Laura Ashley-Timms is the COO of performance consultancy Notion, creator of the multi-award-winning STAR® Manager online development programme being pursued by managers and leaders in over 40 countries.
She is also the co-author, with Dominic Ashley-Timms of the management bestseller The Answer is a Question – The Missing Superpower that Changes Everything and Will Transform Your Impact as a Manager and Leader.
There’s no doubt that AI is changing everything in the world of work; the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace has nearly doubled in just two years.
On the one hand, this has led to the democratisation of knowledge, but on the other, it’s creating concern that AI will take jobs away. A TUC survey in August this year showed that 51% of UK workers are worried about the impact of AI on their jobs, with losses or changes to terms and conditions being among the most common concerns. This rose to 62% for workers aged between 25 and 34.
And when big companies such as BT, Amazon and Microsoft are already saying that advances in AI could lead them to cut jobs, this concern is certainly justified.
So, how can you AI-proof your job, especially in the tech space, where AI is already reshaping workflows and automating more mundane tasks, such as debugging and testing?
The answer lies in developing your power management skills. These human-centric skills are essential for avoiding obsolescence and differentiating yourself from machines.
The power of being human
You’ll likely know power skills by their previous name: soft skills. For decades, the professional world has distinguished so-called ‘hard’ skills (those abilities, such as coding or data analysis, that can be easily quantified) and ‘soft’ skills, a general term for interpersonal traits like communication and teamwork.
Calling these skills ‘soft’, however, has always done them a disservice, reducing them to a secondary or lesser importance. But now, in a world increasingly shaped by AI and automation, it’s time to elevate them. Why? Because while AI can easily replicate hard skills, such as debugging code or analysing data, it’s these soft skills that only humans can do.
This is why they deserve a name reset from ‘soft skills’ to ‘power skills’. This is more than just semantics; it’s a fundamental re-framing of value. It’s time to see power skills as not simply add-ons but as multipliers. They’re the foundational, transferable abilities that amplify the effectiveness of every hard skill you possess: think nuanced judgment, strategic thinking and genuine connection.
Power management skills that promote engagement, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking are now the key differentiators for personal success, and it’s strength in these that will set you apart in an increasingly AI-dominated world.
Power management skills to develop
Strong leadership
We can no longer wait for certainty in a world that’s constantly morphing. So the ability to lead through this ambiguity is vital, providing clarity, confidence and direction when the best way forward isn’t always obvious.
To do this, you need to make sound judgments based on data, as well as intuition, and use this uncertainty as an opportunity for you and your team to learn, experiment, and adapt.
This power skill enables you to act decisively, setting you and your organisation apart from competitors who are paralysed by analysis. Leaders who can navigate ambiguity create teams who quickly pivot, adjust and find a new way forward, turning market volatility from a threat into a competitive advantage.
Creating psychological safety
Build a workplace where you and your team feel safe enough to take risks. Because once people feel secure, they know they can challenge the status quo, admit mistakes without fear of blame, ask for help and offer unconventional ideas.
Managers who create a workplace like this will unleash innovation, resilience, candour and creativity. The result is a team that can collaborate effectively to solve complex challenges.
Enquiry-led management
Moving away from the traditional command-and-control style of management is critical if you’re to draw on the talents that others have to offer. The most impactful managers are now those who incorporate a coaching style into their everyday leadership. And we’re not talking about running sit-down, one-to-one coaching sessions here, but instead, developing the skill of asking powerful questions in the flow of work.
This enquiry-led approach is the critical component of a new style of management called Operational Coaching®. Described as ‘the missing superpower’, asking purposeful questions intended to engage the thinking of others has been proven to generate hugely positive outcomes, and is the ultimate power skill as it guides team members to find their own solutions, foster critical thinking and unlock potential.
Adopting an Operational Coaching® style of management transforms a leader from a simple problem-solver into a multiplier of their team’s capability, driving autonomy, innovation and resilience. It encourages ownership and drives deeper engagement, transforming team dynamics from passive compliance to active problem-solving. It also aligns with other power skills by fostering an inclusive culture of trust and psychological safety, thereby driving both productivity and innovation.
As routine tasks become increasingly automated, our human value will shift towards how we think, adapt, interact and lead. It’s time to stop viewing these as passive, soft traits and instead appreciate them as active, powerful skills that hold the key to AI-proofing your role and realising your true potential in this new world.
