Skill 7: Dependability and Attention to Detail

This article series explores each of the Top 10 Skills of 2023 identified by the World Economic Forum, offering a roadmap to make them accessible to every individual. In this article, we will delve into the seventh skill, “Dependability and Attention to Detail”. For information on the sixth skill, please refer to Technical Literacy.

According to the Oxford dictionary:

“the quality of being able to be trusted and being very likely to do what people expect.”

Indeed says:

“is your ability to efficiently allocate your cognitive resources to achieve thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing.”

It is Imperative to Dependability and Attention to Detail

One of the foremost qualities sought by HR experts, as indicated by research, is “dependability.” Fulfilling promises is paramount for the effective functioning of any organisation. When encountering an exceptionally talented collaborator, it is only natural to be enthused about their potential. However, should they prove to be “unreliable or irresponsible”, all that talent could become detrimental.

It is plausible that, akin to many of the skills presented by the World Economic Forum, organisations believe they simply need to hire the right person, and such qualities are not a concern for HR professionals. Is it so? Learning and development departments may need to reassess the lack of readiness for work and the imminent scarcity of “deficient” social skills approaching the current workforce. Indeed, it has never been appropriate to assume that such vital qualities can be taken for granted, and encouraging personal development can significantly enhance the success of an organisation.

While dependability is an “innate” quality of the individual, it is arguable that attention to detail is a skill that can be taught and refined. Similar to being punctual for work and “meeting deadlines”, meticulousness in work and a desire for excellence are often inherent in the individual. Once again, there is a need for the collaborator to be accountable for the outcome and to strive for efficiency. Efficient delivery of outcomes is only possible if they can consistently produce quality each time.

Drawing a parallel with Power Skills and utilising the Big Five model, we can cite personality traits such as “Dependability” strongly associated with Agreeableness while “Attention to Detail” linked to Conscientiousness and other traits.

How to Encourage Collaborators to Be Dependability and Attention to Detail?

Envision pledging to a CEO that each collaborator would focus on developing greater responsibility for their outcomes in the coming month. Each individual would explore how to ensure they deliver on their “promises” and achieve the “highest quality possible”.

Discussions in the office about how team members can be mindful of their responsibilities and the strategies that can be implemented to ensure reliable output would be commonplace. The impact on profitability would be immense.

Efficiency would soar, and the CEO would witness a dramatic effect of learning and development on the success of the company. When learning and development transform interpersonal skills, such as “dependability and attention to detail”, into behaviours exhibited as employees work, the scenario presented is not merely utopian.

Even in a bleak future where young people enter the workforce without these qualities explicitly developed, they are inherent in all of them. Therefore, there is material to work with in every human being, and they can be encouraged to be the person who can deliver on promises and achieve the level of excellence demanded.

Conclusion

• Every human possesses this potential;
• Dependability and attention to detail are skills grounded in innate human qualities;
• If each collaborator consciously focuses on being responsible for a month, the results for the company would be significant.

Written by: Ederson Corbari