Mapping Tomorrows Compass to LinkedIn's Skills on the Rise

LinkedIn’s 2025 “Skills on the Rise” report paints a stark reality:

“From 2015 to 2030, 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change.”

Yet amid the noise about AI and automation, LinkedIn’s own data reveals an important truth: the most enduring and fastest-growing skills are human.

Soft skills like strategic thinking, adaptability, communication, and problem-solving dominate the global lists.

At Tomorrows Compass, this aligns precisely with how we designed our framework. Our twelve skills, grouped into three integrated skillsets, translate emerging trends into practical, measurable human capability.

Here’s how Tomorrows Compass maps directly onto the skills LinkedIn says are rising fastest.

AI Literacy → Adaptive Digital Intelligence, Inquiring Mind

Data from LinkedIn:

• AI Literacy appears on the fastest-growing list for every country analyzed (US, UK, India).

• 51% of businesses that adopted generative AI report a revenue increase of 10% or more.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Adaptive Digital Intelligence develops comfort navigating new digital tools, learning, unlearning, and rapidly integrating emerging technologies.

• Inquiring Mind drives professionals to proactively explore how AI can transform their work.

Bottom Line: AI literacy is not just technical - it’s behavioural agility.

Adaptability / Embrace Change → Inquiring Mind, Embrace Uncertainty, Change Agility

Data from LinkedIn:

• Adaptability ranks as one of the top soft skills across geographies and job functions.

• 23% of professionals plan to learn new skills this year, signalling high demand for agility.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Enquiring Mind sparks curiosity rather than fear in changing contexts.

• Embrace Uncertainty equips people to remain productive amid volatility.

• Change Agility helps individuals move with change rather than resist it.

Bottom Line: Adaptability isn’t a single trait — it’s a system of mental behaviours.

Conflict Resolution / Issue Resolution / Cross-Functional Collaboration → Paradoxical Thinking, Relational Influence, Digital Teamwork, Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Data from LinkedIn:

• Conflict mitigation, negotiation, and collaboration skills appear in the top 15 in the US, UK, and India lists.

• 50% of hiring managers are using skills data explicitly to evaluate talent fit for collaborative roles.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective :

• Paradoxical Thinking helps individuals manage conflicts where competing truths coexist.

• Relational Influence fosters trust - the foundation of navigating disagreements.

• Digital Teamwork supports seamless collaboration across virtual spaces.

• Cross-Cultural Collaboration bridges differences in global teams.

Bottom Line: Collaboration is the new competitive advantage, and it’s deeply behavioural.

Customer Engagement & Support → Cross-Cultural Collaboration, Relational Influence, Design Thinking

Data from LinkedIn:

• Customer-focused skills appear on nearly every list, including “Customer Engagement” and “Customer Support.”

• Companies investing in customer engagement often see increased loyalty and lifetime value.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Cross-Cultural Collaboration helps understand diverse customer needs.

• Relational Influence drives authentic client relationships.

• Design Thinking ensures solutions are built around human (customer) needs.

Bottom Line: Customer engagement is the outcome of empathy and behavioural intelligence.

Innovative / Creative Thinking / Problem Solving → Design Thinking, Paradoxical Thinking, Inquiring Mind

Data from LinkedIn:

• Innovative Thinking and problem-solving are listed in the top 15 for India, the US, and multiple job functions globally.

• Creative thinking is cited as a must-have soft skill for adapting in the AI era.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Design Thinking fuels structured creativity through empathy and rapid prototyping.

• Paradoxical Thinking allows professionals to see new possibilities between opposing ideas.

• Inquiring Mind nurtures curiosity and innovative insight.

Bottom Line: Innovation isn’t magic, it is a combination of learnable behaviours.

Relationship / Stakeholder Management / Communication / Public Speaking → Inquiring Mind, Relational Influence, Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Data from LinkedIn:

• “Relationship Building” ranks among the top 15 in the UK.

• Stakeholder management and communication skills appear across geographies.

• 62% of US hiring managers report a skills mismatch in candidates — often in interpersonal areas.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Relational Influence creates trust and connection.

• Inquiring Mind fosters genuine curiosity about people.

• Cross-Cultural Collaboration helps professionals navigate diverse human dynamics.

Bottom Line: Technical expertise opens doors. Relationship skills keep them open.

Strategic Thinking → Contextual Intelligence, Paradoxical Thinking, Embrace Uncertainty

Data from LinkedIn:

• Strategic Thinking consistently appears in the fastest-growing skills lists across US, UK, and India.

• Strategic roles are among the highest compensated, reflecting the value placed on these skills.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Contextual Intelligence enables people to see how individual choices affect the broader system.

• Paradoxical Thinking helps navigate complex trade-offs.

• Embrace Uncertainty fosters decisive action without complete information.

Bottom Line: Strategy is less about predicting the future, and more about reading the present wisely.

Statistical Analysis / Market Analysis / Growth Strategy / Financial Planning → Contextual Intelligence, Purposeful Focus, Dynamic Resourcefulness

Data from LinkedIn:

• Data-driven and analytical roles are booming, even outside traditional data science fields.

• Companies using skills data for hiring report better alignment between talent and business goals.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Contextual Intelligence connects data to real-world contexts.

• Purposeful Focus aligns analysis to strategic objectives.

• Dynamic Resourcefulness finds solutions under tight constraints.

Bottom Line: Data alone isn’t valuable unless it is paired with human judgment.

Process Optimization / Resource Management → Contextual Intelligence, Dynamic Resourcefulness, Purposeful Focus

Data from LinkedIn:

• Efficiency-oriented skills like process optimization rank among top 15 in the US and UK.

• Budget and resource management remains critical as companies tighten spending amid economic pressures.

Tomorrows Compass Perspective:

• Dynamic Resourcefulness makes the most of limited resources.

• Contextual Intelligence ensures processes fit specific contexts.

• Purposeful Focus keeps teams working on what matters most.

Bottom Line: Optimization isn’t just technical — it’s behavioural discipline.

 

The Business Case for Future Skills

The stakes are high:

• 62% of hiring managers see a mismatch between available skills and organizational needs.

• 91% of L&D professionals believe continuous learning is more important than ever.

Tomorrows Compass bridges this gap by:

✅ Translating emerging trends into behavioural skills.

✅ Measuring skills as interconnected systems, not isolated traits.

✅ Equipping people to not only survive but shape the future.

Are You Future-Ready?

LinkedIn’s research is clear: the future belongs to those who combine digital fluency with human capabilities. At Tomorrows Compass, we’re determined to help people and organizations build exactly those skills.