The Skills We Keep Needing: Why Durable Skills Still Matter

Over the years, I've had countless conversations with employers about what they value in their employees.

During my years working with college interns, we created opportunities for students to practice skills essential to workplace success. Communication, responsibility, teamwork, problem-solving, professionalism, and follow-through were all part of that preparation.

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A look back at my years working with college interns and industry partners, where learning extended well beyond the classroom.

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Employers often complimented our students' abilities in these areas. Even today, I occasionally hear similar comments from employers I worked with years ago.

A lot has changed since then. The technology, the tools, the workplace, and even the language we use to describe these skills.

But the need for them? Well, that has not changed.

Today, America Succeeds uses the term durable skills to describe human capabilities, often called soft skills, that remain valuable across jobs, industries, and changing circumstances. Their research highlights the continued demand for skills such as communication, leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, and character.

We hear so much about what is changing. Artificial intelligence, new technologies, evolving workplaces, and constant information can make us feel we need to reinvent ourselves just to keep up.

The world keeps changing. Yet our need to connect, communicate, and contribute remains.

While learning and adapting matter, are we overlooking the value of what has remained consistent?

People still need to listen. Communicate clearly. Build trust. Solve problems. Take responsibility. Work through differences. Follow through on commitments.

These skills may look different in practice than they did decades ago, but they continue to influence how we work, lead, and relate to one another.

And like any skill, they grow through awareness, intention, and practice.

This is one of the reasons I value strengths-based development. Our natural talents influence how we demonstrate and develop these skills.

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Continuing the journey with Youth Leadership Kearney, helping students discover their natural talents, recognize how those talents work together, and put them into practice.

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Two people may both be effective communicators, yet one connects through thoughtful questions while another brings energy through storytelling and conversation. Leaders may achieve similar results, but one leads by building relationships while another excels at organizing people and moving plans forward.

There's no single way to contribute well.

Understanding our strengths helps us recognize what comes naturally and how we can continue to grow.

As I reflect on decades of teaching these skills, I'm reminded that growth doesn't always mean pursuing something new.

Perhaps one of the best ways to prepare for what's next is to keep investing in people and strengthening the skills that help us work and live well together.

What Bloomed After the Change

Last fall my husband Scott started the process of converting an area of our backyard back to natural grass.  I asked him to add a packet of wildflower seeds to the mix.

Through the winter and early spring, there was no sign of what had been planted.

As often happens when restoring land to natural grass, it is overcome by weeds.  Weeds that need to be mowed down to allow the grass to emerge.  Life got busy, we received much-needed rain, and that patch was left alone.  Then, almost overnight, the area came alive with color.

As I stand looking at the wildflowers this summer, I can’t help but think about what used to occupy that same space.

For years, it was home to our swimming pool.

It wasn’t just a pool

It was a season of our lives

It was a place of laughter, birthday parties, neighborhood kids, family gatherings, and long summer afternoons; a season of life filled with activity and joy.

Eventually, that season came to an end.

The kids grew up. Life changed. The pool no longer fit the season we were in.

Taking it out wasn't just a landscaping project. It was acknowledging that life moves through seasons, and sometimes we must let go of something wonderful before we can embrace what comes next.

For quite a while, the space felt... ordinary.  Empty.  Flat patch of dirt and weeds.

Then came the wildflowers.

Life often works the same way. Sometimes we don't choose the end of a season.

Careers change.

Children grow up.

Roles end.

Relationships shift.

Dreams evolve.

We naturally look back with gratitude, and sometimes with grief, because those seasons mattered.

Yet endings are not always the end of the story.

Sometimes they create space for something entirely new. Not better. Not worse. Simply different.

And often, unexpectedly beautiful.

Over the past few weeks, I've also been reconnecting with former students and interns through LinkedIn. Many are now leaders, parents, business owners, and professionals making a difference in their communities.

Their messages have reminded me of another kind of seed.

When I was mentoring students, teaching classes, or supervising interns, I wasn't thinking about whether someone would remember me twenty years later. I was simply investing in people; encouraging them, asking questions, opening doors, and helping them recognize their potential.

Like those wildflower seeds, much of that investment happened beneath the surface.

There were no report cards measuring the long-term impact of a conversation. There was no way of knowing where someone's journey would lead or whether a moment of encouragement would ever be remembered.

Then the messages began to arrive.  Some have even led to phone calls and Zoom conversations.

Former students and interns shared where life had taken them: careers, families, leadership, and new opportunities. Some remembered a conversation. Others recalled an internship, an experience, or a simple word of encouragement that had stayed with them over the years.

Those conversations are a gift.

Not because they are about me, but because they remind me that the seeds we plant in others often continue growing long after our paths diverge.

Most of us spend our days doing our work, helping others, solving problems, offering encouragement, and moving on to the next thing. We rarely get to see the full impact of those moments.

Of course, there are countless seeds we'll never see bloom. That doesn't make them any less worthwhile.

This summer, I'm simply grateful for the blooms I've had the privilege of seeing.

Sometimes beauty takes time.

Growth happens beneath the surface.

Sometimes a season must end before another can begin.

And occasionally,

we're blessed to witness the blooms.

The Space College Leaves Behind

Why students and young professionals
need more than a degree to find
confidence, clarity, and purpose.

For more than 30 years, I lived in the middle of higher education.

I saw students arrive hopeful and unsure.
I watched them get overwhelmed, misadvised, lost in systems that weren’t built for who they actually were.
I saw advisors trained to focus on academics and requirements, not on relationship or the broader context of a student’s life.
Classes that checked boxes but didn’t build confidence.
Students who quietly wondered, “Am I doing this right?”

I also watched what happened after graduation.

Students who did what they were supposed to do, earned the degree, landed the job, and still felt unsettled.
Some realized too late they had chosen the wrong major.
Others discovered that knowing a subject didn’t mean knowing themselves, or how to navigate real decisions, relationships, and direction.

That space between confusion and clarity is what I call the murky middle.

It exists before college and after it.
Before the title and after it.
Before the next step feels obvious.

And I know it deeply, because I lived inside that system for decades.

Today, my work is about walking with people through that season.

I help high school students prepare for what’s ahead without rushing them or overwhelming them.
I help graduates and young professionals make sense of what they’ve learned, who they are becoming, and what actually fits next.

Not with more pressure.
Not with one-size-fits-all advice.
But by helping people understand their strengths, their values, and the language for who they already are.

Clarity doesn’t come from forcing a path.
It comes from understanding yourself well enough to choose one.

That’s the work I do.
That’s the middle I stand in.
And that’s where confidence begins to grow.

Momentum Mail | December 2025

The gift of noticing

December often invites us to move faster; finish tasks, wrap gifts, close out the year. Yet it can also be a season that gently reminds us to slow down and notice what matters most.

In this issue of Momentum Mail:

• A reflection on the quiet power of noticing
• Moments of gratitude from the past season
• A simple invitation to pause and reflect as the year comes to a close

Read the full issue here:

→ View the December Momentum Mail

Responsibility | The Strength That Turns Commitment Into Action

Grateful for the chance to join the 34 Strong podcast with Angeline Soon hosted by Brandon Miller to talk about the CliftonStrengths of Responsibility. Here is a little clip of me talking about how Responsibility shows up in my life.

Make it stand out

It’s always meaningful to learn from others who lead with this theme and to reflect on what Responsibility looks like in my own life… the commitments we carry, the values that steady us and the purpose behind the promises we make.

The full podcast (42 minutes) - can be listened to here:

https://34strong.com/podcast_episode/responsibility-the-strength-that-turns-commitment-into-action/

A gentle whisper from a tree in my backyard…

This year brought unexpected change — the kind that reshapes you slowly and teaches you to trust what’s still being formed.
It wasn’t quick or tidy. It was quiet, slow, refining, shifting. From the inside out.

These remaining leaves captured in the image of the tree in my backyard, held a story for me. A reflection focused on holding on and being held.

Holding On With Strengths

Connectedness reminded me there is meaning woven into every transition.

Responsibility kept me grounded in my values when the path felt unclear and guided my next step.

Belief anchored me in purpose when the next step felt uncertain.

Ideation reminded me there are always new ways forward.

Learner guided my growth and curiosity through the unfamiliar.

Activator pushed me to take the first brave step when clarity finally met courage.

Each theme held a different thread, creating a kind of inner stability when everything else felt in motion.

Held in Faith

Scripture speaks in so many ways about being held — not by our own strength, but by God’s.

“Hold fast to the Lord your God.” — Deuteronomy 13:4
“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” — Colossians 1:17
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand.” — Isaiah 41:13

In every season, especially the uncertain ones, it is God who holds, steadies, and upholds us.

Wherever You Are in Your Own Season

Whether you’re holding on, letting go, or stepping into something new…

hold on with your strengths,

and move forward in faith.

May these words meet you with hope in whatever season you’re navigating.

Ignited by Strengths

Strengths were Ignited by the Young Professionals Network in Kearney. The ripple effect of the energy shared through strengths discovery and application will cascade through our community. Watch as they shine their light.

Illuminating Strengths with the FAMILY Committee

Still on a high from this morning’s session “Illuminating Your Strengths” with members of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services FAMILY committee focused on supporting and elevating families in Nebraska. Their goal is to ensure that programs and policies reflect the real-life experiences of the families they serve.

I am so grateful for the work they do! And how awesome to now see their strengths more clearly in this meaningful work. We explored their individual strengths, looks at their strengths as a team, and then connected their strengths to four critical aspects of their mission.

Excited for the one-on-one coaching sessions I will have with these members in 2026!