Season two of Let's Talk About Skills, Baby featured guests from all around the world who are all making an impact on the future of skills. On this special bonus episode, Kelly is joined by Producer Sari Weinerman to discuss the reoccurring themes throughout the season and share some exciting announcements.  

The most prominent themes across the 19 interviews we did this season were social-emotional learning, transferable skills across industries, re-imagining education systems, and achieving equity through skills-based hiring. Get a glimpse at what we learned about these themes, and hear about our new show Got Skills! 

Takeaways:  

• (6:00) “Learning happens all the time in every interaction that you have. I feel like this moment, not only will teach parents, that learning is happening all the time, but that we can start checking in with students' emotions.” 
• (12:00) “Skills are something that you don't just pick up one time and you know, it forever. I tend to use the analogy of either parenting or playing sports, I didn't just pick up a basketball and become amazing at basketball that day, I worked at it every day for years. And as a parent, you're working at those skills every day, all the time at home and at work.” 
• (18:00) “For a person applying to a job right now, remember that the systems are set up to read basic skill information from your CV or resume, and on there are your basics, it's your education, it's the last jobs you held...Is that really a true picture of what you're capable of? No is the answer it's not a good picture, and that's such a shame.” 

Skillsbaby.com/gotskills 

For a long time now, skills assessments have been fairly unreliable. Asking a candidate for a review of their skills will only provide one-sided feedback. Trusting anonymous credentials is also not providing a clear enough picture. That is where Skill Survey comes in. They are working to create a system where peer feedback will help tell the skills stories we need to hear for most effective hiring.  

Hear from Randy Bitting, Co-Founder of the Career Readiness Project, and Jake Burke, VP of Sales at Skill Survey, about how changing the way we collect and report on skills data will help all involved.  

Big Takeaways:  

• (9:15) The gap between who a student thinks they are and how they present themselves to the world can be very large. It's the role of the career services or student employment supervisor to point out that gap so the student can take it with them on their journey to their first full-time job. 
• (12:33) The big shift is from hard skills to soft skills; hard skills are typically what you're hired for, and soft skills (or behavioral competencies) are either the reason you're let go or the reason you grow in a certain position. 
• (23:28) Punctuality and attendance are in the top 10 areas that students and job candidates need to improve nationwide, and they are a huge predictor of future success. 

Skillsurvey.com/career-readiness 

Let’s talk about finding your passion. Sometimes it is less than obvious, but it is always a journey! Kelly is joined by Fumbi Chima, CIO and Executive Vice President at BECU to discuss her career journey, and the skills she honed along the way. One of the most important skills being curiosity. Staying curious and constantly innovating was the key to Fumbi’s amazing success!  

Fumbi believes you have to ask for help and not be afraid of doing so.  

Big Takeaways:  

• (8:29) It's not being scared to say 'here's what I want to do--here's my aspiration.' It's the admission of 'yes, this is what I want and this is who I want to be' that is so important.
• (11:06) "I ascribe innovation to natural curiosity. Whether it's process, functionality, or people; how do you refine it? I'm constantly curious, trying to make things just a little bit better than they were before." 
• (15:35) I would say 'no' is not an option. 'I cannot' is not an option either, because you've got to explore everything. Ask for help. Tell people what your aspirations are so they can find ways to help you. 

BECU.org

Skillsbaby.com

Let’s talk about society’s data issue. In today’s world, we’ve got a bunch of things that should be happening with our data that aren't and a bunch of things that shouldn't be happening with our data that are. When it comes to skills, why isn’t our data more readily accessible to us? Why should we have to pay our colleges and educational institutions for copies of our transcripts and degrees? Matt Gee, data scientist, and CEO at BrightHive joins Kelly to discuss what liberating skills data would do for the future of learning and work.  

Matt believes that liberating skills data will allow a lot more people to be gainfully employed, loving what they do. 

Big Takeaways:  

• (5:49) We've got a bunch of things that should be happening with data that aren't and a bunch of things that shouldn't be happening with our data that are happening all the time. We've got to renegotiate the social contract around data. 
• (10:39) Liberating skills data is a key part of helping everyone have more direct control over their own stories and outcomes.  
• (26:07) If we can provide everyone with a higher level of insight into themselves and the market, we'll end up with a lot more folks, not just gainfully employed, but loving what they do and able to adapt to changes as they come. 

Brighthive.io 

SkillsBaby.com

Struggle is relative, but no matter how deep, can lead to the discovery of your purpose. In this episode, Kelly is joined by Michelle Daniel, founding member and chair of the board of Constructing Our Future. She is interested in the collateral consequences of criminal convictions for people and families directly impacted by mass incarceration. Through her own experience with incarceration and her journey to re-entry, Michelle developed an incredible passion for helping other incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women survive and thrive. Her work with Constructing Our Future is committed to removing the stigma of incarceration so that people that re-enter society and find both support and success.  

Michelle’s favorite quote is “To whom much is given, much is required.” 

Big Takeaways:  

• (24:50) Constructing Our Future is a transitional safe, welcoming home for formerly incarcerated women. When they are living in our home, they have two options on the educational track or construction track so that they can either finish a credential that they started in prison or before, and didn't get done, or they can go the vocational track. 
• (29:55) There are over 45,000 collateral consequences of criminal convictions that are legal barriers to formerly incarcerated people reentering society. But legal derives from the social and the social collateral consequences of criminal convictions literally apply a taint of criminality upon formerly incarcerated people that follow them throughout their entire life. 
• (34:00) I would say "To whom much is given much is required." And if you look about your life and you see that you have, you are required to give. You haven't been given just for your own personal enjoyment--much is required of you beyond yourself. And when you find what that thing is that you're supposed to be doing for others, you will have a warmer heart, you will sleep better and your life will be far more rewarding." 

Constructingourfuture.com 

Twiiter: @COF_Michelle 

LinkedIn: @Michelle Daniel 

IG: @michelle_thetruth and @constructingourfuture 

What happens when we stop looking at humans as resources and start looking at them as assets? Eliminating competition can help us live happier more fulfilled lives where we follow our passions, rather than working to live. Kelly is joined by emerging technology strategist Jay Latta for a conversation on how we can build the future he envisions, so we can move past our scarcity mindset and lead with curiosity.  

Jay believes our main human need is to stay curious.  

Big Takeaways:  

• "My recommendation is mostly reading. Reading starts the fire in your imagination. We need to get back to our curiosity. There are no wrong questions, and there are no wrong answers--it's about discovering. It's about getting curious and listening to what makes you happy." 
• "Ecosystemic thinking is about collaboration and cooperation. It eliminates the outdated idea of competition. You don't need to be the biggest of the biggest simply to become a monopolist – that competitive approach is toxic." 
• "People don't go into corporate jobs to stay for the next 35-40 years anymore. After one & a half or two years, they simply go somewhere else because they're curious. That's how we break out of the linear thinking that you need your career in order to marry, have children, build a house, etc. Linear thinking does not serve our main human need, which is to stay curious." 

Skillsbaby.com

You’ve likely heard about the Montessori group, a framework of education with schools around the globe, that follows the pedagogy created by Marie Montessori in the 1900s. Montessori is a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning, and collaborative play. It centers on human skills in developmental education. However, because it was built in the 1900s it often is labeled outdated or old-fashioned. Leonor Stjepic, the current CEO of the Montessori Group, joins Kelly to explain why the Montessori method is so relevant and valuable today, and how even as adults, we can employ Montessori teachings to strengthen our essential life skills 

Leonor believes human skills should be called essential life skills because the often-used term “soft skills” does not accurately describe their importance and effect.  

Big Takeaways:  

• (7:00) "[At Montessori] we're teaching children [life skills] at such a young age that they become ingrained, they become muscle memory. It's like when you learn how to drive a car as an adult--once you've learned and you've driven several times, you do it because you remember how to do it. You have that skill now. We're teaching these young children to have essential life skills, and I refuse to call them soft skills because they're not soft skills." 
• (20:00)"I've always employed people based on who they are as people rather than what skills they have. You can get some people who look amazing on paper and are awful employees because they're missing key human skills. And I've employed people who don't have qualifications or haven't finished school and they've been brilliant."  
• (25:00) "Teams are all about building relationships, respecting differences (because not everybody's the same), and being able to work with people you don't like--that's a really important skill. You have to be able to show them respect. You have to be able to interact with your customers or stakeholders, and that's all about relationships. It's all about being a well-rounded human being." 

Montessori-group.com 

Resilience is the key to thriving in a time of crisis. Resilience is an immensely valuable skill that is like a muscle needing to be used, trained, and built. In this episode, Kelly is joined by Amelie Yan Gouiffes. Amelie is a coach, speaker, and author specializing in resilience building and thriving in the time of crisis. Her experience speaking many languages and living and working all around the world gives her valuable insight into the skills it takes to succeed in times of flourishing and in times of crisis.  

Amelie dreams of a world where we can all belong and become.  

Big Takeaways:  

• (6:55) If you look at continents like Africa that are used to crises, they are managing much better through Covid than us in the Western world because we aren't used to it. Our resilience is not that strong because we've not practiced. 
• (12:56) When I worked with communities, instead of telling them what to do or guiding them or advising them, I wanted them to connect with their inner wisdom, their inner knowledge, because it's really empowering when you're able to do that. 
• (14:42) The main thing I'm hearing from team leaders in Spain and France is: 'Amelie, before Covid I was coming to work and not asking my people how they're doing because we wanted to focus on work... Now I wake up in the morning and the first thing I think is of my people. I don't know how to tell them how important they are to me. I don't know how to ask them about how they feel and listen to what they have to say because I've never done that. 

 Amelie Speaks: www.ameliespeaks.com 

EPitch Mastery Course

Book : Speak And Live Your Legacy

Did you know students spend only 20% of their time in the classroom? This means they are only focused on dedicated learning 20% of the time. That leaves huge opportunities for creating learning spaces outside of classrooms. Lifelong learning doesn’t only happen behind a desk, it should and could happen at the grocery store, the bus stop, or anywhere else. That is what Sebastien Turbot is dedicated to unveiling with his work. To build learning ecosystems at the city level, beyond traditional educational models. Sebastien is the CEO and chief strategist of EKO6, a Canadian-based consultancy that guides governments, cities, businesses, and civil society, and creating, engaging platforms that turn ideas into action, as well as a research fellow at WISE, the World Innovation Summit for Education. 

Sebastien believes education must be less siloed and support learner agency.  

Big Takeaways:  

• (8:00) “We have 21st-century students with 20th-century teachers, a 19th-century curriculum, and an 18th-century school calendar... how do we move away from that? Making sure that learning and education is less siloed, more connected to the real world. It's really about lifelong learning.” 
• (18:00) “This link between formal and informal really encourages a skills-based learning approach...It's hard skills, soft skills, social, emotional skills, collaboration, communication, creativity, empathy, foresight, [and] adaptability. So skills are really front and center of this learning ecosystems conversation.” 
• (28:00)“For me, personalized learning has been kind of taken over by the tech conversation [its] how do we develop software and algorithms that can push content to me depending on how the software assesses my level in any given topic... [instead,] how can we design systems where the learners are really in the driver's seat of their own learning?” 

Follow Sebastian: on Twitter @sturbo 

Linkedin: @Sebastien Turbot 

Follow @ekosixcommunities 

WISE - World Innovation Summit For Education

One of the most effective ways to hone life skills is through immersing yourself in other places and other cultures. Whether through books, podcasts, or actual travel, diving into other people’s stories helps you develop empathy and understanding. Kelly talks to Kyra Assibey-Bonsu about the skills she developed while traveling the world, and how that inspires her work at Blackspace, an organization that utilizes the black space manifesto for neighborhood design strategy in Black and Brown communities 

Kyra believes storytelling provides everyone with the ability to empathize and understand the marginalized and unheard voices that are not commonly foregrounded in media, history books, and beyond. 

Big Takeaways:  

• (12:30) The Blackspace manifesto “enables you to walk in a way in which you are empathizing or at least actively listening...one of the principles is be a humble listener...you don't listen to respond, you listen to actually listen.” 
• (16:00)” I do think it's incredibly crucial that we walk in a world with an empathetic eye and that we are more cognizant of the struggles of those that we don't typically see.” 
• (17:00)” Whether it is, you can travel physically traveling in your mind through books, through stories or audio stories of conversations are important...you can travel to those places by movies, by audiobooks, by reading, and that's one thing...I hope that everyone is also still making an effort to really broaden their mind in a way that will lead to a better society.” 

Blackspace

Follow Kyra: IG @kymab  

LinkedIn: @Kyra Assibey Bonsu 

Twitter: @KyraBonsu (https://twitter.com/KyraBonsu/) 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyra.bonsu 

Podcast Instagram: No Country for Moving