Management and personal skills

Communication

Definition: Communication is one of the most important skills in the workplace, both interpersonal and corporate communication. They ensure interactions with workers, customers, professionals, investors, etc. Communication skills include speaking, listening, writing or reading. A good communicator must handle all these facets fluently, and also know all the phases of a communication process, from broadcasting to receiving messages. In addition, digital environments have led to the emergence of new channels and forms of communication, such as online communication, through social networks or communication between people and machines.
What we transmit and how we transmit it has always been an essential part of business processes, technological changes have brought a new actor: the customer and his experience. What customers say about us, how they do it and how they interact with the company itself have become central elements of the business-client relationship, which is a challenge for many companies today. In short, a communication model has emerged characterised by hyperconnectivity, omnichannel, real-time communication, and its close link to the emotions and experiences of customers.
Additional sources for further reading: Suspect (mobile game on communication beta version)
Management

Definition: Digital transition is also shaping the role of managers and the management process itself. As industrial environment is experiencing rapid changes, managers 4.0 must develop those skills and competences that fit with key elements in the digital transition, combining a set of technological, people and business skills and knowledge to address the management of industries in the digital age.
Technological skills: the continous irruption of digital technologies and tools in the workplace, does require some level of technological literacy of managers. Managers must have the ability to take advantage of new technologies and tools as well as lead its integration into business processes. In addition, industry sector requires to be familiar with machinery operations, specific softwares and to maintain an updated knowledge around technological advances in the industry and its applications.
Business skills: skills such as adaptive thinking, flexibility and change management capability take on special relevance. Uncertainty and volatility define the environment in which we must guide our organization. A good leader is able to envision future scenarios that respond to the changes, to seize opportunities and maintain a strategic business perspective. Managers also fosters creativity, experimentation and learning among their team work. Other soft critical skills are complex problem solving, understand data-based reasoning, analytics and business intelligence capabilities.
People skills: Communication, collaboration, teamworking, etc. A good manager possess skills to manage multi-disciplinary teams, to foster collaboration within the team. The ability to effectively collaborate between virtual team members. He has to be able for managing and communicating in different channels, interacting through new technologies and social networks. To be e familiar on how to use digital networks to engage with the workforce, customers, providers, investors, etc.
Additional sources for further reading: Data driven management in Industry 4.0: a method to measure Data Productivity
Team-work / Team spirit

Definition: Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a team to achieve a shared goal or outcome in the most effective and efficient way.
There are certain characteristics that are essential to produce effective teamwork:

– Coordination
– Good communication
– Efficient cooperation
– Interdependence

The movement towards teamwork mostly started during World War I and World War II, in an attempt for countries to unite their people. Apart from that, in the 1920s and 1930s a set of studies pointed out that teamwork brough many positive aspects to the organizational settings. After organizations recognized the value of teamwork and the positive effects it had on their companies, entire fields of work shifted from the typical assembly line to more contemporary organizational models with increasing amounts of teamwork. However, the development and application of newly emerged technologies such as Industry 4.0 create additional concerns for teamwork which claim to be integrated into existing models.
The advantages of teamwork and team spirit include:
– Problem solving: bringing together various perspectives, views and opinions to effectively solve an issue.
– Developing relationships: working in teams makes participants know each other better
– Individual qualities: every member can offer their unique knowledge and skills to help improve the team
– Motivation: working collaboratively increases motivation
– Healthy competition: can also motivate individuals
Additional sources for further reading: Trello (An online team collaboration tool)
Problem solving

Definition: Perhaps we all wish we encounter no problems or obstacles while running after our goals and desires, but that is rarely the case (at least not the first time). That’s when problem solving comes handy: the process of using a set of skills and tools necessary to find specific solutions to particular problems. As you would expect, Industry 4.0 challenges you to deal with issues requiring complex problem-solving skills and thus pushes you to think forward. As the features and benefits delivered in all of the fields of Industry 4.0 grow, it only means that the same will happen with the risks and the complexity of problems we’ll have to learn to solve. A good problem-solving process will lead to the implementation of an ad-hoc action-results based program and in addition it will help you and your team to:

– identify problems and the appropriate participation strategy
– find a workaround to obstacles
– encourage, support and explore proposals for innovation

Additional sources for further reading:
Work it out (mobile game on problem solving-beta version)
Think and Solve Problems (A Key Competencies Kit)
True Industry 4.0 Value Lies in Finding the Real Problem (Article)
The Mind Tools’ Problem Solving Toolkit
Solving the Job-Shop Scheduling Problem in the Industry 4.0 Era (Paper)
5 Root Cause Analysis Tools for More Effective Problem-Solving (Article)
Top 5 Problem Solving Tools (Article)
Toyota’s 8 Step Practical Problem Solving Methodology (Video course)
Risk taking

Definition: According to Trimpop (1994), risk taking is defined as “any consciously, or non-consciously controlled behavior with a perceived uncertainty about its outcome, and/or about its possible benefits, or costs for the physical, economic or psycho-social well-being of oneself or others.” In our context, and put in simpler words, risk taking translates more into the intention and attempt to try out different things in a different and more creative way rather than the absence of adequate information.

Additional sources for further reading:
Managerial Perspectives on Risk and Risk Taking, James G. March and Zur Shapira (paper)
Study on the Nature of Impact of Soft Skills Training Programme on the Soft Skills Development of Management Students, Dr. Jessy John (paper)
Youth Employment at the WORk Life THrough Long-Term Employability Skills (Training Material)
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Multi-disciplinary knowledge

Definition: The ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines. Multidisciplinarity means the coordination of several disciplines for the achievement of a cognitive goal or for the development of a competence. A multidisciplinary approach allows to resolve a problem, whose solution is the integration of multiple points of view, of data taken from different contexts, theories, subjects, exercises and different models. Today’s multifaceted problems require multidisciplinary solutions. The ideal worker 4.0 has the capacity to converse in the language of a broader range of disciplines. This requires curiosity and the willingness to learn beyond the years of formal education. (http://www.iftf.org/uploads/media/SR-1382A_UPRI_future_work_skills_sm.pdf)

Additional sources for further reading:
How Interdisciplinary Thinking Can Help You Learn More
7 ways to develop your skills with interdisciplinary study
Organizational skills

Definition: The ability to use your time, energy, resources, etc. in an effective way so that you achieve the things you want to achieve: Self-discipline and organizational skills are crucial to success in any profession.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/it/dizionario/inglese/organizational-skills

Additional sources for further reading:
Five core organisational skills you must possess
Organizational Skills List: The Guide To Being Truly Organized
Todoist lets you keep track of everything in one place
9 Ways to Improve Your Organization Skills
5 Ways to lead in an era of constant change, Jim Herling (TED video)
More references on soft skills

Additional sources for further reading:
“Soft Skills”: A Phrase in Search of Meaning, Miriam L. Matteson (paper)
Youth Employment at the WORk Life THrough Long-Term Employability Skills (Training Material)
EVA SKILLS: Evaluat-ing the soft skills of unemployed youth (Soft Skills Assessment)
e-leadership. Digital Skills for SMEs
Digital skills in the EU labour market
European e-Competence Framework