The Enduring Human Skill to Build Now
Your ability to decipher meaning from a broad array of inputs will set you apart
The machines are gaining strength. We’re making progress along the AI Hype Cycle — from “inflated expectations” to tangible outcomes. Digital transformations of all sorts, whether planned or forced by COVID-19, are accelerating organizations to more technologically-advanced states.
With digital maturity growing rapidly for so many organizations and cloud services at their fingertips, it’s easy to feel like the human is minimized…as though we’re being replaced.
People are struggling to find their place, asking a tough question: “where do I fit within this digitally-powered world?”
Our education systems have long pointed us toward the development of hard skills — those that are teachable, measurable, often technical in nature. But these are fleeting. The speed of technology can make them quickly irrelevant (if not kept fresh) or automation simply takes over the human’s role entirely.
On the other hand, career experts tell us to relentlessly build certain soft skills — communication, negotiation, creativity, and the like (“Great, I’ll start being more creative tomorrow!”). While well-meaning, they’re incorrectly implying that we should let go of the hard skill track, and jump over to the softer world — that’s where humans find their place going forward, they say.
But the answer is more nuanced than that — it’s somewhere in between.
Many people are struggling with self-doubt, wondering how their past experiences and current skillset translate into a world where technology is taking over (“If I’m not a data scientist or cloud architect, what value do I bring?”). It’s a tough pill to swallow when your job is programmed into robotic software or when you realize the in-person services you previously provided are now out of fashion due to coronavirus.
Times of change can trigger extreme uncertainty and anxiety — moments when you feel you’re no longer good enough. I know…I’ve been there.
But there is a skill to double down on — one to really get good at. In challenging periods like these, the brave endure and press forward. And they find ways to stand out. We’re seeing lots of suggested routes for upping your game in the digital era, but there’s one skill that trumps them all…
…Synthesis.
The ability to see and connect all the dots
We humans are dreamers. Visions come to us — whether intentionally or out of nowhere — and they spawn ideas that are worth trying. This very article is an example of that (i.e., a gamble to connect with and inspire you).
Our dreams come to us through synthesis. Often formulated through subconscious thought, we piece together a wide range of experiences and concepts to generate viewpoints that ignite our imagination and help us envision what’s possible.
As machines continue to become more effective and efficient in certain tasks (and believe me, I’m in support of much of it), those individuals that develop strong synthesis muscles will be immensely valuable for years to come. I’m not talking about crunching numbers and developing statistical insights from huge datasets — let’s leave that to the machines (that’s their strength).
The dreamy human version of synthesis is much more inclusive and higher-impact than what machines will be capable of anytime soon.
Collecting the dots, as Seth Godin says, is something machines and many humans can do. That skill isn’t hugely differentiating. But connecting the dots — that’s an opportunity we should feel enlivened by. Regardless of the field you work in, there’s ample whitespace. We need you to develop there.
Synthesis is an artform that produces an integrated and holistic understanding of a given environment. In the business world, for example, a leader must zoom out and understand all the actors and their binding relationships, while also grasping what drives them. They might ask:
- Who matters?
- What do they care about?
- What’s the typical exchange between these parties?
- What incentivizes each party to participate in the relationship?
The answers to questions like these serve as the glue for connecting the dots. With a wide-angle lens, you’ll see there are many dots worth connecting. Through a creative read of the environment, you’ll start arriving at some valuable insights. This systems-based thinking then helps point you to the options for moving forward.
Synthesis brings together disparate activities and data points to establish a unified explanation of a situation, which is especially valuable for people in leadership positions. Psychologist Howard Gardner explains the value of the synthesizing leader: “The ability to decide which data to heed, which to ignore, and how to organize and communicate information will be among the most important traits of business executives in this century.”
This is a journey worth taking.
Developing your synthesis skill
Synthesis does not equal summary. We aren’t rehashing the main points of an episode or doing a simple aggregation. Instead, synthesis takes components A, B, and C and then formulates D, where D considers the inputs and — most importantly — establishes a fresh view that sheds light on the situation.
Strong conclusions like these deeply resonate with people. In synthesizing a situation and articulating insightful rationale, you’re giving others something they intellectually and emotionally crave: meaning.
The importance of synthesis harkens back to Aristotle’s maxim that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Herein lies your opportunity: to be a person who can imagine and rationally articulate the whole.
A synthesizing person is rare indeed — a highly-skilled craftsman. They’ll prove valuable in whatever field they’re in. They go above and beyond, doing more than what’s written in their job description and instead aim to deliver a different type of value that unifies and bonds the people they work with.
Synthesis is a powerful weapon wielded by philosophers. By seeing the whole picture, this person simplifies and explains situations that are immensely complex and which laypeople choose not to explore.
Take WWI as an example — beyond someone killing an Archduke, do you really know why Germany undertook a monstrous effort to dominate the European continent? It puzzled me for a long time. But then I came across a work of art: a framework (M-A-I-N) that someone synthesized to explain the convoluted nature of The Great War.
Synthesis is a potent and critical skill for both current and aspiring leaders.
But how do you get good at synthesis? There are nuances depending on the field you’re in, but here are key steps to get you started:
- Environmental immersion. Begin by studying broadly. Look at the contextual, political, and technological elements at play. Why is a situation the way it is? What perceptions do people hold? Read widely to understand a diversity of viewpoints and take good notes as you document and start to distill the complexity. Make sure to verify credible data and de-prioritize highly-biased inputs.
- Pattern recognition. Thematic analysis is your aim here. Group the salient points and then zoom out. Hypothesize the obvious and non-obvious connections that exist. Dig deep — go beyond symptoms of a situation and seek to understand root causes. Get to the point that you can identify meaningful patterns that bring clarity. Raise the most compelling and impactful patterns to the top.
- Articulation. Now it’s time to win people over through a clear and powerful illustration of what you’ve learned. This should be a highly-polished and uncomplicated documentation of your synthesized explanation, in visual and/or narrative format. Here, you want to compel people through simple, concise, and convincing rationale. Hint: this can be accomplished through a well-structured story arc.
- Testing and iteration. As Hemingway famously said, “The first draft of anything is s***.” Embrace this notion and humbly seek feedback on your synthesized viewpoint(s). Ask people for blunt feedback on how they interpret your synthesis, including how it made them feel, how convincing the logic is, and the durability of the argument. You might even take the time to proactively acknowledge and refute counter-arguments, as a debate professional might do.
- Dissemination. Changing any status quo requires getting things out of your own head and into the hearts and minds of your target audience (and make sure you know exactly who needs to receive the message). Find creative and impactful mediums for getting your synthesis to people that will help change the situation for the better. Be brave here — people will admire the risks you’re taking to improve the community’s situation.
Conclusion
People with a well-honed synthesis skillset have a powerful competitive advantage in our knowledge economy, and this will endure as long as the skill is continuously refined. Synthesizers don’t mind a messy problem. In fact, they’re drawn to it. There’s significant whitespace and opportunity there. Your ability to see a universe of variables and derive meaning from it all — while communicating effectively — will set you apart.
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