is the attitude of some that possessing these skills automatically means you don't any technical ones, or that strengthening them weakens technical skills. The two skill sets aren't mutually exclusive.

I stink at most of these besides communications and teamwork. I've never had to manage a project, probably because the others soft skills I lack render me unsuitable for consideration. Many of them are skills I could probably acquire but find unpleasant or distasteful - vendor negotiations, political manipulation, personal networking. Maybe I would have a better attitude toward them if I knew better how to perform them, but my dislike of them may also be why I'm in a technical field in the first place.