Intuition
In the modern workplace, data is not enough to tell the full story. To fill the gaps left by incomplete or inaccurate data, professionals must rely on intuition.
Intuition, which is often referred to by people as “gut feeling”, is not an emotion. Confidence is something that one gains through experience and knowledge.
Develop your business intuition by participating in large projects and initiatives.
Project Management
The most important projects require co-workers from multiple departments.
Projects can include product launches, marketing campaigns or software deployment.
Professionals who are successful can manage this type of product. This includes team leadership, budgeting, communication, and time management skills.
Focus
The modern workplace is a distraction. It’s full of meetings, emails, and the latest quarterly reports. For remote workers, it includes social media and the latest pandemic news.
Professionals who can focus on one task for an extended period of times are more productive. People that are unable concentrate on a single task for an extended period tend to make poor decisions and be less creative.
It takes time to learn how to focus. Set up a work environment that will encourage you to concentrate. If you’re in a slump and can’t get motivated, don’t look at your phone or surf the web. Schedule short breaks and avoid checking email when working on one task.
Software comprehension
Most of the tasks you perform on a daily basis will be performed by software. This includes project management software, content management software, customer management software, business intelligence software.
Most companies expect their employees to have a basic understanding of a variety of software. As you gain more knowledge, you’ll be more productive and efficient in your job.
You may not know all the software brands and types that a company uses. As you learn and use more software, you’ll be able easily to pick up other software applications.
What skills can you develop?
All of these skills are interconnected. To solve problems, you need empathy, communication and adaptability. To make good decisions, you need to be able to understand data and use intuition. Both of these require curiosity. You can adapt better to changes in the workplace if you focus on your internal motivations rather than external distractions.
Assess your level of proficiency. Assess which skills you can improve. You’ll improve in other areas as you improve those.
You’re well on your way to being a professional at the workplace of today.
