How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of AI

By now, I think we can all agree that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping our professional world. If it hasn’t yet impacted you, rest assured: it will. It’s not a matter of if…it’s when. And the answer is SOON. 

While there tends to be a lot of excitement around this topic, there’s also a fair share of fear and anxiety. I feel it myself, and for good reason! Nearly every day we’re inundated with news of technological advancement in the workplace. It’s only natural to wonder what this means for us, the simple humans of the working world. Where do we belong in this future we’re speeding toward? How do we stay relevant? How can we continue adding value when AI promises to do much of our work faster and better? 

While AI is not yet at optimal efficiency or effectiveness, it’s fast approaching. And we would all be wise to reevaluate our contributions and elevate our skillsets in preparation. 

Here are the top skills that I believe every professional should focus on improving in the coming year. These skills will not only complement your ability to use AI effectively, they will also fill the gaps where AI is lacking.    

1. Technical Agility

Instead of focusing on mastery of any one technical tool, focus instead on developing broad technical agility—the ability to quickly learn and integrate new tools. There’s no sense getting too attached to any specific piece of technology. Everything is fluid and even the most popular and deeply relied upon tool can be replaced at a moment’s notice. 

Your job is to stay curious and get comfortable exploring new tech systems on your own. Gone are the days when employees received multiple days of hands-on training for tech transitions. Now, everyone is responsible for their own learning, and it’s expected to be done quickly. Leverage the many resources at your disposal online and practice productive “play.” The more you use any piece of technology, the less mysterious and intimidating it will feel.  

(If you happen to already be skilled in this area, be sure to support your colleagues as well. This will be an easy and effective way to elevate your visibility and reputation in the workplace of the future!)   

2. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

At present, technology doesn’t understand the depth of human emotion. Empathy, social awareness and tact are all uniquely human skills. While AI can mimic these things (and will perhaps become more proficient in the future), its output often lacks nuance and, without careful engineering, it can sound tone deaf. By applying EQ skills, you can turn the logical language of AI into something much more human. 

Hone your EQ skills by practicing active listening and authentically engaging with your colleagues. Stay mindful of workplace dynamics and maintain professionalism. The strong, trust-based relationships that form between humans can’t be replicated with technology. No matter what the future holds, these relationships will continue to drive our work in deep and meaningful ways. 

Need help? Consider joining the upcoming Business Communication Learning Lab! Learn more and sign up here.    

3. Problem Solving & Decision Making

Tech tools are great at providing data, transforming it into information and analyzing it for patterns. These things certainly help us solve problems and make smart decisions. But technology has a limited perspective; it doesn’t always understand the full context of a situation, and it doesn’t have a conscience. 

For all of these reasons, humans still have a vital responsibility in problem solving and decision-making processes. Technology can support us, and we should absolutely use it as a thought partner, but we have an obligation to apply our uniquely human reasoning as well. 

Leverage technology, analyze the information you receive, evaluate sources critically, ask questions and balance what you learn with your own understanding of context and your personal ethics. Without human oversight, I fear our tech overlords would not make the best decisions on our behalf and would likely create more problems than they solve.  

Need help? Consider joining the upcoming Problem Solving & Decision Making Learning Lab! Learn more and sign up here.   

 4. Strategic Thinking

While AI can execute tasks, it doesn’t always understand the big picture behind why those tasks are necessary. Technology needs our understanding and awareness to ensure the work being done supports broader organizational goals and doesn’t disrupt, conflict with, or duplicate work being done in other areas. Technology can certainly improve our processes, but it works best when we know the improvement we’re seeking and can provide clear guidelines for how it should be implemented—and that requires strategic thinking.  

You can develop strategic thinking skills by exploring how different parts of your organization are interconnected and by expanding your overall business acumen. With a greater depth of understanding, you’ll be able to leverage AI and other tech tools for more advanced work, and you’ll be equipped to critically evaluate what it’s doing.   

Need help? Consider joining the upcoming Business Acumen & Strategic Thinking Learning Lab! Learn more and sign up here.   

Perhaps the most important thing we have to remember is that all of this modern technology is designed to enhance our abilities, not completely replace them. We must learn how to be active, thinking participants in the process. If we get lazy and expect technology to do the thinking for us, we will inevitably be disappointed by the results. 

I believe the technological advancements we’re seeing require us, as humans, to advance in equal measure. We must advance our own skills and abilities to ensure the tools are used effectively and responsibly. Only then will be able to truly work in harmony with technology, without fear.  

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