Essential Professional Skills That You Need in Today's Workplace

So often, when we think of emerging skills that will set you up for professional success in the modern workplace, we might immediately jump to hard skills, such as learning how to use AI and other technical skills effectively.

But what do you think employers are looking for in 2026? According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, when employers were asked what they look for on the resumes of new graduates, these were the top five:

• Ability to work in a team (85%)
• Problem-solving skills (82%)
• Verbal communication skills (78%)
• Technical skills (73%)
• Written communication skills (72%)

Knowing how to use the latest tools is important. But so is knowing how to work with others, make good decisions, and get things done.

In this article, we will cover just some of the skills that are needed in today's job market and consider how you can develop those skill sets. We will discuss:

• Critical Thinking Skills
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Project Management (Even If You’re Not a Project Manager)
• Process Mapping
• Understanding Yourself and the People You Work With
• Professional Development Designed to Improve Your Professional Skills

Critical Thinking Skills

We could spend hours talking about the role AI will have in professional settings, but I'm sure we can all agree that human judgment is still necessary.

Case in point: In May 2024, Google rolled out its AI overviews. When asked how to keep cheese from sliding off a pizza, the AI overview suggested using non-toxic glue. Reports at the time suggested the AI had surfaced a sarcastic online comment and treated it as legitimate advice.

We would immediately recognize that as bad advice. But workplace decisions rarely come with a suggestion as obviously wrong as putting glue on pizza. Perhaps there are multiple viable options, and it's a matter of choosing the one that makes the most sense for your team. Perhaps you are completing performance reviews, where your own biases may come into play. Or maybe you're trying to decide whether a customer complaint is a one-off issue or part of a larger pattern.

In Critical Thinking Skills for Great Workplace Decisions, you will practice slowing down your thinking, questioning assumptions, spotting bias, and evaluating information before jumping to a conclusion. You'll also explore how your A.R.C.H. personality type impacts how you see an issue. impacts how you see an issue.

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Problem Solving and Decision Making

Every workplace has more than enough of two things: challenges and decisions.

We have more choices than ever before, and the workplace has never been more complex. Technology is changing at the speed of light, and even simple decisions can involve more people and more information than they used to.

If there was ever a time to learn the essential skills to solve problems and make wise decisions, it is now.

And when we say "problem-solving skills", we are not talking about the quickest, easiest, or cheapest fix. We've seen time and again that quick fixes don't last long. Strong problem-solving skills mean going to the root of the problem, identifying what's really going on, and then choosing a solution.

In Problem Solving and Decision Making Skills for Today's Workplace, you will use root-cause analysis to figure out what's really going on. You'll also explore how your A.R.C.H. personality type affects your decision making and apply frameworks to weigh risks, explore options, and make better choices.

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Project Management (Even if You're Not a Project Manager)

Your email signature may not say “Project Manager”, but we are all project managers in our own right.

Whether you're planning a marketing campaign, coordinating an office move, rolling out new software, or organizing an event, you're managing timelines, people, priorities, resources, and expectations.

To make it a success, you need to break the work into manageable pieces, assign responsibilities, overcome challenges, and keep everyone moving toward the same goal.

Project Management Fundamentals is a half-day course that provides a practical introduction to project management. You'll discover the types of skills that you need to plan, organize, lead, and complete projects successfully. Finally, you'll understand how your A.R.C.H. personality type influences the way you approach a project. 

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Process Mapping

There's knowing what to do.

Then there's knowing how to do it, and how to do it efficiently. And - even better - being able to create a clear workflow so that the process is consistent across your team!

Process mapping is more than creating a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). It means identifying and working around potential bottlenecks and making sure you've determined what needs to happen, when, and who is responsible.

In Process Mapping for Better Workflows, you walk away with a well-rounded understanding of how to build better workflows, including how different A.R.C.H. personality types come into play. You'll also return to the office with a process you've mapped yourself, along with a framework you can use to improve your other workflows. (And it all happens in just half a day!)

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Understanding Yourself and the People You Work With

You'll notice that in each of the above courses, we talked about A.R.C.H. personality types. That's on purpose.

We are all trying to develop stronger professional skills, but we may approach it differently depending on our A.R.C.H. personality type. (A.R.C.H. personality types is an assessment that helps you determine your natural working style. You'll be identified as an Elk, River Otter, Grizzly Bear, or Beaver.)

For example, consider time management. An Elk values predictability and having enough time to comfortably meet deadlines, whereas a River Otter may prefer flexibility and being open to new opportunities. Neither approach is right or wrong. But they show that professional skills are not one-size-fits-all.

That's why we are integrating our A.R.C.H. Personality Types framework into many of our professional skills courses. Learning a skill is only part of the equation. You also need to understand how you naturally approach it, how the people around you may approach it differently, and how to adapt when those styles collide.

To get started, why not explore your team's personality types with Introduction to A.R.C.H. Personality Types in the Workplace?

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Professional Development Designed to Improve Your Professional Skills

At Great Canadian Training, we believe that professional development should change what happens when you go back to work. That's why our courses focus on real workplace situations and practical skills that you can actually use when you return to work.

You can join one of our public courses, bring training privately to your organization, or choose shorter webinars and workshops. And for teams, private training gives us even more room to make the learning relevant. We can build examples around your workplace, use the challenges your team is actually facing, and add coaching or discussion where it will be most useful.

And if you're looking to combine hard and soft skills, check out our GREAT series, which combines software training with professional skills. For example, in Become a Great Presenter with MS PowerPoint and Presentation Skills, we combine Microsoft PowerPoint training with presentation skills development to make your next presentation truly GREAT.

Not sure which professional skill your team should focus on first? Talk to us. We can help you figure out where training will have the biggest impact.