We are currently on the brink of a Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will ultimately affect the way we live, work and relate to one another (Word Economic Form, 2019).
It is now time to plan ahead and consider the skills needed for this revolution, particularly given the fact that we live and work in such a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world, where the pace of change is speeding up and never appears to slow down.
We need to anticipate the skills needed for the future, in order to attract, recruit and retain the right talent to enable success in the long term.
What skills will we need to thrive in 2020 to 2025?
The World Economic Forum (WEF) created the Future of Work Project, which highlights the specific skills employers will be looking for by 2020. It was no surprise that decision making skills appeared as a recurring theme, suggesting that having strong decision-making skills and the ability to make sound judgement calls will be required more than ever. This is primarily down to the fact that more companies are dealing with big data and so depend upon those who can sift through this and identify trends to make the best business decisions.
Linked to decision making, another skill highlighted by the WEF as important for the future of work was the ability to solve complex problems. Having the mental elasticity to solve new types of problems is a skill which, combined with decision making, will be in hot demand for 2020.
The future of work is also being shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI). With AI on the rise, some believe that large segments of work will continue to be replaced by machines. However, complex decision making still requires an element of human intervention.
Despite being capable of making simple decisions, robots lack the framework of human logic to be able to make decisions that fit into our culture and social world. It is therefore clear that, this upcoming ‘AI takeover’, may encourage decision making skills to appear as even more attractive to employers, by 2020. Examples of such decision-making skills may include problem solving, logical reasoning, calculated risk taking, objective analysis, and so on.
Effective decision making is therefore a critical determinant of individual potential and it is also a long-term requirement for the future of work. There has never been a better time for organisations to start reflecting on the ways they can support the decision-making skills of their leaders, to remain ahead of the game.
How can you measure decision making to stay ahead of the game?
The fate of an organisation hangs on the decisions that their leaders make and so we recognise that by 2020, it will be even more important than ever to appoint and develop leaders who have the capacity to solve problems and make decisions in an agile yet robust way.
Understanding your decision-making preferences and style is key to achieving both personal and organisational competitive advantage. Our BeTalent.com Decision Styles suite of tools can be used to help an individual determine their preferred approach to problem solving and can help them to be more agile and considered decision makers.
This post was written by BeTalent, they are an exhibitor on the HRTech247 Talent & Performance Management floor of the Technology Hall. You can visit their virtual space here
