7 capabilities every high performer will need

What I am teaching myself today to stay relevant (in consulting or beyond)

Do you have what it takes to succeed at work in the next few years?

When I started out in consulting, the skills you needed were — for the most part — quite easy to identify. At least, that’s what I tell myself now. In reality, I was googling “how to make a gantt chart” at 9pm.

But still: the learning path was relatively predictable.

Today? Not so much.

Between AI disruption, hybrid working, and the sudden need to be a bit of everything (analyst, facilitator, designer, politician), I’ve been wondering: if I started my career today — not just in consulting, but in any corporate job — what would I teach myself?

The fundamentals I would teach myself again

In a nutshell, this is what I focused on teaching myself as a (strategy) consultant more than 7 years ago. They apply more broadly than you’d think. If you’re early in your career, no matter the industry, start here.

• Domain expertise. In my case, HR strategy. You don’t need to be the top expert — but if you’re not building functional depth somewhere, you’re just another generalist with pretty slides. What to master:

  • Learning industry language and KPIs

  • Understanding strategic levers (cost, capability, compliance, etc.)

  • Translating strategy into operational actions

• Excel (modeling). I taught myself the fundamentals, including how to build an INDEX MATCH formula. I can still do these by heart and somehow it still remains incredibly useful. Building logical Excel structures as part of your model is also a must. What to master:

  • Logical structuring (inputs, assumptions, outputs)

  • Common functions (INDEX MATCH, SUMIFS, IFERROR)

  • Dynamic modeling (pivot tables, data validation, automation basics)

  

• PowerPoint: Knowing how to make a slide that looks good and says something is a corporate superpower. What to master:

  • Mastering master templates (yes, I just said ‘master’ three times) and consistent formatting (the ‘pls fix’)

  • Using visuals intentionally (icons, charts, image-text balance)

  • Writing clear headlines and subtitles with the key message

• Storyboarding: Not just for consultants. Every professional needs to know how to build a narrative: for a deck, a proposal, a business case, or a pitch. What to master:

  • Framing hypotheses and structuring logic trees

  • Using MECE principles to sequence information

  • Adapting to different formats (slides, documents, meetings)

• Effective e-mail communication: No one tells you this, but learning how to write and read between the lines of email is a career skill. Do you know when to loop someone in? When to escalate? When to shut up? People notice. Especially senior people. Your emails teach others how to work with you — and whether they want to. What to master:

  • Writing for skimmers (bolding, bullets, clear asks)

  • Calibrating tone (assertive vs. deferential)

  • Structuring messages for different stakeholders

These are still relevant. Including Excel. Yes, even in 2025.

What fundamentals would you add?

The capabilities for the future I am teaching myself now

You’ve mastered the basics. You can build a deck without crying. You know what a key stakeholder wants before they finish their sentence. You write emails that make people think, “Ah, thank God — someone competent.”

So now what? Here’s what I would start learning now:

Disclaimer: Of course, not every role or industry will need all of these. Some may not apply to you at all. But if nothing else, I hope this list serves as inspiration on where to go next!

1. Domain expertise 2.0. Functional depth is no longer optional — and one domain probably won’t be enough. AI is freeing up time, which means high performers will be expected to bring multiple capabilities to the table. The new profile is “double T-shaped”: deep in one area, and credible in another. Think: HR + analytics. Strategy + UX. Operations + AI tooling. What to master:

   • Choosing an adjacent domain aligned with company priorities

   • Self-directed learning through real projects

   • Articulating how your skills combine in a unique way

2. Next-gen visualization tools. Your company may not intend to deviate from PowerPoint, but you can make a greater impact when you can stand out with amazing visuals and know how to deliver other outputs besides a deck. Think of banners, visual LinkedIn posts, etc. The consultants who stand out tomorrow will be part-storyteller, part-designer. Not just to “make it pretty”, but to tell the story in new formats. Due to our low attention spans, the ability to communicate visually across channels is quickly becoming a differentiator. What to master:

   • Using Canva or Figma for banners and infographics

   • Designing for clarity on social

   • Working with brand guidelines and accessibility best practices

3. Workshop tools (especially the digital kind): It’s not enough to show up with a slide deck and a timer. The best workshops now rely on digital collaboration tools — not just to structure the session, but to generate and synthesize ideas in real time. Tools like Miro, Mural, or FigJam aren’t “nice-to-haves” anymore. They’re the modern whiteboard, sticky note, and flipchart — all in one, and AI-enhanced. Knowing how to run a session in Miro (including using Miro AI to cluster ideas, generate summaries, and create action items on the spot) makes you exponentially more valuable. Especially in hybrid or global teams where in-person isn’t realistic. What to master:

   • Structuring Miro/Mural/… boards for co-creation

   • Using AI features to synthesize in real time

   • Visual facilitation skills: designing boards that guide participation and reduce chaos

     

4. Prompting & internal GPT development: Whether you’re using ChatGPT, an internal AI assistant, or a custom-built GPT, your ability to ask good questions determines the quality of your output. The next step is becoming someone who can design internal GPTs: proposal builders, meeting note summarizers, onboarding bots. If your company is serious about AI, they’ll need people who can translate business needs into useful tools. What to master:

   • Crafting structured prompts for different use cases

   • Understanding data boundaries and risk

   • Mapping out flows for custom GPT assistants

5. Prototyping and Vibe coding: We’re entering an era where you don’t need to “pitch an idea” — you can just show it. Vibe coding and low-fidelity prototyping allow you to turn ideas into mock-ups, dashboards, and even simple web tools in a matter of hours. You don’t need to be an engineer. But if you can walk into a meeting with a clickable demo and a strategy slide — you win. It’s the clearest way to signal: I get it, and I can make it real. What to master:

   • Using Lovable or similar tools to create MVPs or microsites

   • Structuring MVPs around user needs

   • Presenting prototypes in a business case context

     

6. Avatar-led delivery: Virtual avatars are already being used in client delivery. Think recorded updates, training modules, and scalable communication assets. Tools like Synthesia and HeyGen make it easy to create high-quality, branded content at scale — but they still require taste and judgment. Just because you can use an avatar doesn’t mean you should. But if you can script, design, and deliver one well? You’ve just unlocked scale. What to master:

   • Writing scripts that sound human

   • Managing visual consistency and brand tone

   • Deciding when not to use automation

     

7. AI governance, ethics, and data hygiene: You need to know what “safe” looks like. In a world of cloud tools, automated workflows, and LLMs, data risks are everywhere. Clients are asking harder questions. Internal teams are worried about leaks. If you can speak calmly and clearly about privacy, GDPR, classification, and AI risk… you’ll build trust fast. And trust, more than anything, is what accelerates careers. What to master:

   • Knowing what counts as sensitive data (and what doesn’t)

   • Understanding basic regulatory frameworks (GDPR, DSA)

   • Explaining AI risks in plain English

Keep the customer experience in mind

Everything above is tech-focused, but the human part matters more than ever. In a high-automation world, the best professionals will obsess over the stakeholder/customer/client/employee experience. Not just the outcome, but the feeling. Did we anticipate their needs? Did we respond quickly? Did we make their life easier? The people who focus on that are the ones others want to work with again.

Build your stack

Let me be clear: you don’t need to master all of these overnight, and as I said before it’s possible not all of them are applicable to your job. But if you’re serious about building a career that lasts, then this is where I’d start. With the tools that help you show up as someone who makes work better, faster, and smarter.

If you want to go even deeper on what’s coming (and what’s going extinct), the Future of Jobs Report 2025 from the World Economic Forum is a fantastic read. It’s not exactly light reading, but it breaks down which roles are growing, which ones are declining, and what skills are in demand across industries.

So…what did I miss? What tools or capabilities have changed the game for you lately? I want to know!

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Hi there - I’m Cécile. I write anonymously as Colleague, Interrupted. I'm a Senior Manager at a Big Four consulting firm in Europe. I say the things I can’t say in meetings and occasionally try to make jokes. Mostly, I turn corporate rage and hard-earned lessons into advice for anyone in their 20s or 30s trying to build a successful career. The goal is to help you be the best version of yourself, ultimately getting promoted faster and without losing your mind!