Future-Proofed: Skills for Purpose-Driven Work

As the world of work evolves, the skills that matter most are shifting. Future-Proofed explores the essential capabilities—like adaptability, creativity and emotional intelligence, —that will empower Purpose-Driven leaders to thrive in an uncertain future. Learn how to cultivate the skills that align your work with impact, fulfillment, and lasting success. The future belongs to those who shape it—let’s get to work.

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your people! Let’s keep the conversation going—connect with me and let me know your biggest takeaway.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Future-Proof Skills
• 3:06 The Changing Landscape of Work
• 5:55 Embracing Creativity and Imagination
• 9:01 The Importance of Craftsmanship
• 12:07 Critical Thinking and Adaptability
• 15:08 Building Social Capital
• 17:53 Entrepreneurial Mindset and Technology

Transcript

Welcome back, shapeshifters. Today's episode is all about future-proofed skills for the purpose-driven creative. As the economic shifts continue to transform our life, today I'm going to teach you how to cultivate skills that will withstand any changes in the economy that are going to support you in bringing your purpose and aligning it with fulfillment and lasting success.

The future belongs to those who can shift. So let's get into it. So first off, let's just set the climate right now as it relates to the future of work. We are seeing people getting laid off at an all time high. We are seeing positions like government jobs and corporate jobs. I remember when people would say a government job is the most sustainable job you could ever get that you never get fired from a government job. Clearly, we're seeing that that is not the case. Also, we're seeing layoffs at a tremendous pace. Major multi-billion dollar tech companies are laying off. We're seeing that no one is safe from the layoffs and there really isn't any job security. Another trend we are seeing is the fact that we now live in a flat job market, which means that employers don't have to just search for talent in the Americas. They literally can search for talent anywhere in the world. The typical nine to five is becoming obsolete. People are going to have multiple streams of income, multiple jobs, a freelance job, a side job. And so that is the life. That is the world stage as it relates to work. And so it means that the old rules, the old way of doing things is no longer going to work. So we have to now shift as adults, as purpose-driven creatives, and especially for those of us who are in a young person's life, we have to begin to expand our awareness and cultivate the skills that are really going to support us in the future. So the first one is operating in your zone of genius. And I talked about this a little bit in the conscious parenting episode. But essentially, we want to make sure that we are working with the gifts that we were already given when we were born. The gifts that we don't really have to work for, the things that just come naturally to us. And to start talking and communicating and giving language for those gifts beyond an industry. So gifts is an acronym. The G stands for growth. The I is for innate. The F is for fulfilling and the T is for tempo. And so we want to make sure that we're operating in our zone of genius, that we're taking the things that are always allowing us to grow, that are innate, that are within us, that always feel fulfilling and that go with our own rhythm, right? Go with our own tempo. If you look at Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson never grew out of music.

Right? Prince never grew out of music. No matter where they were as masters of their craft, they were still growing. And so we want to make sure that we are able to give language to the gifts that we have to our own zone of genius. If you Google zone of genius, you'll see a wonderful activity that will allow you to put down your talents, skills and abilities and where all of those things meets becomes your zone of genius and to begin thinking about those things again beyond your industry. So I am someone who has the gift of being a catalyst, being an initiator, being a fire starter, being a spark. That gift shows up everywhere I go. Whether I'm performing on stage and I'm sparking it off, whether I'm in a meeting and there's something that needs to be said and it's like, okay, I'm about to say this, I'ma spark it off.

Whether it's working with new projects or new models or new ideas, I always find myself in a situation where I am the one to get it started. People pay me for the gift of activation. I'm able to move people from a state of stagnation into activation. So being able to give language to your own zone of genius allows you to be more marketable. It allows you to understand your special sauce. It allows you to clarify and refine your own personal brand. Also, the skill of creativity, being creative. And there's so many places that we could take this idea, this skill of creativity, but I really want you to focus it on your mindset. When I talked about New Earth Currencies, creativity was one of those currencies. I truly do believe that those of us who can think creatively, who can think beyond the box, who can think beyond the binary, who can see the spectrum, who understand that there's not just two choices in the world, that there's an infinite number of possibilities. When you look at all of the folks that were able to thrive during the COVID pandemic, many of those individuals were people who were starting to think creatively. If any of you watched those D-9 sessions during COVID that really got us through and now like everybody's DJing online and people were DJing online before, but it became this normalized thing. And so those people who were able to think creatively when everything else shifted, were able to navigate, were able to thrive, were able to ascend and rise in their power and their business. And that is why a lot of businesses and a lot of new business owners were created during COVID and thrive during COVID. So we can't let the realities of this world dictate what is possible. That actually, statistically, when you look at where some of the most amazing new ideas come from, they come from times of extreme hardship. They come from times where things are shifting, things are dying even if you look at the power of hip hop music, and I think we would all agree that hip hop music was a cultural reset. It changed the way we listen and understand music and even understand black culture. Well, it was the creativity of those young people who said, actually, our parents couldn't afford to send us to music school, but they have all these albums and I'm going to figure out how to scratch that I can plug into the grid of my local block and I can make street parties and bring people together. And an entire culture, literally entire culture was born off of the power of creativity. So not getting stuck, not getting stuck in the reality and being able to imagine. Creativity goes with imagination. To be able to see a possibility in your mind's eye when there is no physical presence. Creativity requires courage. It requires courage to be able to do new things. It requires courage to be able to stand out in the crowd. It requires the courage to think outside of the box. And as we live in a time that is constantly trying to put people in boxes, put people in categories, and will cancel you if you don't fit the category that they think that you should fit, those people who continue to refine and strengthen their creative mindset, it doesn't matter what you put in front of them, they're always gonna find a way to grow and to thrive. Another future proof skill is being a craftsperson. I didn't wanna say craftsmanship, craftspersonship. Learning a craft, like textiles or making shoes. You think of a cobbler. Many people don't even know what a cobbler is. A cobbler is someone that makes shoes. How many people do you know can make a pair of shoes? You can 3D print shoes, you can get shoes made in factories, but the person who literally can sit there and measure your foot, who can draw out the design, who can custom create a pair of shoes in a world where everybody else is using technology is actually going to have a special niche within the economy, special niche within the market. They can charge whatever price they want because they have something that no one else has. And you might say, yes, Zakiya, but it's probably going to be really expensive. Yeah, even better because they are bringing a rare skill set into the marketplace gives them the ability to charge a premium. Even getting back into the trades, things like plumbers. Construction workers. I know these aren't the sexiest jobs, but these are actually going to be future proof jobs because you still need people to do things with their hands. So investing in a skill or refining a skill you already have, allowing you to learn a trade or a craft is always going to set you apart. Another skill of the future is critical thinking, discernment, being able to observe and take in a variety of messages, information and opposing views and being able in your own mind to critically think about what is true and what is false, what you're gonna buy into and what you're gonna reject. And it's time where we are being fed so much information from opposing sides, being able to critically think and analyze data through your own mind is going to allow you to tap into that creativity, which is going to give you a leg up. Those of us who are dependent upon someone else to tell us when to get up, when to go to sleep, when to write, what to eat, who can't critically think for themselves. Even when it comes to what you eat, every way of eating isn't for everybody. You've got to know your body, your system what works for you and what works for others. There's always going to be someone who's ready to tell you what to do. But if you really want to get ahead in the future, you have to create your own reality that works for you. And that is going to come through critical thinking. Being adaptable, being able to adapt in multiple climates. I call it shape shifting, right?

Finding your own momentum, being like water, being able to take the shape of any form. And I always use the example of COVID because COVID taught us how we had to adapt to not being able to go out the house, how we had to adapt to not being able to connect with those that we loved in the same cadence that we were used to. Adaptability is very different than being rigid because some of us are still holding on to the same ways that we were living during COVID. Some people still don't want to come outside. Some people still don't want to be around other humans. Some people now can't even communicate with others because they literally adapted to a situation that they got stuck in. And so being able to adapt but not get stuck is going to set you apart. Also, emotional intelligence, having the ability to understand, recognize, manage, and influence your own emotions. So you have to be able to first have self-awareness to know, how am I feeling? What do I need right now? Self-awareness. Then go into a place of self-management. What are the tools that I need to pull out? Do I need more water? Do I need breath work? Do I need to move my body? Do I need to not be around that person having the management skills and abilities in your toolbox to navigate and to shift those emotions into a way that is going to motivate you, that is going to inspire you, that is going to allow you to practice empathy, to understand where everyone else is coming from, but to still be able to communicate and be in the game. Shutting down your throat chakra and getting frozen in fight or flight mode, these are the things that keep us trapped.

This is where disease starts growing in the body. This is where we start becoming stagnant. We start becoming more afraid. We can't get out of the trauma. We start cycling it over and over and over. So being able to build up your own emotional intelligence through self-awareness self-management and to alchemize those emotions into a place of positivity and motivation is going to keep you moving forward at a time where other people are going to get stuck. Years ago, I co-founded a tech program for young people of color called hack the hood. And one of the things that I had an opportunity to do at that time is take our young people on field trips to pretty much every tech campus from Facebook to YouTube to LinkedIn that you can imagine. And during those field trips, they would bring together the staff of color that they had, which was very small, and they would have them talk to our young people, kind of as mentors and kind of showing them people that look like them. Sometimes people who came from similar backgrounds as them to say, hey, I made it. I work at Google. You can too. And they would give them tips like, you know, just work really hard, study really hard educate yourself, learn how to code, learn this program, et cetera, and you could be where I am. And I always would ask them the same question. I would say, how many of you knew someone or knew someone who knew someone before you applied for this job? And every single one of them would raise their hand without fail, that even though they worked hard and even though they studied, and even though they maybe got a college degree or some of them didn't get a college degree, what they all had in common was their social network led to them getting the position that they held. That there were many positions that these companies had that didn't even go online. They never promoted for them. They literally hired from within. so it was very important that we imparted the skill set of building your social capital. Building your social network the power of apprenticeship the power of mentorship the power of finding other humans that are doing Similar work than you and saying hey, can we meet for coffee? Hey, I'd love to learn more about what you do Hey, I'd love to share with you what I'm working on joining affinity groups getting out of your immediate community You know some of the reason why so many black youth get into entertainment and sports is because those are the professions that they see the most. And so if you only know what's possible through what you see, it's important that you get exposed to other worlds and other realities. I majored in political science and history from Rutgers University many, moons ago, and I'm not doing any of that work. The fact that I call myself a doula of transformation, the fact that I host wellness retreats, the fact that I facilitate and I help organizations strategize and I do coaching for purpose-driven leaders and creatives. There was no job title per se that I could have gone to school to end up where I am. And yet every single part of my journey led me to exactly where I am. And so the reality is many of the jobs, the careers, the path that you're going to take, it may not even be created yet.

And so we have to begin to recognize that all of the different aspects of who we are are going to support us, but we're not going to be able to really get there if we don't expand our social network. And there is no other time in history that has been more easy to connect with people. And so I think that it's important to use things like technology to connect with people, but to the best of your ability connecting with people in real life, face to face, building those relationships, taking time to maybe research conferences or meetups or affinity groups of other people who are on the same path as you. Also, pro tip, you could start one of those communities and that can be a wonderful way to eventually market your services. Another skill that we have to begin thinking about is that of entrepreneurship. I don't believe that it colleges for everyone, but I would say if you're going to learn anything, learn business. Learn how to take your ideas and how to funnel them through business language and how to bring your offerings to the marketplace to understand the climate, to understand who your customer is, to understand what the price points are in your given area of expertise, to think like a business person. And this is something that I have done.

Even when I hold quote unquote full-time jobs, I still think of myself as an entrepreneur. Every person that I work with is a client to me. So having that mindset is going to allow you to be loyal to yourself in a time where we can see that no company is going to be loyal to you. I've seen way too many people get sick, burn out, not be able to continue work. And guess what? Work goes on without you. And here's another thing I've learned.

There's always more work to do. There's never a time where the work is like finished. So you might as well pour into yourself, invest in yourself, because that is going to be a more sustainable game plan than giving your power to someone else. And lastly, technology. And people might say, but technology is taking all of our jobs. Well, technology is a tool that we can utilize to enhance our work.

And if you have all of the other skills that I just mentioned, you'll be able to use technology to be a creator and to utilize it as a tool and something of agency rather than being dependent upon technology. The reality is technology is not going anywhere. Artificial intelligence is not going anywhere. There's no field that is not going to be touched by technology. And for that reason, we could argue that every job is now a tech job because every job in some shape or form, even as I'm sitting here recording, every job utilizes technology in some shape or form. So we have to constantly be learning to become early adopters of technology, but to have the hybrid of pairing that technology with these other future proof skills, that hybrid model of bringing who you are in your unique intelligence and collaborating with technology is going to set you apart from everyone else in the job market. So don't be afraid. Your work is bigger than a job. It's a career and it's bigger than a career. It's your purpose and it's bigger than your purpose. It's your destiny. There is work that you were put here on this planet to do and you don't have to give up parts of yourself in order to make a living. If anything, leaning into those skills even more is going to give you the life that you deserve and it's not going to give you the life of your dreams. So your homework is to think about which one of these skills you're really, really good at and that you've already gotten the bag and which one of these skills you still need to cultivate a little bit more. Let me know in the comments and until next time, keep shifting.