“The success that comes with executing what we know and what we’ve historically done is exactly what prevents us from seeing what’s next.” — Lisa Kay Solomon, Singularity University
ARE WE FUTURE FIT?
Every day we are bombarded with another avalanche of change – change in our roles, who we report to, what systems we use, which products we sell and what our customers are demanding. We are flooded with information about new trends, new technology, new jobs, redundant careers and new skills required. We join companies or communities, make friends, get betrayed, build relationships, fall ill and lose loved ones.
Every day there seems to be more and more urgent demands on our time, our energy and our ideas – to assist, rescue, firefight, support and resolve. In recent times, we have had to deal with an unprecedented change in our lives and livelihoods as we faced a global pandemic and had to adjust overnight to economic, social and physical lock-down, and the accompanying fears of an unknown, unseen virus and uncertain future. The global marketplace has never been more digitally connected and yet physically isolated through this experience. Industries, places and brands we loved have come under threat and some even ceased to exist.
Are you ready for the evolution of technology touching every part of our lives? Are you feeling confident to adapt successfully to the shifting daily demands?
These dramatic shifts in our world are resulting in many jobs and skills evolving, transitioning or becoming obsolete. Many jobs or skills of the future have not yet been invented. It is therefore imperative to adopt and practice the mindsets and skills that will keep you informed, adaptable, relevant and future-ready.
CHANGING FOCUS OF SKILLS
The McKinsey Global Institute is tracking a range of jobs based on human skills and how they are likely to be affected by A.I. and automation. They say that physical or basic cognitive tasks that can be performed by relatively low skilled labour or require only low-level data input and processing are likely to be quickest to be replaced[i] such as are drivers, assembly line workers, nurses, electricians, craftspeople, cashiers, customer service staff, typists and clerks. While demand for skills in these areas might be decreasing, McKinsey predicts a significant increase in demand in the higher cognitive; social and emotional; and technological skill areas as outlined below.
Higher cognitive: advanced literacy and writing, quantitative and statistical skills, critical thinking, and complex information processing e.g. doctors, accountants, research analysts, writers, and editors
Social and emotional (soft skills): advanced communication and negotiation, empathy, the ability to learn continuously, to manage others and to be adaptable. E.g. business development, programming, emergency response and counseling
Technological: basic to advanced IT skills, data analysis, engineering, and research. E.g. software developers, engineers, robotics, and scientific experts.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) says that by 2030 there will be huge demand for skills such as creativity (i.e. coming up with creative marketing strategies), critical thinking (i.e. solving complex systemic problems), complex information processing (i.e. analysing trends and impact on the company) and decision making (i.e. sifting through masses of data to make decisions despite uncertainty).[ii] In addition to these, resilience has increased in importance as our world and certainty has been rocked by recent events.
Whilst various digital and analytical skills will be important, the skills that will be the most critical, regardless of your chosen technical field, will be those that enable continuous learning, adaptability and dealing with ambiguity.
“We define our hiring and our education system on skills. There is no skill which is robot-proof, someone can build a tool to do it better faster cheaper.” Dr Vivienne Ming
THE POWER OF 8
The world needs people who are:
- intensely curious (about themselves, others and the world),
- uniquely creative (experimenting, learning and willing to fail),
- courageously committed (to their vision for self, team or cause),
- consciously choosing (where to focus attention and how to show up),
- critical thinkers (who can resolve dilemmas and make meaning out of noise),
- trust building collaborators (that combine perspectives and strengths into lasting relationships and value),
- change navigators (that navigate the maze of change for positive impact) and
- generous contributors (that build lasting healthy communities).
These abilities may not be entirely new. They do however need some fresh thinking and insight into how we build the underlying identities, beliefs, habits and neural pathways to make them effortless. Despite knowing that these are critically important for success, we still don’t seem able to create a lasting foundation of these in our families, teams, organisational cultures and communities as a whole. We still suffer from narrow, short-term thinking, defending the status quo, working in silos and competing with scarcity mindsets. Many people are also persistent victims of fear….fear of loss, of rejection, of betrayal, of failure. Fear and frustration pull our energy inward, make us doubt and feel insecure. It keeps us playing small and feeling alone. It prevents us from reaching out, opening up, experimenting, learning and sharing our thoughts, feelings and ideas.
How do we move above and beyond our automatic, protective programming of survival to create a future of possibilities and adventures in which we can live and lead with courage and authenticity?
Keep a look out for some really practical habits and tools to build these capabilities in upcoming blogs, podcasts and webinars
TIPS, TOOLS AND RESOURCES
If you are interested in assessing your own resilience potential, you can complete our FREE RESILIENCE POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT and receive a customised report with suggestions for focus and habits.
For some of our favourite tips, tools and resources on future capabilities, see below or in the more detailed resources section of the book PowerUp8 by the same author – Debbie Craig.
