Originally published on streetwisejournal.com
As artificial intelligence develops greater and deeper capacities for enhancing decision-making and streamlining business operations, employees and prospective candidates need to adapt to keep relevant. While AI is proving very capable of eliminating redundancy, automating tasks, and offering accurate prediction models, research suggests that there are a few areas where AI can’t quite keep up, at least not yet. Chief among those is emotional intelligence, the capacity to control, express, perceive and assess emotion. Essentially, this involves interpersonal skills (i.e., the ability to communicate, empathize, and collaborate with your peers). However, there’s a little more to it. In this article, Daniel Calugar discusses what it will take to remain valuable in the workplace as artificial intelligence claims more and more territory in businesses.
Leadership Skills
A good leader is precious to any business, whether at the upper and mid-level or on the ground floor. While artificial intelligence is making decision-making easier across the board, AI can’t lead. By developing solid leadership skills, you can inspire loyalty from your peers or employees, motivate them, and nurture sustained productivity improvements.
The demonstration of leadership is always impressive, no matter the position you hold or seek. That being the case, it’s necessary for higher ranking, higher salary employees to show their leadership skills and make the high-level decisions that AI cannot.
Communication Skills
Your ability to relate to and communicate with coworkers, supervisors, employees and clients is a gift that cannot be simulated by artificial intelligence. By honing your communication skills, you can better navigate complex relationships, settle disagreements, and maintain professionalism in the workplace.
This is especially valuable regarding clients who won’t be satisfied with a simple chatbot to meet their more complex needs. AI doesn’t know how to discuss the scope of a project, compromise, de-escalate, or resolve disputes.
Creative Skills
Artificial intelligence runs on empirical data, concluding measurable inputs that must then be interpreted and assessed by a capable data analyst. In this way, the emotional intelligence required for creativity is still lacking in AI. The ability to create, innovate, and pursue new ideas and ways of thinking is still under human beings’ purview.
By developing creative skills, you’ll be able to produce work that otherwise could not have been achieved by an algorithm. You may have heard the adage “content is king.” If you can create new content and shape original ideas into something marketable, you will always have value, and your position will be futureproofed.
Leveraging Social Media
With the incredible effects social media can have on a business, more and more companies are encouraging—if not outright expecting—employees to maintain a solid and professional presence on social media platforms. Maintaining a good social media presence can make you an asset capable of representing a business online and in public.
With strong social media skills, you can keep in touch with clientele and make yourself available to address questions and concerns as necessary.