Competencies of the Future Report
Building on our previous report on the future of work, we are pleased to publish a report on the competencies needed to thrive in a changing world and how to develop them.
The report contributes to the ongoing conversation about future-proofing white-collar professionals in two ways. First, rather than narrowly asking what competencies are crucial for career success, we identify the competencies that prepare individuals to adapt to and thrive in periods of change. These complementary competencies are:
Content area expertise to drive research innovation or provide critical humanitarian services
Social and emotional competencies to adapt to and thrive during social change and its emotional fallout
Cognitive, especially metacognitive, competencies to make sense of a complex social reality and identify a purposeful path forward
Interpersonal competencies to collaborate with people of different backgrounds, values, norms, and priorities to make things happen
Ethics competencies to serve the common good
In addition, we offer action items that professionals can implement today to develop these competencies, as well as a discussion of what society collectively needs to do to ensure equitable outcomes. We arrive at a preliminary conclusion that social capital will be a crucial ingredient for competency development. Currently, social capital is often regarded as a life outcome rather than an input needed for successful outcomes. Moving forward, a resource-neutral pathway might increasingly look like connecting individuals with experienced mentors and advisors who can model competencies and guide their development.
Our analysis reinforces a theme that we surfaced in the Future of Work Report. That is, although white-collar professionals are conventionally considered as a group with significant knowledge and resources in certain domains, the large-scale workforce transformation will likely leave many of them unprepared. Peer support from within the white-collar workforce will likely have limited impact; collective political action to shift federal, state, and local policy and funding priorities will be a more sustainable solution.
The days when professionalism meant political neutrality are gone. Moving forward, professional work is political work.
Looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
