Power skills : irreplaceable superpowers
Wasquehal, May 9th 2023. With the emergence of AI and the programmed obsolescence of many "hard skills," employers are increasingly looking for cross-functional skills.
In this new working world, success is based on a symbiosis between human and technical skills: the skills characteristic of humans must therefore be valued, because no machine is capable of matching or imitating them.
The age of heart skills
Social scientist Brené Brown argues that our economy, having once needed muscles and brains, should now rely on the heart.
In the 19th century, industrialization relied on "muscle" workers to power the machines. Then, in the middle of the 20th century, with the 3rd industrial revolution and the emergence of computers, it was the brain's capacities that were heavily solicited.
Now that these capabilities are increasingly challenged by the machine and by automation or AI, we are inevitably entering a new age: the age of heart skills.
Companies need employees with very human skills like wisdom, empathy or compassion. These heart skills have been renamed Power skills, by Dartmouth University President Philip Hanlon.
Power skills: what is it?
Power skills are the result of the fusion of soft skills and human skills. They represent personal characteristics that may have been developed throughout life and are called upon when a person has to manage time, communicate with other individuals or face a difficult situation for the first time.
In other words, power skills refer to the personality traits that enable a person to successfully adapt to a changing work environment and to solve problems effectively.
Top 5 of power skills* 
What is the biggest challenge for companies?
It's not technical expertise or engineering recruitment: it's time management, leadership and communication. The number one skill in demand on LinkedIn? Not software, not data analysis: it's "communication."
To succeed in today's working world, Talents therefore need power skills and hard skills that will help them not only to be successful in their job, but also to be desirable to other companies in different sectors.
Companies want to be competitive and agile: they need employees with power skills that will allow them to ride all the upcoming storms and succeed in working together, communicating and collaborating whether in hybrid or remote mode.
While many future employees come out of college with the technical, digital and business skills that companies need, staying on the cutting edge of technology is not enough. It's not about giving up hard skills but combining them with power skills to make an effective and "irreplaceable" employee. Employers will pay attention to candidates who are able to do both.
Employers and employees must therefore review their priorities.
If we want the future of work to be a world where everyone finds their place and their work stimulating, and not a world where technology destroys jobs, we will have to know how to adapt and take advantage of these new trends.
If a company wants successful employees, it must find Talents with power skills such as emotional intelligence, integrity, empathy or compassion, communication, creativity, critical thinking, adaptability and ability to collaborate, etc.
The world is changing and with a little optimism, we could win and humans would see their qualities find a fair valuation.
Let's leave the menial tasks to the machines and cultivate our humanity.
Our talent search experts are at your disposal for any interview request.
*based on the analysis of our experts in recruitment
About Anywr
Since 2012, Anywr has been recruiting and supporting talent mobility for businesses worldwide. The company helps businesses struggling to quickly find rare talent and supports talent with job mobility and professional flexibility. The group was selected as one of France's 120 most promising start-ups to join the #FrenchTech120. It has a unique market position thanks to its comprehensive recruitment and headhunting HR solutions via a wide range of legal devices (direct recruitment, digital services companies, freelancers, umbrella company services), mobility solutions (immigration, relocation, and taxation) and training. With 23 agencies in 16 countries, Anywr has an expert local presence and a worldwide talent pool. Over 4000 companies have already worked with Anywr, and 30,000 talented professionals have changed their lives using its services. Driven by its values—engagement, diversity, boldness, and pleasure—Anywr is an innovative and responsible digital company that is committed to its communities and leverages its expertise and solutions to carry out projects in the fields of social integration and diversity. Anywr has recently become a mission-driven company (entreprise à mission).
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