9 Skills Business Leaders Of The Future Will Need

The dean of Executive Education and Global Outreach at Franklin University Switzerland, in Lugano says that leaders who don’t already have this mindset need to ask themselves how they can become a self-transforming leader who embraces the VUCA world, and is comfortable with polarity—"it’s not a skill game, it’s a mindset shift game,” he asserts.

Lori Niles-Hoffman (pictured below), an independent learning strategist, agrees.

She recites a neuroscientist friend of hers, who says we need to train the brain to a level where it’s comfortable with change.  

“But that [comes] with constant exposure, and I think that’s probably the biggest skill [we’ll need] because if you can’t manage that, you won’t be able to keep up,” she says.

3. Empathy

Preserve the human context. That’s what Charles Fouche, professor of entrepreneurship at NEOMA Business School, and ESCP Europe, thinks is necessary for the business leaders of the future.

“It’s much more about environment and ambiance, in the sense of respecting the other and providing him the space and fuel to grow.”

4. Inter-disciplinary learning

“Emotional intelligence is one of the main aspects that we can bring to new people going into the workforce, giving them a cross-disciplinary experience, but also a cross-cultural experience,” says Dave Cass, director of Education and Executive Development at Maastricht School of Management (MSM).

Dave explains that at MSM, almost by osmosis, you learn from your peers from different industries.

“It could be you’re in software development and you hit a problem two years down the track, and something you were told from someone who was a veterinarian could lead you to the right answer.”

5. Control

Gerald Lang, professor at Kedge Business School, in France, believes that any business leader who is an expert in their field also needs to be able to motivate, control, and manage their people.

“Controlling is part of a leader’s work as well, so we shouldn’t be feared to talk about these issues as well.”

6. Coding 

Everyone should take a coding class, says Terence Tse (pictured right), professor at ESCP Europe and cofounder of AI company, Nexus FrontierTech. 

“Unless you really go deep into Python you will probably not end up being a coder, but that’s not the point,” he says. “The point is you should know what Python can do […] and how it can affect your decision making.”

7. Digital detox

“I always suggest people try and do the digital detox. Pick up a damn book, and read, just read a lot,” continues Terence.

“The more time you spend on social media, the more narrowly focused you will be, because you’re always looking at the Facebook pages of the people in your group, or the Whatsapp group of people who are talking about exactly the same thing.”

8. Lifelong learning

Giuseppe Auricchio, executive director of IESEOnline at IESE Business School, says that continuous learning is more than a skill, it’s an attitude.

But, it transcends learning for personal gain. It also requires the ability to pass on information.

“Yes, you can develop the skill of learning, after that you need to develop the skill of teaching—people need to be able to learn, people need to be able to teach,” Giuseppe adds.

9. Cognitive flexibility 

Cedric Borzee (pictured right) learning service director at digital learning solutions provider, Crossknowledge, says he is always quizzed on the skills of the future by his clients.

This year cognitive flexibility has made an appearance—how to learn and how to unlearn in the process.

“Functional skills will remain key, and there the challenge really is to reconnect that to how people apply the skills to their job.

“The lifespan of skills is becoming shorter and shorter, and we will need cognitive flexibility, the ability to continually reskill.”