Knowledge Worker -- The right skills keep you from being replaced

Reduce your vulnerability to being replaced by technology or off-shoring

Many so called “knowledge workers” believe they are relatively safe in their present roles because they do very skilled work. If you are doing work that is relatively routine, or can be fully analyzed and put into a software program; you may be at risk. Notice how much knowledge work is now being outsourced to lower wage countries (computer programming, engineering, accounting, etc.). Notice how many services formerly rendered by lawyers or accountants are now available online at modest prices. 

We are moving into an era when it isn’t good enough any longer to just do high level knowledge work. In the past people built great careers and got ahead through using their cognitive, analytic, and logic driven skills. These skills, associated with the left brain hemisphere, remain important but are no longer enough. As we move from the “Information Age” into a “Conceptual Age” skills and abilities associated with the right brain hemisphere are in demand. Daniel Pink in his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future points clearly to this emerging reality. This isn’t really new.  The research related to “Emotional Intelligence” (EQ) has been pointing to this fact for 15 years. Intellectual Intelligence (IQ) gets one into the game. EQ and other right brained skills keep you there and help you advance.

What can you do if you are someone who has a well-developed left brain hemisphere but an under exercised right hemisphere?  It isn’t gloom and doom -- just begin to stretch and cultivate the right hemisphere.

·         Chances are your career development plan is out of balance toward the left brain

o   Add actions that focus on creativity, design, empathy, intuition

·          Take a story telling class - Learn to craft and tell stories

o   Left brain argues logically - right brain creates stories that engage and motivate

o   Read a short story each week and learn from it

·         Develop a mentoring relationship with someone you know who is highly creative

o   It can be mutually beneficial, creative types often need help stretching their left brain

·         Do a Google search on “emotional intelligence exercises” and be amazed

o   Don’t read the books - do the suggested exercises

·         Engage a coach for yourself (but not someone with a big left brain)

·         If you don’t need these suggestions, please forward them to someone who can

o   You may be one of those right-brainers who can help others