3 Tips for Increasing Your Value in 2035

Imagine this... It's 2035.

Your AI assistant has already scheduled your meetings, summarized a 300-page report, drafted your presentation, negotiated routine contracts, and answered dozens of emails before your first cup of coffee.

Across the hall, someone else has access to the exact same technology.

The difference? When conflict arises, YOU know how to NAVIGATE the difficult conversation. When uncertainty fills the room, YOU know how to BUILD TRUST. When a team begins to unravel, YOU know how to RESTORE psychological safety.

Technology may level the playing field, but emotional intelligence will determine who leads it.

When I am not in a classroom, I'm often spending long hours traveling to facilitate leadership workshops across the country and when I do, I learn. My latest education has come from Emotional Intelligence Habits by Travis Bradberry (2023), which has also served as a timely reminder that while artificial intelligence continues to accelerate, our ability to understand ourselves and connect with others remains one of the few advantages that cannot be automated (Bradberry, 2023).

Emotional intelligence is built upon five interconnected competencies: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills (Goleman et al., 2002). Self-awareness is the doorway through which all the others become possible.

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change" – Albert Einstein

Here are three steps worth taking to start adapting today:

1. INVEST IN KNOWING YOURSELF.

Reflect regularly. Ask for honest feedback. Pay attention to your emotional triggers. Self-awareness is not a destination. It is a lifelong practice.

2. PRACTICE RESPONDING INSTEAD OF REACTING.

Technology can generate answers in seconds. Great leaders create space before they respond. Self-regulation builds trust when the stakes are high.

3. STRENGTHEN YOUR HUMAN ADVANTAGE.

Empathy, curiosity, relationship-building, and authentic communication are becoming premium leadership skills. These are the qualities that inspire people to follow, collaborate, and innovate together.

The future will not belong to those who know the most.

The future will belong to those who understand themselves well enough to bring out the best in others.

If you would like to find out if you are as self-aware as you think you are, take the self-awareness assessment when you join my FREE Summer Mentorship Project before August 17, 2026.

References:

Bradberry, T. (2023). Emotional intelligence habits. TalentSmart.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business School Press.