The COVID-19 pandemic disturbed the economic infrastructure worldwide and altered the way that businesses and corporations work. As businesses resume their normal business operations and new opportunities emerge, it’s becoming clear that companies must quickly adapt and transition to new strategies and specific skill sets that’ll become crucial for their company’s success in this post-pandemic era.
Wondering what these skill sets are? In this article, we’ll explore some of the most essential post-pandemic skills that every business and employee should consider having to flourish in a post-COVID world.
5 Top Skills Required to Succeed in a Post-Pandemic Business World
1. Leadership and Management Skills
As business landscapes change, strong leadership skills are vital to keep businesses afloat. Unlike a common belief, strong leadership skills are not restricted to managing and supervising others. Today’s situation demands that effective leadership involves the ability to communicate visions and strategies while motivating employees to produce their best work.
This also includes the ability to handle crises. Acting quickly, providing perspective, pinpointing issues, and knowing how to adapt to different situations are some ways to improve your crisis management skills.
2. Technological Savviness
Working from home is very likely to remain an option even after the pandemic passes. With many working from home with no IT professionals nearby, staff must be technologically competent to not only connect with team members on Google Meet or Zoom, but also to use spreadsheets, create presentations, run software, and conduct basic troubleshooting to manage their workflow.
In addition to that, the pandemic has increased the demand for specialized digital skill sets to help businesses align with today’s diverse technologies and platforms. You don’t need to know about every single system or platform available, but having some data literacy and knowledge of programming, big data, AI, and more will give your business an advantage over the competition in a post-pandemic world.
3. Flexibility and Adaptability
The pandemic is an excellent example of how things can evolve overnight. With trends and marketplace changes, one needs to be flexible, adaptable, and responsive. This includes having an open mind, working well under pressure, adapting to sudden deadlines, and pivoting faster than ever.
It’s vital to learn, unlearn, and relearn so that you can bounce back from hard times and do better. Resilience is another essential skill to survive and succeed in a post-COVID world.
4. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking and problem-solving are top soft skills to cope with unexpected challenges. Since the market is on a constant roller coaster ride, it’s essential to have the ability to evaluate the situation and make informed decisions accordingly.
A strong analytical thinker does not blindly follow market trends. Instead, they evaluate information and ask relevant questions to determine the most adequate course of action.
5. Communication
After two years of stress, loss, and isolation, there is a genuine need for human connection. Hence, strong communication skills are important. Effective communication and empathy can boost your employees’ and colleagues’ morale and create stronger team bonds.
Furthermore, with many people working from home, clarity in e-mails and virtual meetings can play a crucial role in boosting productivity. Providing frequent updates and being open to feedback is also necessary to cement trust.
By developing your public speaking skills, you can become a more effective communicator in both your personal and professional life. There are plenty of resources available, including books, public speaking coaching and training programs, that can help improve your skill of expressing yourself clearly and confidently and to connect with your audience.
Meet Mike Norton, an Entrepreneur Who Possesses the Skill Sets Stated Above and More
To fulfill his childhood dream of developing futuristic technological designs, Mike Norton needed to learn physics and different subfields of engineering.
After serving in the US military, he enrolled in the University of York, where he studied physics through the OpenPlus program while simultaneously running his marketing firm, OMI Firm, to fund his education while providing for his family.
In 2018, Mike Norton founded a technological engineering firm, called Wolven Industries. The mission of his company is to ‘repair, protect, and prepare families against modern-day threats.’
Because of his military past, Mike’s initial plan was to develop technology for the US military, NATO, and private military contractors through custom contracts. But then, COVID-19 hit.
As mentioned in the points above, flexibility and adaptability are some of the key traits of successful entrepreneurs. Mike identified the need of the hour and pivoted his company’s technological direction in response to COVID-19.
He saw the pandemic as a golden opportunity to build something for the civilian population: a handheld LED-based electronic device that disinfects using UV-C technology. UV-C technology has been around since the 1800s and is known for its germicidal properties that can effectively kill 99.99% of all pathogens.
However, with opportunities came many challenges. Wolven Industries experienced varying delays due to distance, funding, and other obstacles.
Having already experienced a life of trauma and abuse, instead of waiting for developments to fall into place, Mike maintained a resilient attitude to push himself and the team forward by continuously educating himself and evolving his skills.
He built a fully remote team using communication and task management tools like Slack and Asana and bootstrapped initial starting capital of an estimated $200,000 from his marketing firm while teaching himself physics as well as mechanical and electrical engineering. He also built a fully operational, miniature physics and engineering lab in the comfort of his own home, allowing him to prototype any new technological products!
Despite a wide range of obstacles, Mike’s leadership, decision-making, honest communication on the product’s progress, versatility, and problem-solving skills have empowered him to create an innovative UV-C cleanser, the uRay. It ensures safety and fast disinfection unlike most commercially-available yet suspiciously cheap and dangerous devices avlable on the market.
Are there any other skills that you think are essential? Let us know in the comments below.
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