By Daniel Goleman,
According to a new report from Microsoft, about 300 million jobs in the future will be impacted by artificial intelligence. This will mean a new way of working -- AI and humans side-by-side. And a global survey of leaders, the report says, targets three abilities as the “new core competencies”: analytical reasoning, flexibility, and emotional intelligence.
This conclusion comes from Microsoft’s new Work Trend Index report, a globalsurvey of 31,000 people.
And the BBC reports that while AI will impact millions of jobs in the future, there are two key skill sets its unlikely to overtake: innovation and emotional intelligence.
At the same time, there’s good news for anyone who wants to enhance their emotional intelligence. Belgian researchers report a meta-analysis of more than 150 separate studies with a total of 51,000 people finds that emotional intelligence is a critical skill for career success.
The report highlights the key role adaptability – one of a dozen competencies in my EI model – plays in adjusting to new work realities and coping with any difficulties they might bring.
Another aspect of emotional intelligence that helps over the course of your career stems from the EI strengths of self-awareness and self-management: the self-confidence that you can handle your emotional reactions to whatever surprises work (or life) bring.
The research showed that people higher in EI are more satisfied with their jobs – that is, less likely to quit – which signals they make better career decisions in keeping with their motive and interest, and can adapt to the realities of their job.
And because they are better at managing their own emotions, they tend to be easier to work with, more popular among their workmates – the people others like to be around.
The really good news: the research makes clear that the emotional intelligence skills set is learnable.
Unlike our IQ, which is fairly fixed from birth, EI is learned in life – and can be improved at any point, if we are motivated.