In addition to its importance in the market, this term has acquired more skills and a new name: power skills, which is what we will cover in this article.
Soft Skills are the skills that are sought in professionals in general. This term has been around for a long time and you may have heard of it.
For a professional in the technology area, for example, it is much easier to exercise a technical competence than a behavioral competence, but the time when the professional was only in front of the computer is long gone. Today companies are increasingly looking at the behavior of their employees - and these too, as these skills make a difference in their careers.
These skills gained so much importance in the market, that this term acquired more skills and a new name: power skills, which is what we will cover in today's article.
What is and what are Power Skills?
Soft skills were defined as a counterpoint to hard skills. Today the definition of Power Skills is based on the result of experience and development of these two important concepts.
The combination of these developed skills ends up being a watershed between a professional and the most refined technician the one who, in addition to technical knowledge, has other good skills to offer, such as leadership, personal development, strategic thinking, and communication, which ends up differentiating the professional.
Leadership
Leadership is a skill that has become a priority for companies, as they increasingly need professionals to lead and motivate teams.
Leadership development is for all employees, not just those with slightly higher positions, as it happens that many “informal” leaders who do not have a sophisticated job title are influential at work.
Some people are born with personalities that facilitate this spirit of leadership, but with knowledge and practice, you can develop these skills.
Communication
Knowing how to communicate well and relate to team members, customers and other people involved in the project is essential. This is in line with the previous topic because generally, people with well-developed communication skills tend to become leaders, due to their versatility in dealing with people of different behavioral profiles.
Problems solution
Being one of the most sought-after skills in the market, be a professional problem solver, not one who runs from them. Here we also have the famous concept of proactivity, when the professional sees the problem as an opportunity to learn something new while solving it.
To awaken this skill, you must be curious, see the situation from different points of view, and listen to others. However, in addition to the ability to analyze a picture, it is also necessary to be ready to make a decision in the best possible way.
Overall view
This skill is one of the main ones on the list: the ability to see beyond what is shown. It is more focused on soft skills, but it can be developed with the help of training and good mentors.
Do self-management
Over the years, we have seen how remote work has made it possible for professionals to work from wherever they are so that they can plan, execute and control their daily tasks, assuming more responsibilities and delivering more results on their own.
But self-management is a joint effort, it depends on both the professional and the organization. When successful, many advantages can be obtained, such as increased agility, for example.
Therefore, knowing how to self-management has proved to be a strong differential for the future of work that we already see today.
Emotional intelligence
What makes a professional grow in a company is not just technique, but above all skills. For this, every professional needs to focus on emotional intelligence. She is the one who makes a meeting flow better, socialization, alignment during a call, and the home office as a whole.
In addition, in this context, the person manages to deal with difficult and pressured situations in the best possible way, even when he is taken by surprise. Therefore, it is important to have a well-developed emotional intelligence to face all challenges, both at work and in everyday situations.
Reading future scenarios
Among the already known skills like the ones we saw above, a new core competence has emerged: reading future scenarios. This is the ability to build and analyze scenarios, based on analysis and anticipate, making good decisions about how to reduce impacts or avoid problems.
Futures literacy teaches how to build scenarios and deal with unpredictability. When reflecting on trends and defining structured actions, reading scenarios about the future is an approach that places the leader in the role of a builder of possibilities.
Creativity
Ability to interpret critical scenarios and use creativity to come up with innovative solutions. It is creativity that allows us to innovate and seek improvements and solutions in all fields of business. You can develop and/or enhance creativity with a lot of studies and learning from experiences.
Productivity
You may have already seen a phrase that says more or less the following: “productivity is not working 12 hours a day, but doing your work every 8 hours”. And that's exactly it: productivity isn't working tons of hours every day.
With employees continuing to work from home or moving to a hybrid working world, productivity is more critical than ever.
Welfare
Well-being is valuing your mental health, needs that have changed dramatically since the beginning of the global pandemic, where this became more talked about.
So managing stress, getting a good night's sleep, good nutrition, and leisure time are important. Well-being happens during and after the workday. It's about ensuring that you have a personal and professional life that intertwines.
In conclusion…
Power skills are skills that are not just nice to have, they are essential skills for an ever-changing work environment.
Here we address some of the most current skills that have been talked about in recent times - even more so in the post-pandemic. Therefore, knowing, understanding, improving, and developing these skills are essential for constant professional growth.
