Whatever your career situation is right now, with 76% of surveyed employees looking for career growth opportunities and 68% claiming that training and development is the most important company policy, it’s evident lifelong learning and skills development is a priority for everyone.

Focus on soft skills during your early to mid-career phase

As you spend more time in your role and move towards your mid-career point, employers will start to become more interested in your soft skills.

According to The Flux Report by Right Management, ‘91% of HR directors think that, by 2018, people will be recruited based on their ability to deal with change and uncertainty.’ On top of that, 60% of HR directors identified employee resilience as key to enabling organisations to achieve their strategic objectives.

These statistics point to adaptability and self-motivation being key soft skills for any employee to develop – skills that will not only impact an employee’s professional development, but also impact an organisation’s bottom line.

Three additional soft skills that are highly valued by employers include leadership ability, likeability, and the ability to get things done.

Moving up into management requires people skills

At this stage of your career, two important skills to develop that will have a massive impact on how you lead a team, are your project management skills and your coaching communication skills.

Why will a project management skill set make you a better leader?

Your ability to navigate a project holistically is vital for being able to guide your team’s contribution towards the subtasks involved. You need to be confident of how to manage project deadlines, deploy the right resources to ensure project success and ensure your team is able to work productively and successfully.

How do coaching communication skills contribute to your management role?

Communication skills are a necessity throughout the company – for management and team member – but managers specifically need to use their communication skills for the purpose of mentoring and coaching their team. A manager may find someone on their team has strong technical expertise, but lacks in interpersonal abilities. In this scenario, it’s the role of the manager to work with the individual on this specific deficiency in order to grow them professionally.

Gain strategic skills in senior management

In order for an organisation to stay ahead of the game in the workplace of the future, CEOs and senior leaders need to develop strategic skill sets that will prepare them to lead their organisation in an innovative and productive way.

Boris Groysberg, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School surveyed several dozen top senior search consultants at a lofty global executive-placement firm to find out what skills executives need to be successful in the future. Here are the top 7 soft skills skills a senior leader should have, in order to prepare for the workplace of the future:

1. Leadership
2. Strategic thinking and execution
3. Team-and relationship-building
4. Communication and presentation
5. Change-management
6. Integrity

Retirement is an opportunity to learn something new

According to research, nearly three out of five retirees launch into a new line of work after retirement and 40% of people aged 55-plus are working.

If this is the stage you’re in, consider taking up a new hobby, or learn a new skill, that could end up making you money, such as :

• Becoming a photographer
• Starting a business
• Writing a book

Makes you think…