4 key skills to accelerate your professional evolution

To evolve personally and professionally in a changing world, rely on four major meta-competencies advise Laurent Zermati (H.00), Certified Coach and former Director of Executive and Talent Management for the La Poste Group and Frédéric Theismann Co-director of SA Group Consulting and Co-founder of COHERENCE.

1- Have a high aspiration

Life can easily make you lose track of your deepest desires. If you don't slow down to think about what is essential to you, others will find goals that don't fit you. To reconnect with the cause that can pull you up, take the time to question yourself. What is your most important, authentic aspiration?

2- Become aware of yourself

To gain a better understanding of yourself, observe and welcome your emotions, thoughts and physical feelings without judgment. Refocus by paying full attention to the "here and now" - by following your breathing, for example. Meditation is the best way to reach this state. 

3- Learn to learn

You can improve your performance by putting your brain in the right conditions. To start with, find out what your inner weather is like: being in a happy mood makes learning easier. Alternate work sequences (50 minutes) with short breaks. Change your habits to stimulate your neurons - use your left hand more if you are right-handed. And cut down on ruminations, which consume colossal mental energy.

4- Cultivate humility

Thinking you know is worse than not knowing: in a context where knowledge is constantly advancing, it is better to approach the world with a "beginner's mind". Also, recognise your limitations and mistakes, without feeling guilty or devaluing yourself. Finally, always make room for others: don't take credit for a team success, but rather highlight your colleagues and help them to grow.

Personal aspiration, self-awareness, continuous learning, humility: the winning quartet of tomorrow's leaders!

Marianne Gérard for HEC Life Project