Forum Managing Director from World Economic Forum, Saadia Zahidi states, “…it’s also become very important to have leadership skills and to have social influence, and the ability to work with other people. The traits that make us human, make us able to relate with each other and to get innovative, creative things done in the workplace.”
This report, compiled from surveys of over 800 companies employing 11 million people across 27 industries and from 45 economic world regions, included not only the expected technology and managment skills but also many human skills. How are we keeping pace with a changing world?
Six of the top 10 skills organizations want in their employees involve the person you are, about your self-awareness, your ability to be motivated, be resilient, be flexible, be agile, be curious, be empathetic, be a leader and be a social influencer.
How do we polish these skills?
- Build self-awareness to objectively see your strengths and challenges.
- Remove any hurdles getting in your way. For example, increase empathy if you are too rational; or understand what is good enough if you are a perfectionist.
- Become friendly with experimenting to think outside of the box; this requires forgiveness and compassion for oneself and others.
I spoke about these changes to an older colleague who stated that he need not worry about these changes as he will retire soon. True, he may not be directly effected in the work place. But, I wonder if we will all be indirectly effected: from younger people in our lives; from interacting with organizations such as financial institutions and travel organizations. I ask again, “How are we keeping pace with a changing world?”
Further reading: WEF Future of Jobs Skills 2023
