Dream to reality: skills I aspire to acquire in the coming year and beyond.

As the year ends and I await the dawn of another, I woke up from a dream that left me shivering. In a restaurant, I had ordered a cup of tea and a pastry. The tea arrived promptly, but the pastry never came. I reminded the waiter impatiently. While glancing at me with indifference, the restaurant manager walked away towards the payment counter instead of addressing my problem. As I waited longer, I sensed a flow of frustration throughout my body. I abandoned my tea and decided to approach the manager at the counter.

The manager provided no explanation for the missing pastry, while he maintained his indifference. I decided to pay for the tea, which cost slightly over 100 Rupees. Just as I was handing him the 100 Rupee note, I realized I didn't have enough cash and so I offered to pay via UPI, while asking the manager to return the note. To my utter dismay, he claimed I had never given him the money. When I insisted, he retorted with a tinge of surprise in his tone, "You never gave me any money, and now you're behaving dangerously!" I was trembling with rage as I noticed the onlookers in the restaurant staring at me, as if I was a habitual troublemaker.

It was early morning in my hotel room, when I woke up realizing that I had just seen a bad dream. For a few moments, I lay motionless, letting the vivid scenes of the dream replay in a flashback. I took a deep breath, sat up and told myself, "You realize it was your frustration against an expected behaviour by someone that turned into a frenzy." I pondered why I had this dream, especially since I rarely dream while asleep. For want of a clear explanation, I consoled myself with the notion that anger lingers in my subconscious, even though I strive to control it in most frustrating real-life situations.

It reminds me of the various workshops I conduct with my team and others, where we engage in diverse drills to develop leadership competencies such as emotional intelligence and empathy. As we transition from a simple task to a set of complex and unpredictable problems, our minds demand increasing resilience to be able to break down such situations into simpler and smaller components, analyse each of them, and address the entire problem from the ground up. I have come to understand that mastering these skills is not a solitary endeavour but a combination of multiple interdisciplinary competencies.

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023 underscores the vital importance of various cognitive and emotional skills that are crucial for a professional who is navigating dreams and reality at the same time. Among these skills, complex problem-solving seems to be one of the most important ones, echoing my struggle in the dream to address and resolve the situation with the pastry. Well, initially I thought it was a silly problem, only to realise that it was silly yet complex. Similarly, creative thinking, deemed higher in importance in the report than analytical thinking, was essential as I tried to handle the confrontation with the manager.

Tech literacy, mentioned closely behind creative and analytical thinking, parallels my real-life offer to pay via UPI—a skill reflective of modern digital transactions in India. Self-efficacy skills, such as resilience, flexibility, and self-awareness, were intrinsic to managing my anger and frustration upon waking up. Resilience was badly needed as I tried to adapt to the manager's indifference and the restaurant’s onlookers’ scrutiny.

Moreover, the report emphasizes curiosity, lifelong learning, and agility—qualities that seem to underpin my continuous journey of self-discovery, self-improvement and skill-building. The top growing skills also include systems thinking, AI and big data, talent management, and customer service—all pivotal in transforming not only individual capabilities into collective strength within a team setting but also in building a collective vision of success for the entire team.

Am I too late to catch this train? Perhaps! Yet, I have no choice but to continue building new skills, not just for excellence, but for survival in every pursuit of my work and life.

No regrets! Hoping for a bright new year ahead!

Wishing a Happy and Productive 2025 to everyone!

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