[Please take this poll on your #NewNeed?]
It seems like 2020 turned out to be quite different than planned. It took quite a different turn before it could really kick off properly.
I had quite a lot of time to think the last couple of days. Within a couple of weeks into lockdown, we all realised that this is not going to change and that little of what we know will return to the way we’ve been doing things. We realised that there is no quick fix to this year’s global challenge.
As a Skills Development Facilitator, Facilitator and Accredited Training Provider (SDP) with 10 different SETA Accredited qualifications, I realised that there will be a huge change in the way we operate within the Skills Development Sector and we need to rethink most of our strategies, modes of delivery as well as content.
This led me to ask the question:
“WHAT IS THE #NEWNEED“
Everybody is talking about the New Normal. Something about this statement does not help. Not only do we not know how to wrap our heads around what to expect of the near future, we also do not ‘like’ the word “NORMAL” in this context.
Because:
- if the ‘new normal’ dictates where we can move or who we might visit for months to come, it does not seem ‘normal’.
- if the ‘new normal’ expects us to wear facemasks whenever we are in public, it does not seem ‘normal’
- if the ‘new normal’ restricts the numbers of delegates we may engage in a skills development setting, it restricts our ‘normal’ way of work.
- it the ‘new normal’ forces us to meet our delegates in the virtual space, our current approaches becomes no longer the most relevant skills.
Why do we talk about a New Normal?
I think the reason we are talking about the ‘new normal’ is due to a lack of language to build confidence in our own abilities to cope with the new unknown.
I think we all foresee that within the current context we find ourselves in, we need to identify the skills gaps in our armor of skills required to cope and thrive within our new work and life context. We need to identify the NEW skills we will need to be trained in to fulfill our current responsibilities.
Skills
In a different blog post, we’ve looked at traditional and applied skills. The list below refers: (https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-skills-every-professional-needs-to-have-4150386 ):
| TRADITIONAL SKILLS LIST | APPLIED SKILLS |
|---|---|
| Communication | Advocating for yourself and your causes Asking for help or advice Brainstorming Building buy-in to an idea Business writing Dealing with difficult people Facilitating Handling office politics Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Interviewing Managing a positive relationship with an employer Listening Networking Persuasion Resume writing |
| Public Speaking | Articulation Confidence Creating presentation slides Self-confidence Projection Receiving criticism and feedback Social skills |
| Teamwork | Conflict resolution Relationship building Team building Team management |
| Time Management | Attention to detail Fundamental motivation Meeting deadlines Project management Punctuality Self-starting |
| Leadership | Accountability Budgeting Calm under pressure Coaching Coordinating resources Decision making Goal setting Growth mindset Information gathering Influence Management Mentoring Meeting management Planning Politeness Positivity Prioritization |
| Flexibility | Able to change your mind Analysis Anger management Patience Perceptiveness Problem-solving |
| Personal Skills | Career management Career planning Competency Creative thinking Critical thinking Dressing professionally Emotional intelligence Enforcing boundaries (personal, professional) Ethics Honesty Humility Integrity Patience Perceptiveness Perseverance Persistence Practicality Resilience Respect Self-awareness Self-confidence Self-management Self-promotion Self-regulation Stress management |
Skills Needed in our New Context
Within our current reality, another list of skills exists to stay relevant:
- Innovation initiatives
- Online facilitation skills
- Building engaging pre-recorded PowerPoint presentations
- Effective online meetings
- How to develop or enhance your training content to apply within an online training context
- How to connect with your audience during online engagement
- How do you confirm the authenticity of online assessment submissions
- Practical skills to operate online meetings and training software
There is a need for leaders to apply IT transformation from traditional to relevant through:
- Digital strategies – the ability to guide your organisation from the traditional to a digital future
- Data strategies – the ability to develop a data strategy to drive your organisation from the traditional to a digital future
- Design thinking – to apply the principles of design thinking to place the customer at the core of digital transformation
- Digital transformation despite obstacles in organisations
- Agility – apply agile skills to place your clients at the core of digital transformation
- Customer centred – how to align people, data and technology and lead your organisation through disruption in a digital world
- Digital ethics – understand and apply digital ethics
- … and many more
We therefore need to ask the question:
What is the #NewNeed
rather than trying to figure out a ‘new normal’…
Join Creatividad’s Journey to Discover the #NewNeeds
Join Creatividad on this journey to discover the #NewNeed within the Skills Development Sector.
We all learn the answer to the #NewNeed question as we wake up every morning. For this reason, Creatividad is considering to establish a Membership Option for our clients, experts within the Skills Development Sector as well as any individual who wants to journey with us.
Take time to identify your #NewNeed skills and connect with us. We strive to fill the skills gaps as relevant as they are identified each day!
A Poll on a planned Membership Platform
In order to understand the need, please complete this poll to help us navigate expectations as well as #NewNeeds for this Membership Platform.
