The Most Underrated Future Skill: Being
Future Competences for Leaders and Changemakers
In a world where change is the only constant, tomorrow’s leaders need more than traditional skills—they must develop a new set of competencies to thrive. Future Competencies for Leaders and Changemakers is a series designed to help you understand and build the critical skills needed to tackle today’s most pressing challenges, embrace complexity, inspire action, and drive meaningful change.
Skill #1: Futures Literacy: The Art of Making Use of Tomorrow
👉 Skill #2: Being: The Most Underrated Future Skill
Skill #3: Inner Development: The Bridge Between Business and Personal Growth
Skill #4: Deep Listening: The Future Demands an Ancient Skill
Skill #5: Breathing: Regulating Your Day with Simplicity
Skill #6: Creativity: Real-World Problem Solving
Skill #7: Meaning: The Competitive Advantage of Creating Purpose
In our rush to prepare for tomorrow's challenges, we often overlook the most fundamental skill of all: the art of being present. While artificial intelligence masters complex calculations and robots perfect repetitive tasks, our uniquely human ability to be fully present becomes increasingly valuable. Yet, paradoxically, it's also becoming increasingly rare.
As a researcher and practitioner in future competencies, I've observed that while leaders eagerly embrace technical skills and strategic thinking, they often struggle with this seemingly simple yet profound capability. The reason? Being present runs counter to everything our modern world celebrates.
The Corporate Celebration of Busyness
Look around any corporate environment, and you'll see what I call the "permanent performance party" – people rushing between meetings, drowning in notifications, and wearing their 60-hour workweeks like badges of honor. We've created cultures that mistake motion for progress and busyness for productivity.
And don't tell me you're great at multitasking. You’re not! The human brain is designed to focus on one task at a time, and what we perceive as multitasking is actually rapid task-switching, which strains cognitive resources1. This switching leads to "switch costs," reducing efficiency, increasing errors, and lowering productivity by up to 40%. Multitasking raises stress levels, impairing decision-making, creativity, and memory retention. Over time, chronic multitasking can contribute to depression, anxiety, and other health issues due to heightened stress and reduced mindfulness.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: our constant activity often masks a deeper avoidance of being truly present and engaged.
The Brain's Natural and Conditioned Resistance
Our greatest challenge in developing this skill lies within our own minds. Our brains are wired to wander, constantly shifting between past regrets and future anxieties. Modern technology and work cultures have only amplified this tendency, training us to operate on autopilot while our attention fragments across countless inputs.
Further, our internal saboteurs, as identified by researcher Shirzad Chamine2, reinforce our pattern of constantly performing ourselves in order to survive. The Hyper-Achiever within us demands constant performance for validation. The Restless voice pushes us toward the next exciting thing. Even the Stickler keeps us searching for imperfections to fix. These mental patterns create a perfect storm that makes simply "being" feel not just difficult, but almost wrong.
Why "Being" Matters More Than Ever
In an age of artificial intelligence and automation, our uniquely human qualities become our most valuable assets. The ability to be fully present – to listen deeply, to observe nuances, to hold space for others – becomes a superpower. It's the foundation for:
Authentic leadership that inspires trust and connection
Innovation that comes from deep observation and insight
Emotional intelligence that no algorithm can replicate
Decision-making that considers subtle human factors
Resilience in the face of constant change
Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh3 teaches that the present moment is our only true point of contact with life – the past is gone, and the future hasn't arrived. When we learn to dwell fully in the present, we discover what he calls "interbeing" – our deep interconnection with others and the world around us.
This awareness naturally enhances our capacity for empathy, innovation, and authentic leadership. As he wisely notes, by being fully present, we transform ordinary moments into opportunities for insight and genuine human connection.
Practical Ways to Develop the Skill of Being
Drawing inspiration from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings, here are concrete practices to strengthen your "being" muscle:
Start with Breath: Begin each meeting or important conversation with three conscious breaths through your nose. Light, soft breathing – deeply into your belly. This simple act anchors you in the present moment.
Transform Transitions: Turn everyday moments – walking to your next meeting, waiting for the elevator, booting up your computer – into opportunities for presence. Focus fully on the physical sensations and immediate environment.
Practice Pure Listening: In your next conversation, experiment with listening without planning your response. Notice how this shifts the quality of interaction.
Create Presence Triggers: Choose specific environmental cues (like doorways or notification sounds) as reminders to return to the present moment.
The beauty of these practices lies in their simplicity. They require no special equipment or extra time – just a willingness to interrupt our habitual patterns of constant doing.
As we race toward an increasingly automated and AI-enhanced future, our ability to be fully present becomes not just a personal practice but a professional imperative. In a world of artificial intelligence, authentic presence becomes invaluable. In a culture of constant activity, the ability to simply be becomes revolutionary.
The future belongs not just to those who can do the most, but to those who can be present in the midst of doing. Start practicing today – your future self will thank you.
💚 Much love, Graziella
If you know someone who could benefit from embracing more presence and being, rather than constant doing, please share this with them.
Kevin P. Madore and Anthony D. Wagner (2019) Multicosts of Multitasking
Shirzad Chamine (2012) Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours
Thich Nhat Hanh (2010) You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment