How to change your life - learn power skills | Dr Alex Young | TEDxUniversityofBristol

Summary

In this video, Alex, a former surgeon turned tech entrepreneur, emphasizes the transformative power of 'power skills'—essential soft skills like empathy, leadership, emotional intelligence, and resilience. Drawing from his experience in medicine and business, Alex illustrates how mastering these skills can improve relationships, career prospects, and overall well-being. He outlines a five-step process for learning these skills, including committing to deliberate practice, seeking feedback, and using structured frameworks. Alex highlights that power skills can be learned through effort, leading to both personal growth and positive impact on others.

Takeaways

• 😀 Power skills, such as empathy, leadership, and communication, are crucial for both personal and professional growth.
• 😀 Despite the misconception that soft skills cannot be learned, they can be developed through deliberate practice over time.
• 😀 Empathy is a foundational power skill, helping to improve relationships, reduce stress, and increase job satisfaction.
• 😀 Feedback is essential for learning power skills—actively seek it out to identify blind spots and improve.
• 😀 A growth mindset, as described by Carol Dweck, is essential for developing power skills, similar to other talents like intelligence or sports ability.
• 😀 Detach your identity from the skills you're learning—don't take mistakes personally, and approach the process with a beginner’s mind.
• 😀 Using frameworks like 'Think, Feel, Do' can provide structure and help apply power skills effectively in real-world situations.
• 😀 Power skills are not just valuable for doctors or surgeons; they are necessary in all careers and aspects of life.
• 😀 The ability to empathize and communicate effectively leads to better business outcomes, including higher employee engagement, retention, and innovation.
• 😀 Technology, such as virtual reality and AI, can provide valuable practice environments to help improve soft skills in safe, controlled settings.

Q & A

What are power skills, and why are they important?

Power skills, also known as soft skills or human skills, include qualities like empathy, communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence. They are crucial because they not only impact our professional life but also influence personal relationships, decision-making, and our ability to navigate challenging situations.

Why did Alex choose to leave his career in medicine to start a tech company?

Alex left his medical career to focus on building a tech company aimed at helping people learn impactful skills. He believed that the skills he had gained in medicine, particularly soft skills like empathy, leadership, and communication, could be applied in other fields, including education and tech.

What is the importance of empathy in both professional and personal life?

Empathy allows individuals to understand and connect with others on an emotional level. In the professional world, it leads to better teamwork, leadership, and business outcomes. In personal life, empathy helps to form deeper relationships and navigate complex emotional situations effectively.

How did Alex apply power skills while growing his tech company?

Alex used power skills like empathy, leadership, and communication to scale his tech company. These skills helped him manage a remote team, foster a diverse and inclusive culture, close sales, and lead the company through periods of uncertainty, such as during the pandemic.

What role does feedback play in improving power skills?

Feedback is essential in improving power skills. Actively seeking feedback helps identify blind spots, refine communication, and develop leadership abilities. For Alex, receiving feedback about his communication style allowed him to improve his leadership approach and increase the effectiveness of his team.

How can one begin to learn power skills like empathy or communication?

To learn power skills, the first step is to believe that they can be learned through deliberate practice. It's also essential to detach one's identity from the skill being learned, adopt a beginner's mindset, and actively seek feedback. This allows for consistent improvement over time.

What is the 'beginner's mind,' and how does it help in learning new skills?

The 'beginner's mind,' a concept introduced by author Shinryu Suzuki, encourages individuals to approach new skills with openness and curiosity, similar to how a child would. It allows people to let go of past negative experiences and focus on learning, without being weighed down by judgment or previous failures.

Why do people often resist practicing power skills, and how can this be overcome?

People resist practicing power skills because they are tied to their social identity, and they fear being judged or negatively evaluated. This fear can be overcome by adopting a beginner's mindset, focusing on the process rather than the outcome, and committing to long-term, deliberate practice.

How do frameworks like 'think, feel, do' help in practicing power skills?

Frameworks like 'think, feel, do' help structure interactions and decision-making. For example, when practicing empathy, one can first think about what the other person might be feeling, then empathize emotionally, and finally take positive action that adds value to the interaction, such as listening or offering support.

How can technology assist in learning power skills?

Technology can assist in learning power skills through tools like video conferencing, AI-driven virtual interactions, and recording systems. These allow for practicing soft skills in a controlled environment, receiving real-time feedback, and refining communication and emotional intelligence in a safe space.