This article is a reflection I gather from my working experience as senior leaders in my organization (I have done marketing, sales, finance, etc so have good feel across), contemplating on the company strategic plan for the next 10 years then. I believe these skillsets apply across industries and seniority level, with different mastery level and focus but in general one need to be at skilled level.
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) skillset
While currently these three are specialist skills for role that has ‘advisor, analyst’ to it, as the world embarks on more aggressive energy transition schedule driven by climate change at least partially, the demand for these skill sets to be demonstrated by leadership team has been absolutely strong and emerging in areas previously less required for example finance professional with strong familiarity on sustainability or marketing / HR with good understanding of social investment, etc.
There are recently more Master degree focusing on environmental theme as well as good corporate governance but social investment has been a mainstay in social science. So, if these area of your interest to commit as professional, there are many courses and university that can help you build your credibility. Recently also we see on the rise what is termed sustainable investing, for finance professional who wants to stay relevant, this is a path you may want to consider. Harvard, Insead and Wharton recently launching study opportunities off and online as well as Coursera, even if you want to learn ESG that is relevant for your chosen profession, taking short course 1-8 weeks online on the subject is also good option. With tightening of regulation, funding requirements and as well demand of customers for sustainability credibility, whether you are marketer, supply chain or sales professionals, make sure you invest on ESG for your future.
Digital and Technology
The need to understand digital marketing and as well as ERP for marketing and finance professional are long known. However, the need is critical now for senior leaders to also understand fully on how to capitalize on digital and technology progress as growth key lever, no matter the industry. There will be question on industrialization 4.0 as well pathway toward key ICT (sensors, AR/VR and even drones ) to power growth in your business that you need to answer as part of bankability and viability of your business that can be make or break your source of funding. To response, focus on monetization, innovation and organizational capability development are required as customers become more demanding to help their lifestyle and work demand. Stanford and Columbia have just the right master degree, just like Coursera. There are also the fact that more vacancies are now arise in digital space such as full stack analysts and designers, UI UX interface designers, data scientists, cloud engineers, plus mobile application developers, while you may not need to fully understand the roles and master skill set, but to understand how these roles add values, how they can help you to unlock values, it is absolutely critical.
These are some of the new skillsets I believe critical for the future, there are more of course. Skillset such as leadership and well-being, managing in highly ambiguous environment, critical thinking and innovation are also required and will likely be evaluated. It is time for you to upgrade your credibility with at least some of these skill sets, even if you are short of time on enrolling in courses, reading books or materials are also great way for you to catch up and upgrade. We wish you success in your career development and do let us know if you have any career development questions, amongst three of us, we will try to answer.
#careerplanning #futureskillset #careeradvise #careerreflection #ESGcareerdevelopment #DigitalITcareerdevelopment
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