What self skills to develop in 2024, and how to do it correctly?
Let's figure it out together!
What are self skills?
A successful formula for the skills of a modern person: hard skills + soft skills + self skills, where hard skills and soft skills are oriented outward. This is the outer layer of a person, creating a certain idea of him as an individual and a professional. Self skills are inward oriented. This is the inner layer of a person, aimed at knowing, understanding and accepting one’s present self, taking care of one’s physical and mental state, and developing one’s personality. The combination of all skills contributes to the formation of a strong personal brand.
In essence, self skills or self management are self-government, self-regulation, self-management, self-organization, planning, control, motivation. This also includes emotional intelligence – the way we perceive ourselves and others. Self skills also include stress management, because when a person is nervous, he is unstable. And here they highlight work-life balance and time management.
Why has this become so relevant lately?
It's all because of the global trend called BANI-world. When everything is chaotic and unpredictable, a person comes to the fore, because maintaining oneself as a separate individual, a unit, is already the key to stability. We need stability in this world, and we can find it within ourselves.
The time of achievers has passed, and the time has come for people who understand that they must live here and now. That’s why self-management comes to the fore. In the HR strategies of many companies, one can now find a focus on people-centricity. The employee’s “I” becomes a value – the company recognizes the importance of everyone as an individual and a professional. And the company’s processes are aimed at the individual development of the employee and his support. To do this, you need to understand what is important for him here and now, to give him the significance of what he does not in the past or future, but now. It is important not only to increase an employee’s salary or position, but also to note how important what he does in the company is, what his contribution is, what useful work he is involved in and how his development affects success at work.
What trends can be identified in the direction of self skills?
In fact, the trends for 2024 have been determined, and they will continue for the next two years. Trends are determined by the instability of the world and the impossibility of planning for distant horizons. Since man is a structured being, a certain rhythm is important for him. Rhythm is plans and stability. Since we cannot find stability in the external environment, we need to concentrate on looking for it within ourselves and stabilizing ourselves as a unit of the universe. Therefore, the trend towards maintaining a person, improving his skills of self-regulation, self-development, and acceptance of the situation will continue.
Another main skill in self-management is adaptation to constantly changing conditions. Accept what you cannot change and change what you can. The main task now facing the heads of HR processes of IT companies is to give a person the tools to stabilize himself, to help him find his place in this chaos.
How to help a person develop self skills?
The first guarantee of any training or therapy: you can only help the person who has realized that he has a problem. If he understands that he lacks the knowledge to develop self-skills, he can openly tell a manager or HR specialist about this. It happens that we ourselves do not see the problem. For example, an employee constantly overworks and says that he feels normal, that he is interested. The team and manager can see that such a person is close to burnout. And the task of the HR specialist and manager is to draw the employee’s attention to this, give feedback, and highlight areas of growth.
At RNT Group (part of the Reksoft group) we are organizing a soft skills development program, and its second module will be dedicated to self-skills. The team or project manager can recommend people for this program, or the employee himself can sign up. We will talk about self-management, and about time management, and about motivation, and about adaptation, and about mature creativity, and about emotional intelligence, and about stress management. When going on such training, an employee must want to learn – there will be homework, online sessions, and a lot of materials for self-study. The module lasts 2 months. We will restart this course, training more and more new employees.
In addition to training in self skills, you can recommend that your employee read books or watch videos. We have established libraries in various areas of development. An employee can always contact his HR and get advice on developing a particular skill. It is important that a person does not have too many self-development activities. Because when you take 5 different skill development courses at the same time, you can burn out. We help the employee draw up a feasible training plan.
What self-skills are most important to develop in the coming years?
When we talk about stabilizing a person as an individual, we always start with two things: adaptation and stress management.
Adaptation Strategies people are different. Some people react to circumstances very quickly, others more slowly. In a rapidly changing world, we must find our right way to adapt to any news, any unexpected task. For example, you decide to read the news less often and learn to prioritize tasks.
Stress management stands very close to adaptation. It is important to learn how to handle stress correctly and channel it into something that gives you energy. It is important to learn not to waste energy worrying about what you cannot change.
Emotional intellect is another important skill. This is accepting yourself as you are, with your pros and cons, about self-love. It’s also about understanding that absolutely all people are different: they can speak differently, think differently.
Next come the tools self-regulation, self-government, time management. They are needed to manage multitasking and prioritize. Besides work, we have hobbies, friends, physical activity, sleep. There are only 24 hours in a day and they must be distributed skillfully. Time management techniques and tools help with this.
Another important skill is motivation. This is an understanding of why I will do this or that task, what does it give me, what needs does it satisfy? Usually this is the acquisition of security and stability, the need to help.
All these skills are interconnected. We pump up one thing and then it’s easier to pump up another. For example, having understood time management, it will be easier for us to adapt and manage stress – tasks distributed on the calendar and allotted time for breaks will give a feeling of stability and control of the process.
Ways to develop self skills
Time management
Time management skills:
Prioritizing tasks. Start by listing all your tasks. Rank them according to urgency and importance. Complete the highest priority tasks first, allocating specific blocks of time to them.
The Right Tools and Techniques. Use calendars and planners to organize your tasks.
Setting specific goals. This is an important aspect of effective time management because it provides clarity and focus, which helps facilitate optimal planning and time management. Instead of vague goals like “work on the project,” set specific ones that contain deadlines and implementation criteria.
Intellectual and logical thinking
Decision Making Skills:
Collection of information. Gather all the necessary information to help you make an informed decision.
The Right Tools and Techniques. Explore different scenarios and their outcomes to improve your understanding and preparedness for them.
Seeking advice and feedback. Consult with those who can provide valuable information about your choices. Being receptive to feedback can improve your decision-making skills.
Problem Solving Skills:
Learning different frameworks. Become familiar with different problem-solving frameworks and methodologies: the scientific method, Six Sigma, or design thinking.
Use of technology. Use software and other digital tools to help you organize, analyze, and solve problems more effectively.
Goal setting skills:
Using the SMART framework. Set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound to ensure they are clear and achievable. Documenting your goals can provide a clear roadmap and increase your motivation.
Breaking big goals into smaller ones. Divide long-term, ambitious goals into smaller, more manageable steps to form a step-by-step plan for achievement.
Self-motivation and self-discipline
Self-motivation skills:
Determining personal values and interests. Determine what is most important to you and align your actions with that.
Visualizing Success. Use positive mental images to keep your motivation high and focused on your desired results.
Kindness to yourself. Use positive self-talk. Give yourself encouragement as you overcome challenges and maintain a positive attitude to keep you motivated.
Task initiation skills:
Prioritization management. Clearly define and rank your tasks based on their importance and urgency as this will help you focus on launching and completing the most important ones first.
Time blocking. Giving yourself chunks of time to get things done in advance can motivate you to get things done. Blocking time will also help you create a daily routine and feel a sense of responsibility. This will allow you to overcome procrastination.
Emotional intellect
Emotional regulation skills:
Practice mindfulness and meditation. Practice meditation to develop a sense of calm and a balanced perspective, which can promote emotional regulation.
Pause before reacting. Before reacting to emotional triggers, take a break. Over time, you may react differently than you originally intended.
Self-Awareness Skills:
Participation in reflective practices. Use a journal to document thoughts, feelings, and reactions to different situations and provide insight into your behavior and emotional reactions.
Seeking Feedback. Collect feedback from colleagues, managers, subordinates and others to get a holistic view of how you are perceived. Being open to constructive criticism can give you valuable insight into areas for improvement.
Stress management skills:
Identifying and eliminating stressors. Identify and list the things that typically cause you stress. Understanding the causes of stress can help you anticipate problems and develop strategies to cope with them.
Physical activity. Regular exercise is a great stress reliever because it releases endorphins, which naturally improve your mood.
Dream. Normalizing sleep will help restore energy and strength.
Adaptability Skills:
Encourage yourself to take risks. When you take risks, you step outside your comfort zone. This is where learning and personal growth takes place. You will learn to cope with uncertainty and gain new experiences that may be valuable in making decisions in the future.
Stay up to date. Keep up to date with new developments in your area of interest. This knowledge will help you feel more comfortable and prepared to adapt to new situations.
What else will help you develop your self skills more successfully?
It is important to periodically change the format: not only read books, but also watch videos, participate in discussions.
If any problem is acute, you can turn to coaches or psychologists. It will be easier to solve the problem in the company of professionals.
In a situation of rapid development of technology, you can use it for training and development. For example, ask the neural network questions about the topic you are studying, ask it to remind you of a particular course you wanted to take, track discounts on books you wanted to read.
Physical activity helps relieve stress and refocus. After an hour of sports, the psycho-emotional state improves.
Hobbies and interests help to distract and change activities. By creating something with your hands, you quickly see the result and feel your contribution.
Switching to caring for loved ones and animals.
The most important thing to consider when you are going to upgrade a skill is that The responsibility for learning and development lies with you. No matter how wonderful the course teacher or book author is, if you don’t listen or are distracted, knowledge and experience will not come. The formation of any skill comes through effort. To do this, you have to leave your comfort zone and learn to work on yourself.
Who should I contact for help?
I always tell my colleagues that there is no shame in asking for help. We all want to be strong and strong-willed individuals. But in order to be strong and strong-willed individuals, you must be able to ask for help. For this purpose, there is, first of all, an HR specialist. It is present in every RNT Group practice. In a conversation, a person can talk about what he is not doing well and what he would like to improve. HR will listen, understand your needs, give advice and try to help you.
