The Future of Your Job

There are already skill gaps today and the future will only increase that gap. Technology is, of course, the most obvious. It isn’t that technology is taking jobs, but also creating them faster than we can keep up. There is already a skill gap in areas around managing tasks and people that too will grow as there will be increasing needs for cognitive skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, writing, and analyzing. Social emotional skills have a high gap, but an increasing demand. This includes skills such as continuous learning, advanced communication, and empathy. Is your organization getting ready and staying ready for the future jobs it will need?

What About Your Teams?

Think about building high performing teams. What jobs, talents, and skills will they need? In addition, what mix of jobs, talents, and skills will you need to build a team that has the knowledge, productivity, and understanding the future of work will require for success? Will your team need more technical talent, more social emotional skills, more cognitive abilities, or a balanced mix of all for the project at hand?

Reviewing trends and your organization’s strategic plan can help you put the pieces of this puzzle together. Regardless of the knowledge, skills, and talent, what will it take to make this team productive? If there are personality clashes, behavioral differences, opposing motivational drivers, or misunderstandings in communication, how will you enhance collaboration, respect, empathy, and understanding? In fact, one research source suggests that a new, major C-Suite position will be Chief Purpose Officer.

Promote You to What?

Developing talent is part of a manager’s job. Most everyone has an interest in building a better career. Employees have less toleration for managers who pass them over or deny them the opportunity to explore a career path. They just go elsewhere. We all know that retention is one of the biggest concerns in the workforce. This makes creating career paths for employees essential, yet this too, can become enigmatic. This is true because of the rapid changes in the way we work, technology, innovative products and services, reduction in manufacturing, economic trends, educational requirements, and on and on. How does a manager know how to prepare future workers for what the organization and industry will demand in the future?

Doing the activities from the paragraph above is necessary. In addition, create a career path program and ensure that it is a forward looking one. Holding employees accountable for researching where their career may lead, how their current jobs might morph to meet future demands, and what preparation they must engage in to be ready to step up to whatever new jobs the future creates is essential.

The Future of Your Job

Asking what your job may look like in the future can create debate, anxiety, excitement, and curiosity. Asking how or where we do that job will no doubt, create the same. What we can be assured of is that more change, more confusion, and more impact will occur in the work world. But there will also be excitement, anticipation, a sense of wonder, and new adventures to take. In fact, one new position What adventures will you encounter in your job for the future? Will YOU be the next Chief Purpose Officer in your organization? For more information on team and career building, Let's get started

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