The 2025 Skills Horizon

Abstract

We’re entering a decade of disorientation.

As a leader, you’ll constantly be challenged to pinpoint what will matter next. Once you figure that out, then comes the challenge of deciding how to lead through it.

There’s no doubt that disorienting times need critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and the ability to communicate effectively. But there are new skills you’ll need to navigate our messy future. In The 2025 Skills Horizon report, we explore those skills, the benefits they unlock and how you can stay ready for anything.

Our agenda for the report is ambitious:

- We start by unpacking how the world is changing. Namely, we focus on the five shifts—the values shift, the technology shift, the accountability shift, the trust shift and the energy shift—that will make it more difficult than ever to lead. These shifts will cause fractures, complexity, uncertainty. But they’ll also spawn more ideas, more creativity, more innovation. While the future is messy, it’s also filled with opportunity.

- Then we dive into how we built the 2025 Skills Horizon. We looked, we read, we reviewed, we talked, we listened. This is a different kind of report. One of the main differences is that we conversed with more than 70 global and Australian leaders and executives across various fields. And when we say “various”, we mean it: inside, you’ll see insights and wisdom from heads of government and head chefs alike.

- After breaking down the numerous practical applications of the report—from using it to create a shared vocabulary across your organisation to citing it at dinner parties as a way to impress guests—we zoom in on the skills themselves. We start by stepping you through the three types of skills that stood out from our research (Amplifiers, Big Movers, Unexpected Emergers). That’s followed by Blobs, which represent four areas of skills convergence that will demand your attention over the next decade. Don’t let the cute name fool you—this section will be key in planning your leadership trajectory.

- To close, we explore the traits and habits of The Curious Leader, an archetype for leadership success in 2025 and beyond.

The 2025 Skills Horizon is a dynamic guide that’ll help you and your team stay prepared for what’s ahead.