Upskill THIS!

LinkedIn asked me to chime in on "what should workers do to upskill this year?" Here's my answer - it's an optimistic one, so keep reading.

AI is here, the technological revolution continues and vast changes to our world are coming. The next stage being ushered in promises to be the most dramatic and cause the greatest upheaval to our way of life.

Reading any number of articles from today’s thought leaders conjures up images from “The Terminator” movies.

Tesla’s Elon Musk proclaimed, “we have built Skynet.”

The machines are taking over more and more, and just as the combine harvester made much of farming labor obsolete, AI is fast-tracking the disappearance of human labor across industries.

In the last century until today, the taking over of jobs by lower skilled workers was the biggest threat to job stability for a certain segment of our population. Most felt insulated from that threat, but the firewall is being breached and now the same threat of replacement is simply a matter of when and not if, with rare exception, for the whole of society.

In the short term, the highly intelligent still have some job security. But soon, the time it takes to “sharpen the saw” with the latest certification, will see less and less of an ROI. Eventually, any decision that can be made in less than a second will be replaced by AI.

It’s a futile and unwinnable chess match where, skill after skill, we’re being outperformed and overpowered.

In time, even the designers of AI will find their skill-set as obsolete as the bank teller with the invention of the ATM, as AI takes over its own creation and sustainment.

It can feel like a bleak peek of what lies ahead when we consider humanity’s place, and more specifically, our place in the future.

Recently I was speaking with a senior level IT client who talks fondly of how in the recent past, nobody cared if you occasionally stuck your foot in your mouth, wore mismatched socks, or smelled like you hadn’t showered in a few days - as long as you were competent at your task of engineering or programming.

A few weeks back he was reprimanded by his consulting firm for a misspelled word in an email. ONE misspelled word, not an email riddled with them.

Keep in mind, this is an English-as-a-second language client from China, with exceptional writing skills. He says, “when I stay silent in a meeting, I’m worthless, but when I do offer my opinion it’s “never the right time”.

More and more, there is less and less tolerance for mistakes for the human errors that befall, well . . . all of us. I've seen from first hand experience how these changes affect everyone, in one way or another - no matter the industry or functional area.

For job seekers, the search has always felt like a kind of war with other candidates. Each person doing all they can to separate themselves from their competition. Add the element of age, in an ever increasingly tech and youth oriented world, and the shadow cast looms larger and larger.

If that isn’t daunting enough, compound the fact that most live in mortal fear that making a poorly phrased comment will mean the whole of their life’s work is toast.

It’s no surprise to see a shift of expectations from getting a raise, promotion or finding satisfaction - to “just getting a job”.

What to do?

How do today’s job seekers and employees not only survive, but thrive in the face of the "advancing AI armies"? In my opinion, the only consistent thread that connects success, career viability and longevity - is increasing EQ.

It's not only a hopeful and optimistic perspective to live our lives by, but it's our defense against the onslaught of technology and a pathway to a future where human creativity, empathy, and resilience continue to be our most valuable assets.

Those who know how to bring the value of their person to their employer and colleagues.

They who act in a consistently positive and predictable way that brings out the best in others and makes them glad you’re on their team. The self-aware, those that treat feedback as a gift and earnestly strive to be better are the ones that make their presence valued and appreciated.

Those that live in a continual state of “becoming.”

Over the years, I’ve seen the value of the latest certification, or Ivy League degree diminish. MBA, Black Belt, Kaizen, Harvard, C++, etc. – nothing has proven to be a stronger way to Futureproof a career.

If you want to upskill something that will make a real and meaningful difference - click here to take the first step in making a happier Future You.