Imagine that you’re updating your CV or LinkedIn profile, writes Ursula Fear, Senior Talent Program Manager, Salesforce South Africa. When listing your skills, would you be able to state that you are ‘proficient in the use of Chat-GPT3’? This revolutionary AI tool was launched in November 2022, so knowledge workers have had several months to teach themselves to use it, and to understand its many capabilities and limitations.
Some people are already using it on a daily basis, as a kind of free assistant. Others are experimenting with its capabilities, from writing novels to choosing investments. Platforms such as Grammarly and Duolingo are integrating generative AI into their offerings.
The pace at which it’s being integrated into our lives in general is dizzying, and now GPT-4 is out, having launched on 13 March 2023. Yet many workers are still trying to reckon with the very concept of using AI in daily life, nevermind becoming proficient in its use. It’s perhaps the best example of exactly how fast the world of work can change. This particular tool became widespread and even got upgraded before we could adjust to the fact that it exists.
The people best suited to thriving in this scenario aren’t necessarily the ones with computer science and software qualifications. The world has not even had time to set up formal training and certification for using AI at work. The ones who thrive and develop a competitive advantage will be those who take the initiative to experiment with this new tool and learn from others’ experiences, which can be accessed via the many articles, discussion threads and videos that now exist about generative AI.
The capacity to thrive isn’t about being able to use ChatGPT per se – that specific skill is just a good example. Rather, it’s about facing a strange and sometimes fearful situation by finding a way forward rather than resisting or avoiding change. Would you choose fight, flight or figuring it out?
Being able to adapt to new situations in this way is known as learning agility. It involves a combination of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors, such as seeking out new experiences, learning through errors and experiments, taking calculated risks, and admitting when you made a mistake so that you can move on and find a method that works.
It’s a matter of coping with uncertainty rather than being undermined by it. Another definition of learning agility is ‘knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do’. Right now, South Africans probably find themselves not knowing what to do for a multitude of social, political and economic reasons, but needing to figure it out as soon as possible.
At Salesforce, our ethos is that skills development is a crucial means of finding ways forward, for both individuals and society. And in the term ‘skills development’, I like to put slightly less emphasis on the ‘skills’ and more on the ‘development’.
Effective skills development recognises that lifelong learning – another way of conceptualising learning agility – is the means to adapting in a world of constantly changing technology, and the way to have a more fulfilling life in general. Because what happens when people get stuck and don’t know what to do?
They become anxious, stubborn and defensive. They might resort to old methods and reject the risk inherent in new ideas, or double down on their mistakes rather than admit to error. Or they just hunker down in a rut of demotivation, and complain about the conditions there. That’s not a great way to live or work.
Learning agility, in contrast, gives you a ‘growth mindset’. This is when you think of yourself as someone who can change, adapt, move. In contrast, people with fixed mindsets see themselves as trapped with their personal qualities, skills and identities, especially when it comes to their professional personas. But we’re not trapped. We can always choose to develop new skills, new ways of being in the workplace.
As the senior talent programme manager at Salesforce South Africa, I love being able to point people towards Trailhead, our skills development initiative, where you can get started with free online courses, and connect with others via classes and communities. We believe that business is a platform for change, and this is our way of making that belief manifest and actionable.
We also partner with training organisations across the globe, and recently joined forces with Deloitte Africa to run a Trailblazer Training Week in Joburg, from 27 to 31 March. It’s one of many steps in addressing skills shortages and unemployment. The Salesforce ecosystem is moving us steadily towards the goal of creating 31 800 new jobs and generating $5,1-billion in new business revenue in South Africa by 2026.
At the current rate of change, there’s no knowing what the world of work will look like in 2026, but for the curious and agile, that’s not something to worry about. Embracing learning agility means being able to thrive in uncertainty and helping others to do the same, so we’re choosing action instead of fear.