How to upskill leaders faster on perceived “soft skills”, those that focus on human competencies
Upskilling is a commonly used corporate term to describe improving current employees’ skill sets so they can advance in their jobs and find different roles and opportunities within the company. This trend has been exacerbated by labor shortages that are forecasted to continue with peaking Baby Boomer retirements and lower current birth rates. While artificial intelligence (AI) can close some of this gap by automating simple tasks, organizations will also need to upskill workers to be more productive more quickly than in the past.
According to the World Economic Forum, nine of the top 10 skill gaps are “soft skills.” These perceived “soft skills” are different from traditional “hard skills” like computer programming or technical expertise. Instead, they focus on human competencies (behaviors, skills and attributes) that can be developed over time:
- Analytical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Resilience
- Flexibility
- Agility
- Motivation
- Self-awareness
- Curiosity
- Lifelong learning
These competencies are in high demand, and there is a lower supply of people with these existing skill sets…..
In this article Julie Kratz expands on focusing on transferable skills, emphasizing equity vs. equality, and prioritizing core leadership competencies.
Read this article by Julie Kratz on Forbes.com
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