What's The #1 Power Skill for 2021?

On March 3rd, LinkedIn released their 2021 Workplace Learning Report, which is a comprehensive view of the future of learning. You can download a copy of the full report here.

What workplace skill was ranked #1 for 2021?

Resilience (followed by #2 digital fluency).

In particular, resilience was ranked the most important skill in the US, Canada, France, UK, Australia and Japan. Which should be a surprise to absolutely no one, given what we've had to collectively endure over the last 12 months.

But how do we build resilience in a practical way? Here are five ways to help fortify your ability to withstand adversity, and recover quickly from difficult situations. 

1. Be kind to yourself. As Louise Hay once said, “you’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” You've made it through 12 months of this, and that is worthy of acknowledgement.

2. Foster relationships. Shawn Achor’s research has shown that the largest predictor of human happiness is social connections. Book a 10min coffee with a colleague next week, or call an old friend this weekend. It matters now more than ever.

3. Create time for rest/recovery. No one had to convince Olympic champion Michael Phelps to go swimming. It’s the time ‘out of water’ that promotes growth and healing. Sleep matters, so dim the lights and minimize screens before bed. Bonus tip: Find 15min a day to do something you love. No one is going to give you that time by the way, you have to take it.

4. Be physically active. Move as you are able. Some of you will run marathons, others will walk a few steps a day (or if you're like me, do chin-ups off the backyard fence..). Whatever that is for you, find your groove. Start small. For example, if you are going to try running - get dressed, run for 3min and come home. Start building the habit with small steps. There is evidence linking small actions to increased motivation.

5. Focus on what has worked. You've likely endured hard times before - what enabled you to get through it (drinking doesn't count..). Tap into the ideas that helped you overcome. For me, it's a gratitude journal (and watching great stand-up/sketch comedy). Two minutes a day to write down what I'm grateful for. I don't remember to do it all the time, but who cares. I just pick up where I left off. Find what works and allow it to serve you.

 Try one idea next week and see how it fits into your day. You may surprise yourself with the results! 

Finally, if your team is struggling with burnout, isolation and you're trying to find ways to help motivate and engage them, drop me a line. We can help.

Best,

Ian

Ian is the founder of Daley & Co, a leadership consulting and training company driven to help organizations overcome archaic management practices, and develop the next generation of high caliber leaders. He is also host of The New Leader Podcast.