The workplace is changing, and with it the skills that workers need to thrive in a digital and diverse environment. Here are four skills that will be in highly sought after by employers in the future:
1. Emotional judgement
EJ, the new EQ, is now a top priority for many employers. “Emotional judgement is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and empathise with their position,” says Dr Marcus Bowles FIML, founder of the Institute for Working Futures. “It’s also about understanding the impact of the decisions you have to make.”
“EJ correlates strongly with the customer experience in service organisations. For technical experts, engineers and doctors, it’s about empathising with the outcome the client might want and being able to understand that the optimal solution may not be the best solution.”
2. Global citizenship
This encompasses cross-cultural work and diversity, says Bowles. “If you can’t empathise with different views of the world then it’s very hard for you to work in that context.”
Do you have the courage to put forward a solution no-one else has thought of – or to say there’s a problem when no-one else will?
3. Courage
“A lot of organisations don’t just want people who can innovate, they want people who can advocate for the customer,” says Bowles. Courage is a desirable quality that shows up among natural learning strings in organisations. “Do you have the courage to put forward a solution no-one else has thought of – or to say there’s a problem when no-one else will?”
4. Foresighting
Visionary leadership is about to take on a whole new meaning. “Can you see through the macro-trend to spot the business opportunity?” You’ll need to.
