Preparing your skillset for future success

You have probably heard that “soft skills” will be crucial in a world dominated by AI.

In January, when the World Economic Forum released its Future of Jobs report, it became clear to me that while AI and big data skills will be critical, most of the complementary skills needed in 2030 (light blue quadrant below) are not technical at all.

Resilience, creative thinking, curiosity and lifelong learning.

AI doesn’t reduce the need for human judgment and interpersonal skills — it already demands more from leaders, and lacking these skills will be a career risk.

On a societal level, the demand for people with AI knowledge and technical literacy will increase. However, we also need to increase the number of people with “soft skills”, such as leadership, creative thinking and adaptability.

In relation to the number of people I see spending hours learning how to prompt LLMs, I’m surprised at how few people actively work on their “soft skills”.

What I see is that people outsource their thinking (both creative and analytical) to AI. I see that people avoid reading the news, an action I would connect to both resilience, systems thinking, learning and leadership.

A few people I know work with themselves in therapy, which I think is one of the best investments you can make these days, both for your career, personal growth and resilience in general. I also notice a trend of people switching their screen time to offline activities like knitting, mushroom picking, or jam-making, which I think creates new experiences and perspectives.

Still, I don’t know how this translates to work contexts, and I don’t see any strategic or systematic approaches: no online communities or people sharing guides on LinkedIn.

Isn’t it time to acknowledge and address the secondary consequences of the huge technological shift that dominates the conversation in society?

I think it is.

This week, I organised a workshop with an organisation that is trying to understand how it should develop and position itself in the next few years to be relevant in an AI world. The team I met with is preparing strategic recommendations for the next three to five years. Together, we spent some time thinking about a 15+ year horizon to see if a longer perspective could unlock any insights about the present. It did.

They realised that one future scenario might be more preferable than the others – for them, and for society at large. Actively working towards this future would make more sense than just passively waiting for what might come. However, they also realised that they need to understand the technological requirements of this scenario in detail to be able to make it part of any strategic recommendations.

This was a great unlock for their team.

Listening to people sharing their views on potential scenarios and seeing a diverse group of thinkers collectively build on each other’s perspectives about the world is a luxury. These kinds of workshops reveal a great deal about what organisations and leaders struggle with, and how different people experience the challenges in society, the ongoing changes, and the embedded views people hold.

The ability to move between perspectives is one of the most essential leadership skills for the future. The participants I worked with now have two concrete foresight tools in their toolbox that can help them break out of their everyday thinking, which was part of the goal.

I also think it is a great example for leaders navigating the complexity of the AI era, that we cannot just focus on the present and our short-term strategy. To truly succeed, we need to shift between multiple perspectives: long and short, technical and social, strategic and operational.

You don’t have to be on the first AI train that leaves the platform. You need to be on the train that leaves for the destination you want to go to.

And leaders who want to stay relevant in an AI-shaped world need to strengthen not just their technical literacy, but their cognitive range: the ability to zoom out, hold multiple perspectives, and make choices that actively shape the future.

How are you preparing?

Anna

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Weekly Recommendations

ONLINE CONTENT and BRAIN HEALTH — Researchers have examined how watching short-form videos (TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts) affects our brains and mental health. Reviewing 71 studies with nearly 100,000 participants, they found that spending more time on these videos is linked to trouble focusing and controlling impulses, as well as higher stress and anxiety. These effects were seen in both young people and adults.

LEADERSHIP and UNCERTAINTY — A recent global CEO survey reveals how business leaders are embracing a new style of leadership shaped by constant uncertainty. Nearly all CEOs (92%) say adaptability is essential, and most see themselves and their teams becoming more prepared than ever to handle unpredictable challenges. 72% are concerned about slowing or stagnant global prosperity, and almost all (97%) believe they can play a role in creating positive change, both within their companies and beyond. Geopolitical instability is viewed as the greatest challenge, and agility, curiosity, and open-mindedness are now considered essential skills for leading successfully.

AI and WORK — PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer shows that AI is boosting, not replacing, human value at work. Analysing nearly a billion job ads worldwide, the report finds that industries using AI see three times higher revenue growth per employee, faster-changing skill requirements, and wages rising twice as fast. Workers with AI skills, like prompt engineering, earn on average 56% more than peers without them. Even highly automatable jobs are benefiting, suggesting AI is enhancing productivity and creating new opportunities rather than simply taking jobs.