📝 usncan Note: The One Skill You Can’t Afford To Ignore As AI Reshapes The Workplace
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MasterClass celebrity instructors with founder David Rogier. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for MasterClass)
Getty Images for MasterClass
If you’re anxious about AI reshaping your career or possibly replacing your job, you’re not alone. A Wall Street Journal study published in August shows “clear evidence” that AI is “wrecking” job prospects for many employees, especially young workers.
Anxiety over AI is widespread. According to a new survey by MasterClass and the Harris Poll, 56% of professionals worry their skills will become irrelevant in an AI-first workplace.
“Having some fear is warranted,” says David Rogier, the founder and CEO of MasterClass. “When you used to have a team of twenty-four people, and now you only need five to do the work, who are the five you’re going to pick?”
I spoke to Rogier because his position at the intersection of online education and AI gives him a unique vantage point into the skills people need now to future-proof their careers.
Rogier launched MasterClass ten years ago with a vision to reimagine how people learn and who they learn from. That vision’s been fulfilled with over 200 classes by celebrity and expert instructors including Serena Williams, Gordon Ramsey, Mark Cuban, and Shonda Rhimes.
Rogier and his team just launched MasterClass Certificates, online programs co-created with organizations to teach real-world skills like leadership and decision-making with the Navy SEAL Foundation or AI strategy with Nvidia.
I asked Rogier, “What’s the number one skill people need now to stand out in the age of AI?”
The most vital skill, he said, “is the ability to learn, adapt, and change very quickly.”
According to Rogier, success isn’t about holding on to a fixed skillset and hoping AI doesn’t replace it before you retire. Success in today’s workplace requires reskilling to stay ahead of changes that are happening at a pace we’ve rarely seen in the history of work.
“Jobs are being rewritten. The people who thrive learn faster than the job changes,” says Rogier.
But how, exactly, can we learn faster than our jobs are changing?
Rogier says fast and effective learners take three steps.
1. Be brutally honest about your skill gaps.
Take an unflinching look at what you don’t know, says Rogier.
Acknowledge where your skills are outdated, where AI has caught up, and where the real value of your role lies.
“The work was never to write six lines of code,” explains Rogier. “It was to make a product people want and love, and to get a team all driving in the same direction.”
The real work you do is bigger than the task. Identify where you can solve problems, align teams, and create things people care about.
You may need to ask for feedback at this stage. Ask mentors, bosses, peers, or even AI tools: “What’s one skill I lack that will make me more competitive in [role/industry] over the next five years?
2. Get uncomfortable.
Lewis Hamilton, an iconic Formula 1 racer and MasterClass instructor, says constantly exposing yourself to new challenges—and not shying away from those challenges—is the key to personal and professional progress.
“If you just ride a bicycle in the easiest gear, you’re never going to get stronger or faster,” adds Rogier. He suggests that you volunteer to give a presentation you’d otherwise avoid or take on new projects outside your expertise.
Rogier’s advice echoes a suggestion made by Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the Lex Fridman Podcast. “Try to get yourself in a position where you’re working with people who you feel are stretching your abilities. That’s what helps you grow.”
Get comfortable with being slightly uncomfortable.
3. Build your network of weak ties.
The third part of building your ability to learn, according to Rogier, comes straight out of Mark Granovetter’s 1973 classic sociology paper, “The Strength of Weak Ties.”
Granovetter found that a person’s casual or loose connections (weak ties) are more helpful than their strong ties.
Rogier says people with strong ties often share the same habits and perspectives you might already have. Weak ties, however, open your mind to new ways of thinking.
For example, as Rogier was building MasterClass, instead of reaching out to university educators, he contacted Hollywood casting agents instead. These weak ties—outside of education—gave him the idea to use celebrity instructors and high-production storytelling to make the platform stand apart.
According to Rogier, “The best insights don’t come from people inside your network, but from people just outside of it.”
If you want to reach your full potential in an AI-first workplace, then learn to learn. Identify your skills gaps, stretch outside your comfort zone, and cultivate a network of weak ties to future-proof your career.
