By Matters India Reporter
Patna: As the Covid-19 pandemic creates a ‘new normal,’ the emerging ‘new age’ professional world would require a new skill set, says an expert in leadership development.
“In the new normal world, digitization is taking place at a very fast pace. As an individual one must equip oneself at a very fast pace,” Manoj Kumar Sinha told some 250 participants at a national webinar on ‘Skills for Career Development in Post Covid World.’
Stressing the value of emotional intelligence as an essential soft skill, Sinha, managing director of Indian Institute of Enterprise and Leadership Development, said, “When the sound of the ambulance is heard every one hour, there is a stress that one has to cope with, and one has to develop emotional balance to aspire for skill-sets to re-engineer our minds for the new normal world.”
The webinar was organized on October 23 by the BBA department of St Xavier’s College Of Management And Technology in Patna.
Individuals who had more emotional intelligence were more successful in life, he said. “Mahatma Gandhi hadn’t very high IQ, but had very great EQ,” Sinha said, in answer to a question as to which was greater: IQ or EQ?
“In pre-Covid times, essential professional skills were identified as communication skills, time management, leadership, person skills, public speaking, flexibility, and teamwork. These requirements have not changed. The days of silo-working are gone. In the post-Covid world, time management and teamwork are the key aspects of being professional. Listening is a critical skill during these times. Flexibility and adaptability are also important skill sets. The top five soft skills in the ‘new normal’ is creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, Emotional intelligence,” Sinha elaborated.
College principal Jesuit Father T Nishaant noted that the pandemic has disrupted employment of youth worldwide. “Economic experts have predicted unprecedented economic downturn, and the unorganized sector is the worst hit,” he added.