Permanent link for Mentoring Mondays October 3, 2022 on October 3, 2022

12 Skills Every Professional Needs to Succeed in the Modern Workplace

 

This week, we share the first of a two-part series on skills needed

to succeed in the modern workplace. 

 

PART I: Skills 1 through 6

 

The modern workplace isn’t a single physical place in most organizations. The modern workplace is a realm, a culture. It often comprises people working from multiple locations in different cities, states, time zones, and even countries. Some may be full-time employees working from a traditional office. Others are contractors working at a different employer. Since COVID-19, more and more people are working from home. Co-workers can spend years with each other without physically meeting, only communicating electronically.

The chaos of the modern workplace has added to the stress of working under the pressure to produce results in a world of uncertainty. Some professionals struggle to grow and move up in the modern workplace. The ones that succeed typically exhibit the following skills:

1. Adaptability The modern workplace changes as often as the weather in the Midwest – and for non-Midwesterners that means a lot. Businesses are bought and sold every day. Products come and go. The marketplace evolves. Organizational charts are rewritten. Budgets are slashed. There are always new rules, new technology and new trends to learn. In the post-COVID-19 workplace, change also includes more remote work, more video conferences, and less structure. Adaptability is highly sought after by employers because it makes people better employees and leaders, more productive, and more likely to remain with the company long-term.

2. Empathy The modern workplace includes employees of varying ages, education levels, backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures. You are often interacting with people from different countries. Co-workers have distinct lives outside of work and diverse motivations at work. This can sometimes lead to workplace conflict. But conflict is minimized when people can understand and relate to the thoughts, emotions and experiences of others without judgment. This is empathy. Empathetic people have a positive effect on overall company morale.

3. Communication The modern workplace depends on the free flow of ideas, information, and instruction. This has always been true, but is even more so in a workplace altered by global economics, generational preferences and, of course, a pandemic. The teams you work with are no longer confined to the same floor of the same building. Successful professionals regularly connect with co-workers about everything from ongoing projects to new opportunities and external threats. They must possess the ability to communicate through face-to-face conversations, large group meetings, emails, instant messaging, phone calls, project management software, and impromptu discussions. They must also find the right balance between communicating too little and over-communicating. Don’t forget that proper communication isn’t limited to what you say or write. It’s just as important to listen to customers and co-workers.

4. Curiosity The modern workplace requires employees to ask questions and search for answers. If you wait for others to voluntarily communicate the information and instruction required to succeed, you will fall behind. If you proactively discover the keys to job success, you’ll become indispensable. Employees who exhibit curiosity in the workplace are more likely to succeed because they generate alternative solutions to existing problems, they innovate ways for the company to make money or save it, and they discover ways to add value beyond their job descriptions.

5. Data Interpretation The modern workplace is teeming with data. Companies harvest up-to- the-minute intelligence on their customers, distributors, website traffic, order volume, employee performance, and a host of other factors. Data directs much of the decision-making. What products to sell and where to sell them and to who? How much to budget for marketing, distribution, customer support, and employee recruitment? Where to invest and divest? Successful professionals can collect, analyze and comprehend all sorts of data. They can spot patterns, identify what’s relevant and what isn’t, and report the meaning of the data collected to others.

6. Intuition Data doesn’t always tell the full story. To fill the gaps left by incomplete or inaccurate data, successful professionals must rely on intuition – often called a “gut feeling.” But true intuition is not an emotion. It’s a confident wisdom a person gleans over time from knowledge and experience, from the lessons learned from successes and failures. Professionals can develop intuition by listening to experts in their field, constant reading, and focused observation of the world that impacts their business.

Next week, we will present Part II of our series . . . Skills 7 through 12.

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Source: Article by Jack Wolstenholm, Director of Content at Breeze, a digital-first insurance

company that offers simple, affordable income protection for the modern workforce; published by SkillsYouNeed.com.

 

Posted on Permanent link for Mentoring Mondays October 3, 2022 on October 3, 2022.