What are life skills?

Life skills equip students to thrive in the classroom and in the world beyond. The 21st
century life skills are flexibility, initiative, social skills, productivity, and leadership.

Flexibility

Given the rapid rate of change in our world, the ability to adjust and adapt is critical to
success. Students needs to learn to quickly analyze what is going on around them and
make adjustments on the fly—all the while keeping their goals at the forefront of their
minds. Flexibility is not spinelessness. In fact, a spine needs to be flexible to allow the
person to move while remaining upright with eyes on the prize.

The inquiry process requires and rewards flexibility. Instead of following a set course or
a rigid set of instructions, students must make constant course corrections as they do
the following:

 set goals
 seek answers
 navigate information
 collaborate with others
 create something
 evaluate their work
 improve it
 share it with the world
Initiative

The entrepreneurial spirit is founded on initiative—the willingness to step forward with

an idea and take the risk of bringing it to fruition. The changing economic landscape
requires entrepreneurs. Students need to learn how to set goals for themselves, plan
how they will reach their goals, and enact their plans. Once students feel comfortable
with charting their own course, they will readily launch into activity.

By teaching students the inquiry process, you equip them to take initiative. When you
step back into a facilitating role, you require students to step forward. Students take the
initiative when they

 question,
 plan,
 research,
 create,
 improve, and
 present.

Social Skills

Human being have always been social creatures, connecting to and depending on a
tribe of some hundred others. Technology now allows people to belong to multiple tribes
—students at the same school, friends on Facebook, colleagues on LinkedIn, fans on
fan sites, gamers on massively multiplayer online games. In all of these environments,
social skills are critical. Whether students are having a face-to-face meeting or are
tweeting with hundreds of strangers, there are real human beings with real thoughts,
feelings, and needs on the other end. And, as work environments become more
collaborative, social skills are a key to success.
The best way for students to develop social skills is to collaborate with others. When
students work together on a project, they have common goals and interests, they are
required to develop social skills such as these:

 cooperation
 compromise
 decision making
 communicating
 using emotional intelligence
 using constructive criticism
 trusting others
 delivering on promises
 coordinating work

Productivity

During the recent recession, the productivity of the American worker reached an all-time
high. Clearly, those who kept their jobs did so in part by producing more than they
needed to before. The increase in productivity among workers in the U.S. means that
more is being produced by fewer people, which means that the job market is even more
competitive after the recession than during it. Workers who have lower productivity are
being left behind.

By using the inquiry process and developing projects, students learn the habits of
productivity:

 Goal setting
 Planning
 Time management
 Research
 Development
 Evaluation
  Revision
 Application

Leadership

Leadership is a suite of related skills that combines the other life skills. Good leaders
take initiative, have strong social skills, are flexible, and are productive. They also do
the following:

 Identify goals
 Inspire others to share those goals
 Organize a group so that all members can contribute according to their abilities
 Resolve conflicts among members
 Encourage the group to reach their goals
 Help group members solve problems and improve performance
 Give credit where it is due

That list pretty well describes what you do daily as a teacher—because you are the
leader of your class. However, if students are perpetually in the role of followers, they
never have to learn these skills. They need to occasionally become the teacher, and
inquiry allows them to do so. Group projects also require students to take on leadership
responsibilities. Inquire provides many projects that can be done in groups.
Life skills is the final category.  Also called FLIPS, these skills all pertain to
someone’s personal life, but they also bleed into professional settings.

The five 21st Century life skills are:

 Flexibility: Deviating from plans as needed

 Leadership: Motivating a team to accomplish a goal
 Initiative: Starting projects, strategies, and plans on one’s own
 Productivity: Maintaining efficiency in an age of distractions
 Social skills: Meeting and networking with others for mutual benefit

Flexibility is the expression of someone’s ability to adapt to changing

circumstances.

This is one of the most challenging qualities to learn for students because it’s based on
two uncomfortable ideas:

1. Your way isn’t always the best way

2. You have to know and admit when you’re wrong

That’s a struggle for a lot of students, especially in an age when you can know any bit
of information at the drop of a hat.

Flexibility requires them to show humility and accept that they’ll always have a lot to
learn — even when they’re experienced.

Still, flexibility is crucial to a student’s long-term success in a career. Knowing when

to change, how to change, and how to react to change is a skill that’ll pay dividends
for someone’s entire life.

It also plays a big role in the next skill in this category.

Leadership is someone’s penchant for setting goals, walking a team through the
steps required, and achieving those goals collaboratively.

Whether someone’s a seasoned entrepreneur or a fresh hire just starting their careers,
leadership applies to career.

Entry-level workers need leadership skills for several reasons. The most important is
that it helps them understand the decisions that managers and business leaders make.

Then, those entry-level employees can apply their leadership skills when they’re

promoted to middle management (or the equivalent). This is where 21st Century skill
learners can apply the previous skills they’ve learned.  

It’s also where they get the real-world experience they need to lead entire companies.

As they lead individual departments, they can learn the ins and outs of their specific
careers. That gives ambitious students the expertise they need to grow professionally
and lead whole corporations.

Related Resources:

 Best Leadership Lesson Plans for High School

 Leadership Activities for High School Students

True success also requires initiative, requiring students to be self-starters.

Initiative only comes naturally to a handful of people. As a result, students need to

learn it to fully succeed.

This is one of the hardest skills to learn and practice. Initiative often means working
on projects outside of regular working hours.
The rewards for students with extreme initiative vary from person to person.
Sometimes they’re good grades. Other times they’re new business ventures.

Sometimes, it’s spending an extra 30 minutes at their jobs wrapping something up

before the weekend.

Regardless, initiative is an attribute that earns rewards. It’s especially indicative of

someone’s character in terms of work ethic and professional progress.

That goes double when initiative is practiced with qualities like flexibility and
leadership.

Along with initiative, 21st Century skills require students to learn

about productivity. That’s a student’s ability to complete work in an appropriate
amount of time.

In business terms, it’s called “efficiency.”

The common goal of any professional — from entry-level employee to CEO — is to

get more done in less time.

By understanding productivity strategies at every level, students discover the ways in

which they work best while gaining an appreciation for how others work as well.

That equips them with the practical means to carry out the ideas they determine
through flexibility, leadership, and initiative.

Still, there’s one last skill that ties all other 21st Century skills together.

Social skills are crucial to the ongoing success of a professional. Business is

frequently done through the connections one person makes with others around them.
This concept of networking is more active in some industries than others, but proper
social skills are excellent tools for forging long-lasting relationships.

While these may have been implied in past generations, the rise of social media and
instant communications have changed the nature of human interaction.

As a result, today’s students possess a wide range of social skills. Some are more
socially adept than others. Some are far behind their peers. And some lucky few may
be far ahead, as socializing comes naturally to them.

But most students need a crash course in social skills at least. Etiquette, manners,
politeness, and small talk still play major roles in today’s world.

That means some students need to learn them in an educational setting instead of a
social setting.

For them, it’s another skill to add to their lives.

Now that we’ve established what 21st Century skills are, let’s answer the next big
question.

Do employers actually want people with 21st Century skills?

LIFE AND CAREER SKILLS

Today’s life and work environments require far more than thinking skills and content
knowledge. The ability to navigate the complex life and work environments in the
globally competitive information age requires students to pay rigorous attention to
developing adequate life and career skills.
FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY

Adapt to Change

 Adapt to varied roles, jobs responsibilities, schedules and contexts

 Work effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities Be Flexible 

Incorporate feedback effectively

 Deal positively with praise, setbacks and criticism

 Understand, negotiate and balance diverse views and beliefs to reach workable
solutions, particularly in multi-cultural environments

INITIATIVE AND SELF-DIRECTION

Manage Goals and Time

 Set goals with tangible and intangible success criteria

 Balance tactical (short-term) and strategic (long-term) goals

 Utilize time and manage workload efficiently Work Independently

 Monitor, define, prioritize and complete tasks without direct oversight

Be Self-directed Learners

 Go beyond basic mastery of skills and/or curriculum to explore and expand one’s
own learning and opportunities to gain expertise

 Demonstrate initiative to advance skill levels towards a professional level 

Demonstrate commitment to learning as a lifelong process
 Reflect critically on past experiences in order to inform future progress

SOCIAL AND CROSS-CULTURAL SKILLS

Interact Effectively with Others

 Know when it is appropriate to listen and when to speak

 Conduct themselves in a respectable, professional manner

Work Effectively in Diverse Teams

 Respect cultural differences and work effectively with people from a range of
social and cultural backgrounds

 Respond open-mindedly to different ideas and values

 Leverage social and cultural differences to create new ideas and increase both
innovation and quality of work

PRODUCTIVITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Manage Projects

 Set and meet goals, even in the face of obstacles and competing pressures

 Prioritize, plan and manage work to achieve the intended result

Produce Results

 Demonstrate additional attributes associated with producing high quality products

including the abilities to: - Work positively and ethically - Manage time and projects
effectively - Multi-task - Participate actively, as well as be reliable and punctual -
Present oneself professionally and with proper etiquette - Collaborate and cooperate
effectively with teams - Respect and appreciate team diversity - Be accountable for
results

LEADERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY

Guide and Lead Others

 Use interpersonal and problem-solving skills to influence and guide others toward a
goal

 Leverage strengths of others to accomplish a common goal

 Inspire others to reach their very best via example and selflessness

 Demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior in using influence and power

Be Responsible to Others

 Act responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind

References:

https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/FAQ/what-are-life-skills

https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-are-21st-century-skills

https://www.marietta.edu/sites/default/files/documents/21st_century_skills_standards_book_2.pdf