Soft Skills Playbook for the AI Era
As noted on MSN recently, LinkedIn’s president Ryan Roslansky has acknowledged that soft skills are integral to success in the future, including AI(*). Obviously, with AI on the horizon and in our laps right now, we might seriously consider shifting our ways of thinking, doing and reacting. It’s time, and it has been so for quite a while, for us to work for a more creative future, not of limiting thought and debate. This means a future where conversations, systems development, problem solving, interactions of any kind, including relationships, are viewed as a composite, a whole, not pieces on a battlefield.
Webster’s Dictionary defines composite as “made up of several parts or elements”(**). Imagine a conversation as a “blended” experience. Not something we see that much of because we’ve tended, as humans, to lead with an “I Know” approach. With “I Know” leading, we end up with a “My Idea vs Your Idea” experience, often with everyone settling with less, not more.
Am I seeing this wrong? Let’s look to communication scientist and leader Deborah Tannen. From her book, The Argument Culture: Stopping America’s War of Words(***): “…in Western culture in general, and in the United States in particular, …our spirits are corroded by living in an atmosphere of unrelenting contention—an argument culture.”
When debate is considered a normal way to work in our world, then opinion, discord, contention and adversity rule us. In my article on Medium.com, Coming Alongside Others suggests an inclusive approach to work together for everyone’s benefit (****). We’ve found — in crisis management work and our systems development endeavors—coming from understanding and collaboration works much better than inflicting an “I Know Better” approach.
Since 1984, the S.H.A.R.E.® Tools have helped us revolutionize our approach to client success. Available for business and personal use, the Tools help everyone to rise above the challenge of a play off to create a “working together” environment. (S.H.A.R.E.® is a registered trademark of Revolutionary Conversations, LLC.)
Historically, many have become accustomed to a stand-off (at “High Noon”) as the supposedly effective manner to resolve differences or introduce new ways to do things. The “prove your point” method can shift to Where do my ideas fit in for creating something even better together? The S.H.A.R.E.® Tools bring a creative, collaborative and effective way to be more than just a step above compromise to a point where all parties are in a “Beyond WIN/WIN™” environment.
By mutually contributing information, perspectives, ideas, experience, we can compose different ways to discover how to deal with what and where we’ve found ourselves. In this process, we’ve found it best to resist using the concept of “The Solution” or “The Answer”. Best, to create reasonable environments where accepting the most appropriate and agreed upon steps forward works, understanding that we may need to course-correct a bit later. This tends to work exceptionally well. Not a Solution per se but a modified way, more effective, to do things or be, (*****)
If you would like to experience communication skills at a more effective level, please consider our book, “Revolutionary Conversations: The Tools You Need for the Success You Want” at https://revolutionaryconversations.net/reviews/
If you would like to consider additional views of AI and soft skills, you might review one of our Always Creating Value® Podcasts. We shared and promoted successes that technology has had including changes and benefits; clearly there seemed a need for a bit more humanity in the equation. Please link panel of IT and AI experts: https://estowemanagement.com/it-ai-experts-discuss/
If you would like a stronger platform for your career and personal life, our students over the years have found that being more inclusive and Coming Alongside Others has materially helped their world. How about you?? Please consider a testimonial:
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“Only buy Revolutionary Conversations® if you are stuck in the rut of feeling misunderstood and lonely. You keep trying to connect with others in the workplace, or even the car wash, and you just can’t seem to be accepted. What’s revolutionary about Revolutionary Conversations® is the simple protocol used to embrace in conversation with anyone. Using these simple steps has vastly improved my ability to connect with, and influence, others.”
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Now, possibly more than ever in our history, we need to focus on communication – how we have conversations that move us forward — even when we are stressed beyond belief. Revolutionary Conversations™ and the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools will give you a platform to develop soft skills and a roadmap to navigate any conversation. From the shop floor to the board room, from the office to the living room, these simple, elegant Tools, will help you build consensus and solve problems, create effective teams, increase engagement with employees, family and friends.
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(*) “In an interview with the “Tools and Weapons” podcast, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said AI is automating routine tasks: the shift is elevating 4 human-centered skills — curiosity, courage, communication, compassion.… the shift is elevating 4 human-centered skills — curiosity, courage, communication, compassion. “The focus and emphasis on those, along with the AI, is what I think gives us the opportunity to dream big and paint a much more positive picture that exists with humans and technology together moving forward.” As AI handles more automated responsibilities, “agents can free up time for coworker conversations, putting a greater premium on communication, judgment, emotional intelligence.” MSN
(**) “Composite: made up of several parts or elements: “this soup is one of those composite dishes that you gradually build up”. Merriam Webster online
(***) Published by Ballantine Books, copyright© 1998, The Argument Culture by Deborah Tannen
(****) Medium.com, Mark H. Fowler, October 26, 2020. Coming Alongside Others, Shifting from Discord to Dialogue Helps Us Live Together in Harmony. https://markfowler-24938.medium.com/coming-alongside-others-bf28e9975097
(*****) An additional input on “The Solution” or “The Answer”—using them as a focus limits the ability to discover “What Happened”. The first inclination has to be to understand, not assume and automatically reach for “The Fix”. I’ve helped turnaround many situations, businesses, etc. and none of them were solved by a single answer. There was nobody, in general, to blame—hold accountable maybe but not blame. What was discovered most was a trail of misunderstandings and missteps through-out. This can be the same for what seems like a simple difference of opinion to a business-wide challenge. Focus on “What Happened” and the S.H.A.R.E.® Tools can help.