The skills every aspiring global business leader needs

Processing the countless predictions that companies and professionals project about the future of business can be puzzling.

While some believe that automation is key and that the working world will be split into four entirely separate entities of ‘Blue’, ‘Yellow’, ‘Red’ and ‘Green’, others believe that tradition will remain, prevailing against robotic minds with out-of-the-box thinking.

With an uncertain future, now is the right time to stabilise your business skills and ensure you’re ready for whatever is around the corner.

According to The Future Skills Report 2019, an International Delphi Survey of the NextSkills Project, it’s clear that new technologies can drive business growth, job creation, and demand for specialist skills but they can also “displace entire roles when certain tasks become obsolete or automated.”

To prepare yourself for these changes and evolve into a confident global business leader, the report proposes the adoption of the following skills.

The first are subject development-related skills such as self-management, autonomous learning competence, self-efficacy, personal ability, self-initiative and personal reflection.

The second are object-related skills, otherwise known as instrumental skills. This would relate to creativity, digital literacy and agility.

The third would be social/organisational skills, where a future mindset is key and communication competence is essential.

Acquiring the practice of these three skill areas would place you on a steady and secure career track.

“An emerging focus on future skills radically changes the current definition of graduate attributes in higher education. The focus on a ‘next mode’ of studying (focus on future skills: autonomous learning, self-organisation, applying and reflecting knowledge, creativity and innovation, etc.) gradually replaces a reduced/narrow focus on academic and valid knowledge acquisition,” notes the report.

One academic institution that aligns its study practices with future-facing frameworks is Birmingham Business School (BBS) at the University of Birmingham.

Thriving alongside the best business schools in the UK and beyond, BBS holds the gold standard of ‘triple-crown’ accreditation from the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AMBA (Association of MBAs) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System).

Stepping up to be key contributors to the responsible business agenda, the school is committed to producing forward-thinking leaders and developing research that impacts the lives of real people and businesses.

With a faculty of experts that influence the business world and shape policy around the globe, plus strong links to industry partners who are looking to recruit high-quality graduates – including world-renowned companies such as Accenture, Deloitte, HSBC and Ernst & Young – this is a school that stands by its students from the start of their studies to the joys of career success.

Proud of the thought leadership, research and the critical thinking abilities of students, Professor Catherine Cassell, Dean of Birmingham Business School, sheds light on the Birmingham Business School experience.

“A business school graduate has a whole range of skills – they have knowledge about a particular subject, but I also think they have an additional set of things that comes through their engagement with what we offer here at Birmingham. One of the absolute joys at this job is to see how our students develop during their time here, so we see them becoming more knowledgeable and more confident.

“For everyone who joins Birmingham Business School, we become an important part of their story. And they’ll always be a part of Birmingham Business School for life.”

Complimenting your skills with courses that prepare you for tomorrow’s working world, connect you to research insights and teach you to better understand the bigger business picture, there are many different routes to take in your degree.

“Since graduating, I started a multi-award-winning social enterprise that supports different United Nations global goals, as well as homelessness here in the UK. The business scaled hugely last year, we now work with some of the biggest brands through the power of starting conversations around the causes that matter,” One BBS graduate .

Equipping you with subject-development skills, digital literacy and agile attributes, BBS knows that diversity and innovation will continue to reshape global business.

Supporting you with relevant course topics and a dedicated Careers in Business team, you’ll surely ascertain maximum career impact before graduation.

Plus, the school pairs your ambitions with individual advice and guidance from professionally qualified careers consultants to ensure you’re ready for your selected profession.

And if you’re doubtful about where your degree will take you, you only have to glimpse at its ground-breaking research to know that anything is possible at this business school.

So if you’re searching for employable business skills that will give you the edge in an uncertain corporate climate, or you wish to start laying the foundations for your future business career, take a look at Birmingham Business School and its sustainable leadership strategies today.

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