Globalization, technology, and a new generation of workers are changing the way businesses operate. Research has shown that about one in two of the job descriptions that exist today will disappear in a decade. The future requires managers who are able to adapt to change. They will need new skills, and an ability to function in a workplace where old, rigid hierarchies no longer apply. What follows is a short description of the kinds of new skills that managers will need in the near future.
1. Managers Will Need to Learn Technology Management
Over the next few years, the adoption of technology will only accelerate, to the point that there will be no job unaffected by it. When technology becomes pervasive in places of business, it will create new opportunities and challenges in skill acquisition, job positions, big data management and so on. More than ever before, managers will need to adapt to new technologies well enough to be able to anticipate problems before they appear, and manage the relationships that people have with technology.
2. Managers Will Need New Leadership Skills
With the labor market tightening up in the future, and with millennials taking up important roles, managers will no longer be able to lead in an egocentric way. No longer will it be enough for managers to ask for compliance with their demands, simply because they are managers. Instead, they will need to develop management styles where input from the team is seen to be as important as input from management.
3. Soft Skills Will Be More Important Than Ever
Employees of the future will have a greater need for soft skills such as critical thinking and creative thinking. Over time, managers will need to learn new competence in assessing candidates for their soft skills. These skills will play a more important role in business than ever.
4. Managers Will Need to Become More Results-Oriented
Businesses in the future will focus on obtaining results. It will become less important whether team members work together in the office, or are spread out remotely. Managers will need to develop skills working with members all over the country or the world, focusing on obtaining results, rather than on working a certain number of hours each day.
5. Managers Will Need New Ways to Deal With Diversity
In the near future, managers will deal with workplaces that feature far more diversity than ever before. Teams will consist of workers both remote and local, workers from different cultures and ethnicities, and workers both young and old. Managers will need to learn to work with greater sensitivity to diversity.
6. Transparency Will Become More Important Than Ever
In the future, businesses will no longer be able to keep information under wraps the way they have always been able to do. The salary levels of different employees, for instance, will be harder to keep secret. Managers will need to be able to work in a way that lets them earn the trust of their employees, even while they represent management’s need for secrecy.
7. Managers Will Need Greater Emotional Intelligence
Managers of the future will need to be more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and will need to be comfortable seeking the assistance of employees under them in areas that they are not skilled at. With greater levels of empathy, managers will be able to see things from the point of view of others and ask for help when they see that others are more skilled than they are in different areas.
The future is not far away, and it’s important that businesses help their managers learn the skills that will be essential to the workplaces of the future. Not only will preparing help businesses stay abreast of changes, but it can also help them create a better workplace today.
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