LA Examiner

Category: Mentor

  • How to Overcome a Skill Gap

    How to Overcome a Skill Gap

    Image credit: Unsplash

    Over the past several years, the landscape of several professions has changed dramatically. As tools such as AI have become increasingly integral to several business structures, roles within those industries are being redefined, and to this end, remaining adaptable and ambitious about continuous learning as a worker is becoming crucial.

    Because of these rapid technological changes and shifting job market demands, skill gaps have emerged unprecedentedly across several professions. For example, if your job previously required little to no interaction with digital elements, but has now been redefined by AI integration, you could be left feeling you don’t have the tools necessary to do this new version of your job successfully. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way, as there are ways to overcome such inferiority complexes and bridge the emerging skill gaps.

    Identifying and Reframing Skills

    It’s easy for many professionals to feel defeated in the face of such change, assuming that they must effectively “start over.” However, this could not be further from the truth. You already have the skills necessary to meet these new needs; it’s just about applying them differently. Rather than viewing these changes as requiring entirely new skills, it’s essential to see them as a process of redefining existing skills into transferable assets.

    Avigail Lev, founder & director at Bay Area CBT Center, details, “Filtering mechanisms are now bigger barriers than actual qualifications” in the hiring process. 

    Lev emphasizes how rapidly hiring norms shift, and how staying current is often more important than acquiring brand-new skills. “If you’re not keeping up with changes in how people get jobs, you can have a phenomenal resume and still be invisible,” she warns. Knowing where recruiters look and which platforms matter today can change outcomes dramatically.

    She also points to mindset barriers that hold professionals back. “Perfectionism is the most common workplace schema I see. It drives burnout and holds people back more than actual skill gaps,” Lev explains. Addressing these limiting beliefs can be just as critical as closing technical gaps.

    The Role of Self-Awareness and Values

    It’s also important to note that skills only make up a small portion of what makes you a good fit for a job. This way, self-awareness and honesty about skill gaps can be powerful approaches in job seeking. Understanding your values, aptitudes, and interests is crucial for finding aligned work.

    Furthermore, embracing change and maintaining an open mindset has become key to career adaptability in the AI era.

    Suzy Welch, author, speaker, and professor at NYU Stern School of Business, surmises, “You’ve got to get existential before you get tactical.”

    Welch reframes the way job seekers should think about themselves. Rather than focusing only on skills, she suggests inventorying aptitudes—your natural cognitive wiring. “Aptitudes are set by the time you’re fifteen, and they drive how you think, problem-solve, and collaborate. Most people go their whole career without understanding them,” she explains.

    Values are equally important. “Values aren’t virtues. They’re choices about how you want to live and work,” Welch says. Identifying whether you prize work intensity, family balance, or curiosity, for example, helps align new skills with the kind of work you’ll actually thrive in.

    Learning Approaches: Formal vs. On-the-Job

    Professionals should balance structured education with practical, applied experience. Through these means, bite-sized, deliberate practice is often most effective.

    NYU Professor and founder of KMP Consulting, Kristin-Marie Pernicano, says, “Zoom all the way out and realize you’ve actually got a lot of valuable transferable skills and how you tell your story is going to matter.”

    From her background on Wall Street to teaching at NYU, Pernicano has seen that success comes from balancing grit with humility. “Competence and humility together are what make professionals stand out. It’s about the ability to figure it out, and the courage to admit when you need help,” she says. Employers value those who can adapt while being honest about limitations.

    Skill gaps can be addressed through formal education, on-the-job learning, and personal initiative. Leaders play a crucial role in fostering skill development, but individual accountability is equally important. 

    Additionally, embracing failure and continuous learning are essential for professional growth and adaptability.

    Pernicano cautions against defaulting to degrees as the answer to every skill gap. “Don’t just chase credentials. Ask potential employers what they invest in for employee learning. That tells you how serious they are about helping you close gaps,” she advises.

    Continuous Learning in Project Management

    The half-life of technical skills is shrinking; focus on visible, attainable skills first. Human skills like communication and adaptability are becoming as critical as technical proficiency. 

    To this end, Dr. Kelly Heuer, Vice President of Learning at Project Management Institute, says, “Continuous learning is crucial; focus on attainable, visible skills first.”

    Dr. Heuer stresses that many skill gaps are less about hard technical expertise and more about context. “Business acumen, or the ability to enter a new environment and quickly grasp the model, politics, and economics, is now just as important as technical skill,” she says. This broader perspective allows professionals to stay relevant even as specific tools change.

    She also highlights the importance of tailoring learning methods: “Find the learning modality that fits you—whether it’s podcasts on the go or visual diagrams. The format can make or break whether new skills stick,” Dr. Heuer explains.

    Neuroscience and Micro-Learning for Retention

    Studies have shown that when it comes to retaining new skills or applications, small, consistent steps beat long, unfocused efforts. Clarity of purpose drives lasting learning. High-impact “evergreen” skills like communication, curiosity, leadership, and AI literacy can help you remain viable in an evolving market and prioritize clarity on career goals and targeted micro-tasks over unfocused searching time.

    Career coach and talent development specialist, Elena Agaragimova explains that when people attempt to learn too much at once, retention quickly drops. “Our brains only have so much capacity. If you try to learn after a ten-hour workday, you won’t retain much,” she says. Instead, she recommends carving out time when your energy is highest and focusing on small, intentional steps toward mastery.

    She adds that purpose is just as important as practice. “Learning only works if it’s paired with action. The brain retains best when knowledge is turned into behaviors you can apply consistently over time,” Agaragimova notes. By connecting micro-learning to evergreen skills like communication or leadership, professionals make their effort translate into lasting growth.

    Final Thoughts

    The future of work requires reframing, self-awareness, and adaptability. Skill gaps are not roadblocks but opportunities to demonstrate resilience, curiosity, and continuous growth. As more of these issues emerge amid the changing landscape of technology, you must remember that you are valuable and that your skills, passions, and interests have worth.

  • Dr. Judi Josiah-Martin: The Mentor for the Ones Who Carry Too Much

    Dr. Judi Josiah-Martin: The Mentor for the Ones Who Carry Too Much

    Image credit: Unsplash

    I. What if Someone’s Purpose Didn’t Have to Cost Them Their Peace?

    What if a person’s purpose, the very thing they had poured themselves into, was not something that slowly drained them?

    Dr. Judi Josiah‑Martin has spent more than 40 years walking alongside people whose work is built on care. Clinicians, educators, social workers, community leaders, and parents. She has seen the same pattern again and again. The ones who give the most often burn out faster. Not because they’re weak, but because they’re doing too much with too little support.

    Her work offers a different path. It is rooted in the belief that their peace, presence, and well-being matter just as much as their performance.

    Through mentorship, training, and clinical insight, Dr. Judi helps people do their work without losing themselves in it.

    II. The People Who Care the Most Are Burning Out Faster

    Whether it’s a parent trying to keep up with a demanding career or a therapist holding space for others, the emotional toll adds up. The people most committed to service and success are the ones most likely to run on empty.

    Research studies show that care home workers who are invested heavily in care-giving services burn out at a significantly higher rate than those who are dispassionate in their work. On the other hand, people burn out not necessarily because of passion but because of a lack of organizational support. No matter how they come to burnout, it shouldn’t cost them their peace or passion.

    Culturally, burnout still tends to be treated as a personal issue. But Dr. Judi reframes it as a systemic one. It is not a matter of weakness or failure. It is the inevitable result of unsupported caregiving, emotional labor, and leadership without restoration.

    In her consulting and mentorship work, she emphasizes strategies that center on sustainable care. That might include setting emotional boundaries, building support systems, or simply pausing long enough to ask, “What do I need right now?”

    She integrates profound but straightforward tools, such as her “60-second walkabout” technique, to help people interrupt the burnout spiral and return to their center.

    III. What Parenting and Professionalism Have in Common

    People have been sold a false choice: career or family. But Dr. Judith’s work reveals how these roles are not opposites. They often draw from the same emotional well.

    Both parenting and leadership ask us to be present, emotionally attuned, and resilient in the face of complexity. The core competencies—listening, repairing, staying steady in conflict—are shared.

    In her mentorship with working parents, Dr. Judi helps clients shift out of performance mode and into presence in her model, the Parent-to-Parent Village. One of her consistent messages is that connection matters more than perfection. This shift not only benefits families but also strengthens leaders and clinicians.

    For those juggling multiple identities: mother, executive, caretaker, clinician, she offers frameworks that allow for integration rather than fragmentation. These people don’t have to leave their humanity at the door to be effective.

    IV. Mentorship That Reaches the Back Row

    Dr. Judi doesn’t just lead from the front of the room. She looks for the ones sitting quietly in the back. The ones carrying everything, yet feeling unseen.

    Her approach to mentorship is deeply relational and trauma-informed. She offers one-on-one and group mentorship sessions, often working with individuals who are at a professional crossroads, emotionally depleted, or questioning their next steps.

    One former student, now a clinical expert in trauma-informed social work, reflected on Dr. Judi’s lasting impact:

    “As my professor in college, she not only imparted expert clinical knowledge and skills in ethics, but also took a personal interest in my growth. She helped me refine my presentation skills, supported my work with spiritual interventions in trauma care, and remained invested in my development long after I graduated. Her mentorship has been foundational in shaping me into the confident, competent professional I am today.”

    Clients describe the experience as grounding and clarifying. One mentee, a clinician and single parent, shared that working with Dr. Judi helped her stop living in survival mode and start advocating for herself. Another found the courage to realign her career with her values after years of disconnection.

    Whether through structured mentorship or informal guidance, Dr. Judi has become the mentor people often say they wish they had earlier in their careers.

    V. A Brand Built on Alignment, Not Algorithms

    In an age of constant content, viral tips, and overproduced coaching brands, Dr. Judi’s work feels like a return to what’s real.

    Her online presence is not built on flashy marketing or simplified mantras. It is built on trust, consistency, and the kind of lived credibility that cannot be faked.

    She is not performing for an algorithm. She is showing up for people. And it shows.

    Dr. Judi’s impact does not rely on influence. It is rooted in integrity. Her clients are not looking for a guru. They are looking for someone who will listen, guide, and help them reconnect with themselves.

    VI. The Invitation to Return and Center

    When a person is exhausted from trying to be everything to everyone.

    When they begin to wonder where they went in the process of showing up for everyone else.

    When they are tired of feeling as though purpose must always come at the cost of peace.

    There is another way.

    Dr. Judi’s mission is to help people live whole lives, not fragmented ones. She does not offer quick fixes. She offers presence. And through that presence, she helps people restore what burnout has taken: clarity, confidence, and compassion for self.

    No one is meant to do this alone.

    Explore how Dr. Judi can support a person’s growth as a parent, leader, or clinician. Visit judithjosiahmartin.com to inquire about mentorship, speaking, or training opportunities.

    Disclaimer: The views in this article are for informational purposes only and not a substitute for personalized advice or treatment. Dr. Judi Josiah-Martin’s methods may not be applicable to everyone, and results can vary. For specific concerns, consult a licensed professional. Dr. Judi Josiah-Martin and associated entities are not responsible for any outcomes from applying the information provided.

    Written in partnership with Tom White