career as an IC designer, I was expected to excel only in design. Development of my soft skills was a nice to have, but my primary function was design.
As the years passed by, I realised that to progress in my career, I needed not only technical skills but people skills, which are much harder to acquire. Yes one can attend courses and learn from experts in the field of human development. However, learning isn't enough....we need to be self critical of our development and measure our own growth, just as an IC designer would check that her/his circuit meets the specification.
What's really interesting about this approach is that whilst one develops their soft skills, its possible to apply the same learning process to technical issues.