Today’s Real Key Skill

rarely ask questions.Question two: in a rollercoaster environment, what is the real key competency today?

A: adaptability.B: lucidity.C: engagement.D: the Joker.

I'd say adaptability.Not easy because they're all good, but I'll I chose engagement.

The truth is, looking closely at these three answers,adaptability, lucidity, engagement — for me, you need all three.

But engagement — I chose that answer because I said to myself:a manager must still be motivated.

You simply can't give off an impression of disengagement to your teams, especially during periods of change.

A manager who isn't motivated, who is no longer engaged — the impact on the team is immediate.

A few things.I agree with you that engagement is important, but the competency for me is finding your engagement levers.

But I put adaptability because when I support people who are developing their careers, sometimes they compare themselves to others and say: I don't understand — this person is less productive than me,maybe less smart, and so on.

And yet they're the one whose career is moving faster than mine.

Often, it's adaptability.And that's what I find, in the long run, allows people to move forward and build great careers — but it's something you work at.

I think you can't just decide one morning: I'm going to be adaptable.

You learn to be through your personal life and your professional life.

You need perspective. It's a muscle you build.Exactly.

You need perspective and you need to live through that change.

Because I think no one is naturally prepared for change.

Of course, some people are more flexible than others — they take things less personally, they just tell themselves:OK, too bad, we move on.

That happens — but yes, I completely agree with you that it's a muscle.

You have to train it. You have to be OK with it.And clearly, the people who manage to show they're adaptable,who aren't constantly sighing at every change — they stand out.

They're much easier to work with.And that's not always what you see when you look at CVs.

Absolutely.And actually, I think we'd benefit from having job descriptions that reflect this.

I think we have a duty to be honest and to talk about this with candidates, to make sure it suits them too.

Because I think we have to be realistic.There are candidates who, as you say, either aren't ready,or simply don't want to be.

I've met people who don't want change — and I think that's OK.

It's not a problem, but maybe that means choosing the right company.

Question number 3.With AI transforming roles within months, what is a leader's priority today?