Maybe that exam nightmare is telling you something?

Do you share my recurring nightmare?

I have a recurring dream.? I’m about to go into an exam, and I haven’t studied for it.? In the dream, of course, this is ‘real life’!? I believe it – and it’s horrible!? I wake up hugely relieved that I don’t have an exam coming up. (And I haven’t had any exams for a long, long time…)

Maybe you’ve had this dream/nightmare?? Apparently it’s one of the most common recurring dreams.? And perhaps for you also it’s been years, maybe decades since you sat an exam.? So this dream is taking you back to a dark and distant place…

Some dreams, perhaps, carry helpful messages… and I’m going to suggest a use for this one.

We can use this dream to empathise.?

This dream is telling us to remember the feeling of not having studied enough, or not being ready, or not having the knowledge or techniques required for a test or examination.?

Because this is what it feels like to have a ‘skills gap’.? For there to be a gap between your capabilities, and the capabilities required to succeed in your task.? It’s horrible.? So horrible that you might still lose sleep about it years later!

And, of course, it’s not just exams that need knowledge, techniques and expertise.? It’s every job, everything you do at work, and most things you do outside of work too.

Skills gaps HURT!

All of us have experienced the pain of a skills gap. Whether it was at school, at work, playing sport, communicating with our families or friends… When you realise you don’t have the skills you need to do the job in front of you, it’s painful.

For each of us as individuals, skills gaps hurt.? Personally.?

Skills gaps are the norm, not the exception.

Today, skills gaps are not rare.? They are the norm, not the exception.? I’ll put some stats in the comments.

A ‘perfect storm’ of forces – digitisation, competition and the pandemic – have combined to cause a ‘skills crisis’.?

More and more people are experiencing the pain of skills gaps.

Skills gaps are bad news at all levels.

This is not just an individual issue.? Firstly, when one person has a skills gap, that impacts others around them too: whether it’s on a sports team, a business unit or a social group.

Secondly, because skills gaps are now so widespread, this is impacting teams, companies, industries, and our economies.?

The opposite of skills gaps = ‘right-skilling’.

Every one of us is responsible to identify and address our own skills gaps – so we can be effective, happy and fulfilled.

Many of us also have teams, departments or companies to run.? So we need effective ways to identify our employees’ skills gaps, prioritise them, and close them.? Perhaps for hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of people.?

At Simply, we call this ‘right-skilling’.? Identifying, prioritising, and closing skills gaps, across the workforce, now and on an ongoing basis.?

Every company needs to do this.? And every HR and business leader has a role to play.

‘Right-skilling’ is a team sport.

For some: you own your company’s ‘skills agenda’ (you and I should be friends if we’re not already!)

Every HR leader has to include skills in their process and remit somehow.

Every business leader ultimately owns the P&L, oversees the people, and needs to ensure your workforce has the skills to succeed this year and in the years ahead.

And every single one of us has to look after our own skills.

My ask of you:

My ask of you is to remember, to recognise, the pain of carrying a skills gap – and to use that pain as fuel to drive change.? I know you don’t want to feel that pain – and I’m sure you don’t want other people you care about, lead, manage or work with you feel it either.

So let’s commit to doing something about it.

My offer: I’m here to help.

My commitment back to you it this – I’m here to help.? Not just me, but the whole of Simply Get Results – our team, software, data, methods, tools, partners and network – are at your disposal.

If you or anyone you know would like a chat about this – let me know.? It would be my pleasure.

In the mean time I’ll be writing more about this in my daily blog.? Sharing methods, tools, tips, techniques, lessons learned and more.

Let me know how best I can help you.

Thanks

Simon