Jun 15th 2022

Power skills: The new soft skills and why they are important

The world is navigating its way through an ever-changing landscape where external factors such as automation, adaptive technology and globalisation are shaping our future. The end destination of what the future looks like remains unclear, but what is certain is that it will continue to evolve and it’s up to you to keep up with it. 

It’s time to rethink the skills that will future-proof you against the twists and turns of the working world. What you once thought would catch the eye of employers is no longer the case. 

Let’s unpack the word “skills”. It’s not a straightforward idea. 

In the workplace there is a divide between what people term “hard skills”, ie technical skills, and “soft skills”, ie people skills. But in actual fact the names are misleading. 

Josh Bersin, founder of a leading firm in enterprise learning and talent management, says that “Hard Skills are soft (they change all the time, are constantly being obsoleted, and are relatively easy to learn), and Soft Skills are hard (they are difficult to build, critical, and take extreme effort to obtain)”. 

Welcome to power skills 

This has led Learning and Development (L&D) and HR leaders to begin to refer to soft skills as power skills instead. They give people the power to do things such as the power to collaborate, the power to communicate effectively and the power to lead. It’s these behavioural skills therefore that will help shape the future of work. 

Udemy’s Chief Learning Officer Melissa Daimler writes, “Power skills have always been an important part of workplace learning, and their importance has only grown more urgent as the global workforce navigates the changes of the last few years.”

In fact, 85% of job success comes from having well developed soft and people skills. They are more about character, relationships, and the personality of a person that has developed over time. Without these skills you are limiting your own potential to succeed in the workplace. 

Why are they so important?

For the last few years candidates have been meeting the demand of technical and digital skills in order to fill the skills gap alongside the growth of technology. In fact, more than 45% of people coming out of college have the digital skills they need. But the most in-demand skills aren’t just about staying ahead of the technology curve. 

It’s the behavioural skills of problem solving, teamwork, collaboration and leadership that you need to focus on stepping up, as it’s these skills that will give you the power to succeed and the shield against becoming obsolete. These skills are hard to automate and therefore are unlikely to be easily replaced by the rise in technology. Especially with two-thirds of the workforce expected to be made out of power skill focused roles by 2030. 

This doesn’t mean you should totally discard technical skills. You need to think of the two skills working together to power-up your potential to the best of your abilities. The technical skills can be relatively easily gained, but power skills cannot be developed with just the click of a finger. It’s by combining your functional skills and your non-functional skills that will then allow you to power-up your potential, opening doors to many different career pathways and progression. Employers will be keeping a sharp eye out for candidates that can bring the best of both to the table. 

Top power 5 skills you should have under your belt

Attention to detail 

You will see on countless job descriptions “must be detail oriented”. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter – and when it comes to an eye for detail in the workplace it couldn’t matter more. It allows your employer to let you fly free on more exciting projects as they trust you to get it right the first time around. Master this skill and watch your career progress quicker than those that fall short – with the independence to match. 

Communication 

According to Paul. J Meyer, pioneer of the self-improvement idustry. “Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.”

He has a valid point. Whether it’s catching up with friends and collaborating on a team project, we all need communication to get through our everyday lives. This is a skill that should go without saying in the workplace, in both the written and verbal sense. How do you expect to work with your team effectively or build strong client relationships without it? If you feel this is something you can work on, taking those steps will go a long way in supercharging your career. 

Multitasking 

In the ever changing working world this is a skill that cannot be ignored. You will be expected to be able to juggle multiple projects at once in most roles – and done without barely breaking a sweat. Employers will love that you can be cross-team functional and can handle the pressure. Looking to keep ahead of the curve? This skill will also help you to both learn and work at the same time so that you never fall behind.

Problem solving 

We all come across different obstacles as we tackle tasks in the workplace. But a problem solver won’t let that obstacle get in their way of achieving their goal and instead look to find a logical solution. By mastering this skill you will be able to approach every challenge that is thrown at you in a practical manner, altering your course if needed. This attitude and ability in the workplace will make you indispensable to employers and make you future proof to the constant changes in the working world. 

Creativity

When you think of creative people, people such as Picasso or famous designers come to mind. But there is much more to creativity as a skill. It allows you to view projects and problems more openly. It plays an invaluable role in businesses as people who are creative constantly strive for innovation and are able to collaborate with their colleagues more effectively. It’s the out of box thinking that will make you shine and stand out to employers as it helps take the business in new and exciting directions, evolving as the way of work does. 

It’s time to step up and power-up

You need not just soft or hard skills, but the right skills for the job: Power skills. You need to take a step back and look at where you can upskill in order to meet the demands of the ever changing landscape of the working world. It’s by mastering the behavioural skills in addition to your technical skills that will make you untouchable in the uncertain, evolving future. They will help you power-up your potential for both career progression and if you decide to head down a different career path. If you’re wondering how then check out our blog here.