The advancement of technology these days is a double-edged sword for organizations. On the plus side, technology and automation lead to greater efficiency for companies. However, on the down side, technology and automation are becoming one of our greatest threats.
Let’s take Lucy for example. She’s always been dedicated to her role as a Supply Chain Specialist. She cares a lot about what she does, and stays late to work on ensuring that inventory and procurement are meeting demands. However, new software programs have changed her role and impacted the team structure around her. Recently, she’s been feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. It seems like no matter how hard she tries to keep up with all the changes, her manager Sarah still tells her it’s not enough. In their last one-on-one meeting, Lucy received feedback that she needed to think more strategically. But she felt stuck– she didn’t know where to start.
You see? With automation and AI advancing at a rapid rate, organizations can no longer solely focus on developing technical skills, as those will soon be replaced by technology. What organizations need from their workforce is changing — and fast.
The Skills Gap
With smart technology and predictive patterns, top executives have finally recognized that there is a skills gap in their workforce. According to research from IBM on the skills gap, the global talent shortage could reach more than 85 million people without the right skills by 2030! [1] It’s obvious that the workforce and type of work is changing, and changes need to be made, but exactly what kind of changes?
Tackling the skills gap means transforming your workforce to become HyperQ. This means developing skills such as strategic impact, embracing failure, having a global mindset, being able to influence people and outcomes, and much more. HyperQ means combining left brain skillsets and right brain genius to take a whole brained approach in the way employees think, lead, and drive towards the Future of Work. And a key part of all this is mindsets.
Mindsets Before Skillsets
You’ve probably been flooded with information about building skillsets and the right skillsets for the future of work, but what about mindsets?
Think of mindsets as the solid foundation that needs to be laid in your house of transformation. The mindsets need to be built first in order to support the learnings of a new skillset. No matter how strong your employees’ skillsets are, they won’t be able to stand without a strong complimentary foundation in mindset.
Building the right type of mindsets in employees goes a long way. It will help people like Lucy navigate changes and adapt to the skills needed for the Future of Work.
How to Shift Mindsets
Changing mindsets to build your Workforce 2.0 is two-pronged:
- Readiness: Having a strong understanding of your strengths and weaknesses is key for success. Building mindsets starts with being able to identify the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Then through a process of inquiry individuals need to reflect, introspect, and garner powerful insights in order to challenge paradigms.At Experiential Insight, we’re able to measure readiness and action with 2 of our assessments — Our Impact Surveys and HyperQ Assessment. The former is used to assess self-reported readiness which is a large component in surfacing self-awareness and confidence relative to taking action. The latter is used to measure proficiency of HyperQ and the progress an individual makes during their development journey.
- Action: Self-assessment is a key measure that indicates readiness to take action, which is half the equation in building mindsets. The other half is behavioral changes. In other words, did they then take action? Having an accountability partner to follow through with solid action items is also an important measure in creating stickiness and momentum.
“When you marry readiness with action, real change can occur.”
Mindsets For Your Future
Everything starts with having the right mindset.
To truly advance in a world of accelerated technology, we need to focus on building the right mindsets. This means transforming your workforce’s mindset to lead into the future.
It’s time to build mindsets, not just skillsets.
Nishika de Rosairo | CEO and Founder | HumanQ
Contact Nishika: nishika@humanq.com
Contact HumanQ: info@humanq.com
Website: humanq.com
