"I have people skills"

The other day, I ran across Why “Relationship Workers” will replace “Knowledge Workers”.  After only reading the title, my first humorous thought was this scene in Office Space.

But as I read the article, I understood the core premise. 

There are two factors today that are dramatically shaping the future of work. Technology is reshaping what can be done by machines. … The second factor is the increasing complexity in our world

The author continues to talk about “transdisciplinary teams” and the value of “creative people who are skilled in working with others to solve complex problems.”  He author ends the article with this comment and image.

Those who can navigate complex human relationships with empathy will be the most valuable workers in future.

Yesterday, I attended an internal DevOps Conference where the keynote covered similar topic areas of automation, complexity, and empathy.  At one point, he said that “purpose of [middle] management is communication” and highlighted that ability to connect people.