The Seven Skills Students Need for their Future (Dr. Tony Wagner)
(Highly recommended: Dr. Wagner's book, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It )
1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Example: Toyota expects all its employees to think about how to best create quality vehicles in the present and for the future. They are expected to think critically about what they do; not merely go through a routine. They are required to be part of the innovation process.
2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
The best talent is distributed. Most of the experts are not in your organization. (That's just a fact of large numbers.) High performing organizations and individuals have skills which allow them to tap into vast knowledge pools and skill sets. Leaders will be those who can engage others and ask questions.
3. Agility and Adaptability
Jobs and industries are changing continually. New tools and processes become available every day. Being able to work across departments and other boundaries is becoming increasingly important.
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Moving beyond basic job requirements and having initiative is becoming a bigger part of organizations' long-term health and survival strategies (20% time).
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication Skills
"The problem with their writing is the problem with their thinking." Also: Lack of voice. Students are often asked to write about someone else's ideas. Less often are they given opportunities to write with passion about topics that are important to them, using original ideas.
6. Accessing and Analyzing Information
We are in the age of big data, where both machines and humans are creating data at exponential rates. Only those who are versed in its access and interpretation will be able to truly benefit from it. Those who can't manage this tsunami of data will be hindered by it, lost in the noise, unable to find the signal.
7. Curiosity and Imagination
As more products and services become commoditized, curious individuals (and organizations) will be the ones who innovate and imagine new ways of doing things. They will able to set themselves apart and get noticed in an age where attention is increasingly scarce.
