7 CRITICAL SKILLS FOR SUCCESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

 

Every age is marked with its distinctive features. Some decades ago it was the industrial age where manpower was required to accomplish most business tasks. The situation is however, different today-the Information age where Mind power is required more than Manpower to deliver results.  The huge opportunities available to mankind in this 21^st century were never in place decades ago. The uniqueness of these opportunities is defined by the myriads of problems enclosing them. Exploring these challenges for our benefits require some critical skill sets.

Contrary to believe in some quarters, great rewards still abound in this age! It’s only that they are received by individuals who can marshal relevant critical skills to deliver effective business solutions in real time. The success model I developed for this century is R=f (S_p).

Where:

 R=Reward, S_p=Problems’ solution. The reward you get is a function of the problem you solve. The 21^st century like no other is about result. This clearly explains why organizations tie compensation to performance.  Let’s take a look at a number of these skills:

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS: There has never been need for effective communication in business and leadership more than today. Communication becomes effective if you are able to get your message across, sending the right signals that you’re saying what you mean and that you mean what you say. Understanding the point you are making should not take special effort on the part of the person you’re talking to. The heart of effective communication in this century is LISTENING. Listening skill is such a critical skill that can facilitate smooth and effective communication. Excellent listening skill entails listening with empathy—seeking to clearly understand what’s being said per time before speaking. This is clearly a shift in paradigm from what it used to be when people ‘listen’ just for the sake of giving a response and not to understand. What makes communication effective is not just speaking but deep listening. This skill is learnable.

INTRA AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: Deals with what meaning you attach to situations and circumstances around you. One rule for good intra and interpersonal skills is ‘Never you underestimate anyone’. The way you relate with others will determine how they respond to you. Treating everyone with utmost kindness is a critical skill require for success in this century. Anyone with good set of values can be outstanding in intra and interpersonal relationship.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Do you know that 80% of why you succeed is attached to your emotion. In the face of constant rush and hustle that characterizes today’s business environment, you should be able to hush yourself and analyse situation before taking decision. The major keys to unlocking emotional intelligence include: Self-Awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social skills. Success in this 21^st century demands a high score in emotional intelligence (EQ).

NEGOTIATION SKILLS: Life does not give you what you want; it only surrenders to you what you negotiate. Life in its entirety is about negotiation. You can negotiate your way to success. The key ingredients required for developing this vital skill include:

Power- Assess the power to close the deal.

Information-Arm yourself with the right set of information.

Time- Have the time to negotiate. Negotiation is not best done in a hurry.

FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE: This is premised on three major factors---

·         Your ability to know that money can work for you and not you working for money.

·         Your ability to reduce cost and take calculated risks in investment.

·         Your understanding of the Value of money.

EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE: This simply connotes common sense and not any special type of skill. The truth is everyone can deploy common sense at will but not all of us do so. Executive intelligence zooms in on your ability to analyse situation properly in a bid to finding appropriate solution. Here are four key ingredients of executive intelligence:

·         How you accomplish a task;

·         Working with and through people;

·         Judging Oneself;

·         Your ability to adapt to situations accordingly.

NETWORKING SKILL: Networking has suddenly become an essential skill required for success in this age and time. Some often say ‘’your net worth is a function of your network’’. This saying validates the importance of networking skill in this century. I once learnt from a network marketing expert that the distance between any one and the president of U.S or the President of your country is 6 persons away. In other words, network with 6 persons and you might have access to the President of your country.