‘Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.'

Mark Twain

Technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are changing the nature of work so profoundly that the transformation could eclipse that brought on by the industrial revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. We already see many signs of this. Robots are increasingly eliminating manufacturing jobs, and computer software is doing the job of thousands of office workers.

The introduction of automatic teller machines (ATMs) around the world wiped out countless banking jobs when they came into widespread use in the eighties. Today, some experts are forecasting that if your job can be automated, then it likely won't exist in five years' time. I think their five years might be optimistic and could reduce to three years or even less. What is certain is that there's a veritable, unstoppable tsunami of change coming at us!

The changing world of work

Developments in computer technology, big data, automation and AI suggest employers of the future may not need employees of the traditional kind but rather people with ‘portfolio careers' who fulfil specific tasks or jobs as free agents. The online firm Airtasker is just one startup that is already servicing this need.

One might argue that given the rate of change that's expected to affect nearly every job, one way or another, talking about ‘jobs' at all might be redundant, or of limited usefulness. We can catch glimpses of the technology horizon but we are yet to see the full horizon and all the opportunities it may bring to the world of work. Who knows what we will need employees to do and where we'll want them to do it in three, five or ten years' time? An often quoted claim has it that more than 65 per cent of future jobs have yet to be invented.

Transforming technology

Technology is fuelling the growth of virtual companies. The proliferation of document-sharing and communication platforms and tools is enabling businesses to operate without the need for physical office space or a shared location.

Changing attitudes and needs

Younger job applicants are looking for greater personal fulfilment and a better quality of life. Working remotely is fast becoming mainstream, and unsurprisingly it's not just younger workers who are expecting it. A 2017 study by Global Workplace Analytics and Flexjobs in the United States reported the average age of telecommuters (defined as those who work from home at least half of the time) as 46!

This was supported by Gallup's 2017 ‘State of the American Workplace' report, which identified the five criteria employees deem most important when they are considering a new job as:

1. the opportunity to do what they do best (60 per cent)
2. better work–life balance and personal wellbeing (53 per cent)
3. greater stability and job security (51 per cent)
4. a significant increase in income (41 per cent)
5. the opportunity to work for a company with a great brand or reputation (36 per cent).

Jobs and the gig economy

The gig economy reflects the changing nature of employment, with the decline of full-time jobs and corresponding growth of part-time, temporary and short-term gigs. Career contractors and professionals pursuing portfolio careers have known of the opportunities and benefits of the gig economy for some time. This fundamental shift is predicted to filter through the entire labour market and become the norm rather than a labour market niche. Nobody really knows what proportion of the labour market the gig economy occupies today, largely because there is no consistent definition of a gig or reliable statistics to measure it, for that matter. However, some researchers believe today's gig economy to be around 10 per cent of the total employment market.

Implications for careers

The implications for careers are multifaceted and potentially dramatic. Office towers in our central business districts that currently house thousands of white-collar workers will likely be displaced by apartments in the next 10 to 15 years as these jobs yield to the growing wave of automation and AI.

According to a recent report from jobs website Adzuna Australia, a third of all jobs across Australia may be automated by the year 2030. While losses of old-world jobs are predicted to accelerate, new jobs are expected to emerge and soak up some of the discarded labour. Emerging job opportunities will benefit those with agile minds, skills and capability. Importantly, leaders can and should play a vital role in helping employees transition to the new jobs reality. One thing we can be certain of is that being flexible and adaptable will be a career imperative — indeed it already is!

It will necessitate a commitment to continuous learning and development. This, more than almost anything else, will equip employees to take advantage of emerging opportunities and to consider and make choices that may be beyond their current field of vision. Done well, it has the potential to build resilience and harmonise individual careers with employer needs. The die has been cast. The technological revolution will change the way in which humans add and create value. And leaders will be assessed on their ability to help their employees reach their individual and collective potential. This may be very different from how leaders look at building organisational capability today.

The art of reinvention

The rapidly changing world of work obliges employees to prioritise self-reflection as a career development imperative, not a ‘nice to do'. This includes identifying transferable skills that are not discipline related, as well as isolating not only the skills they enjoy using, but those that align with current and future market needs. If this sounds simplistic or mere common sense, it's because it is. That said, you might be surprised by how many people are unaware of the benefits of these practices to successful career transition and development.

Leaders can help employees gain this insight and reap the career rewards that it yields. For some with extensive career experience, it may require that they reinvent themselves. For others who are just starting out on their career journey, it will mean matching career aspirations with the emerging employment trends. Both underline the need for doing your research. This may include pursuing qualitative and quantitative research in a way we've never had to do before.

Those with analytical minds may find research a natural and straightforward activity; others may find they have to really push themselves to do it in a focused and disciplined way. Here the imagination can play a critical role in stimulating progress. Einstein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.' Those who favour imagination over analysis can still achieve their career objectives, albeit by following a different path. A sure-fire winner for career success is a healthy combination of imagination and structured analysis. Whatever your preferred thinking style is, however, being thoughtful and purposeful in your approach to the market and your career is certainly a worthy goal.

Many labour market changes can be forecast with reasonable accuracy, so in most circumstances future events should not take us completely by surprise. It is possible to anticipate some changes that may affect your career by being alert, educating yourself, and researching history and trending issues. Such changes might include, for example, announced company restructuring, an economic shift, a change of government, and the growth or decline of industry sectors. Unfortunately, some prefer not to allow such precursors of career change to enter their thinking or field of vision. They understand the threat of these looming changes intellectually but opt to ignore them and react only when they happen.

Making choices

We all make career choices, and how we action them will often determine our future. The key is to help employees avoid career paralysis and inertia out of anxiety driven by the fear of a lack of choices when confronted by unexpected or forced career change. I have found that carrying around a feeling of having limited choices can itself be debilitating and a career limiter.

This chapter emphasises the benefits of identifying and making choices based on the best information available while also using our imaginations. This means using our analytical and problem-solving skills to envisage opportunities in a world that will be quite different from the present one. It takes an open mind, a little research and courage to make that leap. Continuous learning (formal or informal) is a key enabler of career growth. One thing is certain: information is not in short supply today. It's never been easier to research just about anything, and better internet search engines and online research tools and resources continue to evolve.

Role of transferable skills

Transferable skills enable active transitioning to new careers and roles. How exciting it is to imagine and ponder the unknown! Some skills, such as technically based ones, are specific to an industry or discipline. Many, however, can be adapted to new careers and are therefore regarded as ‘transferable'. Examples of transferable skills include leadership, listening, numeracy, verbal, analytical, problem-solving, organisational and strategic planning. Transferable skills are a powerful advantage when adapting to emerging labour markets. Leaders need to be attuned to, and knowledgeable about, the potential of skills that can traverse many different occupations. Such adaptability is likely to grow in importance as technology drives the redundancy of existing jobs and their replacement with new roles, some of which, as discussed, are yet to be conceived.

Retraining and reimagining careers is, and will continue to be, a critical activity for leaders seeking to help their employees and protégés realign their careers to new realities.

No special magic is required to capture and leverage transferable skills. The first step is simply to be aware they exist; the second is to set about critically analysing which ones are relevant for the application. Next look at how they could fit and add value to different careers and industries. For example, leadership in its many forms is a highly adaptable transferable skill. It has been successfully applied across multiple platforms, no matter what the demands and changing needs of the market. As baby boomers exit the workforce and the growth of working-age populations in many Western countries slows to close to zero, leaders will face a renewed ‘war for talent', a term first coined by McKinsey in the late nineties to describe organisational competition for talented employees. In this environment retraining will be essential.

In my experience, people who struggle to name their own transferable skills will display genuine excitement when you help them to identify a skill set they may have previously taken for granted. Since building capability is a key precursor to effective leadership, leveraging transferable skills is a critical part of the leader's toolkit not only now, but into the future.

Key learnings

Alan's story is a classic case of building a new career from the ground up. Facing an uncertain future, he evaluated his options and created his vision and strategy. He applied his:

• innate creativity skills
• commercial and marketing skills
• research skills
• new training
• transferable skills.

The story offers a master class on how to use a negative event (retrenchment) as a springboard to launch a totally new career while at the same time realising a long-held career dream.