According to Valerie Francis, senior training consultant for the Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center, Inc. National Seminars Group & Padgett-Thompson, here are the some of the skills needed to be a 21st century thinker:

• Taking charge when you’re not in charge. Today there is less formal organizational hierarchy and more grassroots accountability. No matter what your position within a company, you need to be ready and able to handle matters when they come your way...even if they aren’t part of "your job." Keep the customer happy and the process flowing.
• Gaining acceptance for your plan of action. We all need to become effective influencers to sell our ideas and get teams behind us. The savvy worker today can think through a plan of action, justify it, win people to supporting it, and implement it to show positive results.
• Building "webs." Whether it is a computer web or a relationship web, admins need to be capable of working with the latest technology as well as establishing and maintaining valuable inter-personal relationships. The world today is global, collaborative, and interdependent.
• Replacing authority with information. The days of "because I’m the boss and I said so" are long gone. Today’s leader leads through ability and persuasion, not intimidation. Those with access to information steadily rise to the top since formulating, interpreting and extrapolating information is the competitive edge.
• Managing ideas, not resources. Few of us nowadays have the luxury of "just" managing people. The name of the game is managing projects, ideas, and relationships, things which are more nebulous. Strengthen your mental and creative capacity and increase your people skills to get ahead.
• Becoming comfortable creating change. Constant change is the norm. If you aren’t secure with uncertainty, then you’re in trouble. Look for opportunities in change and welcome the chance to hone new skills. The race today goes to the most adaptable.
• Being perceptive; "seeing the patterns." The heroes in the 21st century will be those folks who can look at everyday happenings and see the underlying trends. They used to be called futurists. Now, they are called astute employees. Become comfortable with data and extend your information collection to include getting daily international news, broadening your interest area, and keep learning.
• Balancing imagination and logic. Equally develop both your right- and left-brain functions. Most of us have a dominant, preferred way of thinking. But to succeed in the marketplace today, we need to become equally proficient with analytical and creative endeavors.