21 Secrets of Supercharging Your Career Growth

Let us have a look at the most important skill sets which will form the backbone of the modern Work-force along with Technical competence in advanced technologies:

The modern workspace is changing very rapidly. Typical tools of work in these environments are digital files of different types, different applications catering to information gathering, processing, management, applications catering to enhance the efficiency of the employees, applications used for corporate or professional communication, applications used for tracking, monitoring, and supervising progress of different work-related activities, etc.

Mere technical knowledge of a specific area of work like accountancy or sales or purchase or technical skills of designing and producing high-quality products is not going to suffice the work profile demands. A lot of different skillsets and efforts will be an essential part of delivering modern day key role assignments of the workforce.

Let us understand what these skills are and how are they going to help us navigate rapidly changing workplaces:

1. Document Management

In a modern workspace, the majority of the business communication and collaboration will be revolving around sharing information in the form of digital files and documents.

Most of the job profiles need an understanding of the entire ecosystem of digital files, applications/software used for creating, storing, managing, securing, analyzing, reporting these digital files, and multiple user interfaces used to access relevant data in these digital files.

Very limited work profiles will be based on manual labor and with nothing to do with digital data. We are working towards improving literacy rates across the globe, but a large number of people still are illiterate.

Especially voice services made possible by these telecom devices like mobile phones or information kiosks in rural areas have reduced a great deal of effort and time for these disadvantaged people who could not write or read. A completely new way of finding information that was hitherto available only for the people who could read or write is transforming the way people are working.

Hence understanding the complete lifecycle of data will prove an extremely important advantage to the people. It will help reduce the time to decision, time lost in execution due to poor communication, and errors in the analysis of the data.

2. Project Delivery and Execution

The ability of an individual to work in a team towards delivering a project of any kind and size by working together, collaborating is an important skill set. The project can be a business project or a social project. In a modern workplace, an individual will have to understand and learn to use the processes and systems put in place by organizations to improve coordination and teamwork towards successful and timely execution of the deliverables.

Delegation of work, follow-up of the activities, and interdepartmental coordination backed up by strong technical knowledge will largely make or break new digital workplace success stories.

Employees of tomorrow will have to don both the hats of an individual performer and a strong team player.

3. Prioritization, Attention to Detail

Proliferation of the Internet and smart devices have exposed us to technology 24 hours of the day. We are bombarded continuously with more and more data. Social networking is dumping mostly irrelevant data on us.

This continuous barrage of data is distracting us from our core set of duties and responsibilities. Our capacity to process the data and make well-informed decisions has not necessarily increased in the proportion of this deluge of data. Hence our capacity to complete our tasks by focusing on a particular set of activities without getting distracted is getting hampered seriously.

The skill of deciding which stream of data is important for us and focusing on these streams to complete the tasks and blocking other disturbances is a very important tool of enhancing our productivity. Managing our time and attention by prioritizing tasks/objectives and completing them efficiently within a stipulated timeframe is the most in-demand skill set today. This skill set can be supported or improved by methods like Mindfulness.

Lack of this skillset will certainly prove to be the biggest weakness of an individual not only from an employability perspective but also from personal growth and success angle.

4. Communication

Communication skills is a very important and well-discussed topic to date. Verbal and Non-verbal communication plays an extremely important role in achieving personal and professional goals. Along with traditional ways of communication, digital communication is becoming a very important tool in the modern workplace.

Most of the communication taking place between an employee and his employer or customer is taking place in the form of emails or telephonic calls or video-conferences.

Lack of this skillset will certainly prove to be the biggest weakness of an individual not only from an employability perspective but also from personal growth and success angle. Hence effective and timely communication with the clients or other stakeholders will shape the relationship between the client and the business.

5. Netiquettes / Digital Etiquettes

Etiquettes are socially acceptable norms of behavior.

In the global workplace of today and tomorrow, most of the interactions that will take place will be in the form of Emails or Telephonic calls, or video-conferences. Due to time and distance constraints, it will not be practical and economical to meet all the people face to face all the time. Hence most of the people who will be interacting with us will judge us or form an opinion about us by observing our emails and telephonic calls.

Our personality and characters are judged by social and personal etiquettes by default. An important addition of one more form of etiquette which can build or destroy our image/reputation or brand is Netiquettes or Digital Etiquettes.

Let us understand what these digital etiquettes are:

Internet and modes of fast transportation have bought us together at a very fast pace. We no longer have to wait for sending or receiving messages from our loved ones or colleagues. Internet or Intranet is our new Society. Netiquette refers to the socially acceptable rules of communication and behavior when we are communicating with each other on the internet. New hubs of social interactions are emails, blogs, online portals, social networking sites, etc.

Let us start with the basic steps:

Ø Very important aspect of writing emails is their timing. We should avoid writing emails when we are under tremendous pressure or stress. Under such circumstances, we tend to respond emotionally rather than practically and the message can get misinterpreted due to a lack of complete attention while writing the emails.

Ø Emails should be responded promptly.

Ø Mails should be self-explanatory

Ø The subject line should reflect the message of the email. A long and complicated subject line tends to confuse the recipient. People tend to ignore emails with unclear subject lines.

Ø Emails should start with formal greetings

Ø Be crisp. Lengthy emails need a lot of time to read. Lengthy emails are ignored and the actual message gets lost. The intention of writing the email gets defeated.

Ø Basic grammatical mistakes such as punctuation marks, capital letters should be avoided. Capital letters should be used sparingly only to highlight the most critical words and points.

Ø Never deviate from the topic. Addressing multiple topics in a single email should be avoided.

Ø Typical guidelines of creating paragraphs, avoiding long sentences, using bullet-point should be followed.

Ø All the relevant stakeholders should be marked in the emails.

Ø All official emails should have signatures at the bottom. We tend to assume that the recipient knows our contact details. But making them handy doesn't hurt. Signature should include name, contact numbers, email ID, and designation. Signatures with wrong information should be strictly avoided.

Ø Emails are documented proofs. We should avoid writing offensive or abusive emails.

Ø Some companies have fixed font styles for email communications. It helps maintain uniformity in organizational communication. Fancy fonts, sizes, and colors should be avoided.

Ø Keep the emails restricted to concerned personnel only. Adding irrelevant people in the email is not recommended due to information security reasons besides wastage of time.

Ø All the emails marked to you should be replied. The person sending you an email expects at least acknowledgment of receipt of the message. Very frequently, people don't read all the emails due to whatever reasons and brag about their busy schedules. It is a complete lack of seriousness and time management. By not reading emails, we are implying that your emails are of no value to me.

Ø The language and the tone of the email should be polite and formal. Short forms and abbreviations should be avoided when recipients are from different departments or backgrounds.

Ø Avoid personal comments in official email communications.

Ø Avoid attaching heavy files in emails. Downloading them consumes a lot of bandwidth. Use other media like CD or USB drives or wireless local area networks for such large size file transfers.

Ø Information Security aspects of email communications are very critical. Email exchanges are the main source of online security threats such as malware, spam emails, phishing attempts, and virus infections.

6. Telephone Etiquettes:

After understanding about Netiquettes, let us now go through Telephone Etiquettes

Telephonic conversations make keeping in touch and doing business both efficient and easy. Whether at the office, in transit, or at home, we use it to keep in touch with colleagues, make meeting arrangements, or broker business deals. Displaying proper telephone etiquette is an essential part of setting yourself ahead of other job seekers.

Telephonic conversation skills are important for everybody irrespective of his age or education of profession or background.

Let us have a look at some of the basic etiquettes while using the telephone:

ü Answering the phone after two or three rings with a friendly business-like greeting is a better way of starting a conversation.

ü The posture of the body is very important while talking on the phone. If you can stand up straight and have a gentle smile on your face while talking on the phone, Callers can hear your pleasantness, cheerfulness, and eagerness to do sincere business with him, even if they can't see you.

ü If answering the phone for a colleague. Get the name of the caller before transferring the call or handing it over to the recipient. If the recipient is busy and is expected to take more than 30 seconds, inform the caller about the same and ask him if can hold or he is ok with the recipient calling him back once he is free.

ü If you answer the phone for someone else, there is no need to explain why he or she can’t answer the phone. Simply say that your colleague is away from his or her desk or the office.

ü Don’t talk with food or gum in your mouth.

ü Speak clearly and slowly.

ü Most phones have voice mail. Make sure your message for incoming calls sounds professional. Example: Hello, you’ve reached Neelesh Kajale. I’m not available to take your call. Please leave your name and number after tone and I’ll return your calls as soon as possible. Please make sure to return the calls, once you are available.
ü If you will be out of the office for an extended period. Change your voice mail message to give callers instructions on alternate ways to reach you or your colleague or your boss who can take care of your business in your absence.

ü When making calls, introduce yourself right away so the recipient knows whom they are talking with. Example: “Hello, this is Neelesh Kajale calling. Is Mr. Andrew Bale available?”

ü When leaving a message, speak slowly. Repeat your name so that the recipient has time to write it down without replaying the message.

ü Speak directly into the mouthpiece. Using a headset is a better option if you have to use a computer or any other device while having a conversation.

ü If someone walks into your office while you’re talking on the phone, ask the caller if you may put him/her on hold briefly.

ü Don't place the handset or mobile phone on the desk without disconnecting the call or without putting the call on hold. There is a chance of the person on the call listening to your conversation while he is on the call.

ü Screening the calls is important sometimes. If we are required to ask who is calling or what the nature of the call is, we need to be aware of our tone of voice. Screening calls results in offending the caller sometimes, if not handled properly.

ü Taking phone messages should cover the name of the person for whom the message is left. Caller's name, company department, and number. Date and time of the call, Message to be given, action to be taken such as "Pls call” or “Urgent”. Point also to be noted is understanding his availability to attend the call. Critical part is to deliver the message as soon as possible with all the relevant details while maintaining confidentiality.

ü If we have to leave a message on a voice mail, leave the message with the information such as your name, department and contact number, date and time with the message including a good time to reach you.

ü For closing the conversation, thank the caller for taking the time and calling. Summarize the actionable and follow up timeframes and deadlines. Thank them for calling and say "Goodbye".

ü The basic underlying telephone etiquette is Courtesy. If the caller is a potential customer and we are courteous to him, we have an excellent chance of gaining a new client. If he is an existing client, we'll keep him for life. On the other hand, if we fail to be courteous to people, there are very high chances of losing the person without any further deliberations.

7. Information Gathering and Screening

Digital information about every subject is available on the internet. Skills required for the modern workforce are to gather authentic information from trusted sources like the internet or company internal databases.

Huge amount of archived digital data is available across internet sites and depositories. The skill is knowing where to search for the relevant data and how to glean the information from the available raw information.

In the age of information overload, without the information gathering and screening skills, we cannot effectively and efficiently tap into a mountain of digital data and make sure that the outcome is authentic, relevant, and dependable information that can be used for decision making.

8. Modern Business Tools Literacy

Modern businesses are based on different tools used for automating business processes, to increase productivity and quality of the products and services. Multiple applications, software, operating systems, hardware devices are part of this vast setup.

For a modern employee, to be successful in this complex web of different technologies and devices, he or she must have an understanding of how all these things work together and their dependencies. Lack of understanding of these business systems will prove to be a serious handicap for people to start with.

9. Security, Privacy, And Action Accountability

Security threats to businesses are increasingly sophisticated and business losses due to these attacks are very heavy. The most common reason for a security breach is Human error. Lack of awareness about how proprietary data and company intellectual property needs to be protected is causing the most severe damage to the businesses.

Lack of Security and Privacy awareness is making businesses bleed money worldwide. Businesses are taking various steps to monitor and report security breaches so that concerned persons can be held accountable for their careless actions.

Awareness of security, privacy-related standard guidelines will be an added skill that will certainly help us get better job and employment opportunities.

10. Assertiveness & Independence

To be assertive is to understand that everyone has basic human rights that should be respected and upheld. We need a balance between responding passively and behaving aggressively. Responding passively may result in such rights being neglected or ignored, whereas behaving aggressively will abuse the rights of others.

11. Diplomacy

Knowing what to say and what not to say with a keen sense of timing can help us avoid conflict and hurtful feelings. Tact and Diplomacy help you achieve your goals while maintaining good relations.

12. Global Outlook

It is about developing necessary skillsets and behavioral patterns to match Global standards and performance requirements without losing our basic strengths and objectives. It helps us build confidence to work in global businesses and seize opportunities.

As cultural and business complexity increases so does the demand for a global mindset. The global outlook is the ability to influence individuals, groups, and organizations that have different intellectual, social belief systems and work ethics from our own. We must improve our understanding of local and cultural differences. It requires recognizing situations in which demands from both global and local elements are compelling while being aware of the diversity across cultures and markets.

Economic development activity is shifting globally. The availability of skilled personnel and the shift of knowledge-based industries are changing the business dynamics. Corporate and industrial geographical limitations are getting blurred. In these changing circumstances, we should be open to global ideas and ways of implementing them.

13. Situational Awareness

Situational awareness refers to real-time information about what’s happening in and around a given facility/campus/enterprise. Considering the local and global security threats and situations, we must train ourselves to be aware of one's surroundings and identifying potential threats and dangerous situations.

It is more of a mindset than a hard skill. Because of this, situational awareness is not something that can be practiced only by highly trained government agents or specialized corporate security teams. Indeed, it can be exercised by anyone with the will and the discipline to do so. Situational awareness is not only important for recognizing terrorist threats, but it also serves to identify criminal behavior and other dangerous situations.

14. Collaboration

With the expansion of the information-service sector of the economy and the flattening of organizational hierarchies, interpersonal competencies such as oral communication, written communication, and the ability to collaborate, are becoming more and more important to employers.

Collaboration is a necessary skill which is the ability to relate well to others, the ability to cooperate, and the ability to manage and resolve conflicts.

Collaboration is bringing the right people to the right projects at the right time. Competitive advantage is increasingly tied to collaborative advantage.

It is the use of technology to impact workforces across the globe in the ways such as to make knowledge available when needed by whosoever regardless of their physical location, to provide for teleconferencing, videoconferencing, meetings, and application sharing by the team in far-flung corners of the world.

15. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Critical thinking and Problem Solving are about making decisions under severe constraints. It is about evaluating multiple solutions and methods of handling specific situations along with the ability to troubleshoot things when they go wrong.

16. Creativity & Innovation

Innovation and creativity are new requirements of the modern workforce who are championing business in global markets. Many of us in the past may have been highly successful in some markets, but we are facing completely different challenges in today's emerging ones for which we are not prepared, maybe.

Only by bringing our knowledge, skills, and experiences together, can today's workforce hope to successfully navigate the complexity of the modern workplace. This requires us to be anything but traditional. We need to be flexible, creative, willing to change, and in fact, desire change and innovation.

Globalization requires creativity. Creativity requires deep knowledge of one area and broad knowledge of many others—plus the ability to see patterns and combine different elements in new ways. It thrives best among people who can think out of the box for path-breaking solutions.

17. Self Sufficiency

Self-sufficiency is being able to take responsibility for one's future and acting in self-directed, self-sufficient ways.

18. Cross-Cultural Understanding

Organizations with a genuinely global mindset, hold their employees accountable for inclusiveness. Such organizations ensure that their people are exposed to international issues and situations.

Understanding how to work with culturally diverse workplaces is one of the new assets global leaders must develop. Not only cultural diversity but also employing more women in executive positions, attracting and motivating the most talented members of different backgrounds and cultures. We need to respect social beliefs and work ethics.

19. Social Skills & Intelligence

Understanding the socially acceptable behavioral patterns helps in developing more acceptable characteristics. It also helps us in avoiding getting into anti-social movements and activities. It helps us think rationally and avoid troublesome people and situations. We can use this skill to channelize our resources and energies for constructive work.

20. PHYSICAL HEALTH

Physical Activity

Physical activity is the backbone of our good health. Automation and various gadgets have made our life very easy and lazy. We are using a large number of devices to get our personal, official, or social tasks or jobs completed. The biggest household culprits behind the laziness are TVs, their remote controls, Computers, mobile phones, tablets, cars, motorbikes.

Modern businesses are leaving no stones unturned to make us lazier by delivering everything from grocery to video games at home. Now we are talking about smart homes and smart offices supported by Artificial Intelligence, wherein depending on our choices and habits all the relevant work in these houses and offices will be taken care of by these Autobots.

I understand Homo Erectus is extinct human species. He was an upright man with a strong backbone. Our modern way of life is sedentary. Our work is sedentary. Our transport is sedentary, our recreation is sedentary, our sports are sedentary, and our education is sedentary. We are taking this whole fad of a sedentary lifestyle to epic proportions.

I hope, our era in human evolution doesn't end up being labeled as extinct "Homo Sedentarus". We have acquired heart disease, diabetes, back pain, high blood pressure, Osteoporosis, and Depression as a result of our love for a comfy chair.

Processed, Unseasonal & Extremely Fast Food

Our dietary habits are getting transformed across the globe. Rapid globalization, faster transportation facilities, scientific inventions used for preserving and storing food items over a long period are resulting in easy availability of a variety of food items, fruits, vegetables across the globe.

We are ditching our traditional dietary habits and cooking methods while adopting new cooking methods and food items. There is nothing wrong with these cooking methods or food items, we need to understand if these cooking methods and food items are adding nutrients to our diet or they are just plain and simple fast food items. We are getting used to convenience foods to minimize the time required to procure and prepare food. We are not taking a long-term view of these eating habits and the potentially bad effects it can have on our health. These unnatural food habits are resulting in a wide range of health issues including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression.

21. MENTAL HEALTH

Cluttered Mind and Polluted Surroundings

Stress is one of the biggest factors behind declining health conditions across the globe. Stress is playing havoc with the mental and physical health of an individual. Stress-related diseases have grown exponentially and are affecting all sections of society and age groups.

Air pollution and water pollution are the biggest contributors to the decline in the health of society. Air pollution caused by motor vehicles or forest fires or by the industrial toxic exhaust is causing chronic respiratory diseases. Water pollution is caused due to contamination and discharge of industrial waste directly into water sources. Water being the primary physical need, the effects of water pollution are extremely dangerous.

Diseases caused by stress and pollution are heart-related disease, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers.

Categories: : Non-Fiction