5 areas to upskill: How to futureproof your director career

The responsibilities of a director are increasing due to artificial intelligence (AI), tough compliance and reporting requirements and changing company dynamics. Even experienced directors need to upskill or take in new knowledge to remain relevant.

Technological change, geoeconomic fragmentations, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition are highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2025.

Directors who are guiding management need to adapt their own skill sets as these changes occur.

Robin Low FAICD is a non-executive director of Appen and Articore. Low says  the skills that directors need haven't changed fundamentally. “You still need to have a company with a clear purpose. You need to have the right strategies and the right people in place. You need to execute well, know the market and your competitors, and be a good corporate citizen.

“What has changed, though, is the intensity across all of those different areas, because your marketplace is changing. Your customers are changing. Their needs are changing. We know the regulatory environment is changing all the time.”

Add to the mix almost daily reports of new ways of working and advances in technology, and it can create a scenario that has the potential to be incredibly disruptive to a business.

Directors need to make sure that their companies have the skills to stay across this as well, says Low.

“You can't, as an individual director, solve the problem yourself. It's got to be done as a corporation. It's got to be done as a board,” she says.

However, as an individual, you have to take the initiative yourself, to understand where the gaps are in your skills.

“An individual director’s responsibilities are high and increasing because of the complexity and the risk in the environment. So it is up to individuals, absolutely, to make sure they're comfortable with their own skill levels,” she says.

1. Technology

Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend – both across technology-related trends and overall – with 60 per cent of employers expecting it to transform their business by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2025.

Advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing (86 per cent); robotics and automation (58 per cent); and energy generation, storage and distribution (41 per cent), are also expected to be transformative.

Fluency with technology and digital literacy is top of the list for Victoria Allen MAICD, Managing Partner, Board Practice at Johnson Partners.

“While directors have always had to understand technology, the pace of change and the rapid development means that directors need to be at the forefront. They have to be sufficiently proficient with the digital tools and platforms being used. To do so they need to invest the time in order to be able to truly understand the impacts for their business.”

Knowledge about cyber security has evolved. It’s not just about having an understanding of the need for cyber security, says Allen.

“Everybody's been talking about cyber security for a while now. That needs to evolve into asking the question whether you are, as a director and a board member, adequately aware and prepared for a cyber security event and managing the myriad of stakeholders.”

While the fundamental skills of a director — being able to ask the right questions, ensure they have  adequate information — don't change, the difference lies in  how directors apply their skills in newer, changing and evolving areas. 

The need to build “new” skills is required to have a deeper understanding of the issues in order to be able to discharge  director duties.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just shaping industries, it’s transforming them. According to Korn Ferry’s Global Workforce 2024 Survey, most CEOs (73 per cent) and senior executives (80 per cent) believe AI will significantly enhance their value within the next three years.

A positive approach to technology will ensure leaders use new tools and systems to maintain a competitive edge.

2. Diversity

Re-elected President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders targeting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs have hastened their discontinuation by some major companies, prompting wider consideration about the future of DEI.

“Directors have to, as a board, double down on where their commitment to DEI sits,” says Allen. “It's not a new skill as such, but business environments are demanding a more structured approach. With the prominence of the discussions,  clarity around the company's position on ESG and what they're doing is critical.”

King and Wood Mallesons says entities operating in Australia and their directors, will nonetheless need to continue to comply with ongoing obligations under Australian safety and Respect@Work laws.

On a board, Low says  the introduction of some different skill sets and different diversity, particularly people from different age groups, bring greater perspective and knowledge to the discussion and decision-making process.

“They're bringing multiple perspectives,” she says. “As a director, the more you can do to broaden the intersections you might have in the board, the more valuable you can become. Business is increasingly global. Look for what else you can bring to the table to make yourself a more rounded director.”

3. Prioritise employee wellness

Psychosocial risk and sexual harassment are now firmly within the governance remit of directors and boards.

This is driven by a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape across health and safety, employment and discrimination, alongside shifting social and legal expectations around employee wellbeing.

Organisations have a duty of care and must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that workers and other persons are not exposed to risks to their psychological or physical health and safety. An organisation must eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace or minimise these risks.

In a factsheet for directors, Paul Rubotham, Director, Health, Safety & Wellbeing KPMG Australia and Dr Meg Brodie, Partner in Charge Human Rights & Social Impact KPMG Australia  outline how directors must consider the broader intention of regulatory requirements – to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of people.

To meaningfully address workplace psychosocial risk and sexual harassment, leaders need to address the underlying systemic drivers of harm and not engage in compliance as a “box-ticking” exercise.

To set the tone from the top, boards and directors must prioritise these issues, ask questions and regularly seek information and specific data and reporting on relevant areas of investigation.

Directors must also understand the skillset required to conduct psychosocial and sexual harassment risk assessments and the steps necessary to control these risks.

Psychosocial hazard management requires a deep understanding of the organisation, its operations, leadership and workplace culture, as well as emotional intelligence to understand the cause and effect of the risk.

Directors need to ensure that management, HR, WHS and risk personnel are equipped with the necessary skills to address organisational and systemic drivers of psychosocial harm.

4. Agile leadership and building trust

Developing flexible and adaptive leadership skills is essential for responding to rapid changes in the workplace. A Korn Ferry survey found that in Australia, 36 per cent of younger respondents and 52 per cent of the oldest group (55-65) value flexibility.

Amid fears for the future, rising grievances and economic challenges, public trust is plummeting globally. Rates of mistrust in business leaders and employers have jumped sharply and hostile activism is on the rise, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer.

Allen says  directors need to have a level of global cultural understanding and intercultural understanding to address growing grievance and distrust of leaders.

“Boards have to  have these discussions about cultural competence. Where does that company sit within its understanding of global cultures, and if you're selling products globally, how do you navigate the changing global cultures?

“How does a director keep an understanding of that? Is the board seeking input from the right people, whether that's management or consultants? These are new questions.”

The board as a whole has to be able to work in that environment. Directors need to be able to have good discussions around things that are maybe less certain than they once were.

“As directors, I think the biggest issue is being able to move with the pace of change,” says Low. “You've got to keep all the balls in the air at the same time while moving at a faster pace.”

5. Self awareness

The simple habit of reflection is transformative, says leadership coach Maryanne Mooney MAICD.

Rumination might feel like reflection, but it is characterised by thinking about a situation or theme repeatedly, obsessing over mistakes, beating yourself up and engaging in “what if” scenarios. In short, it is an unhelpful approach to engaging with the past.

Reflection, on the other hand, is intentional, says Mooney. It analyses the experience with openness and a willingness to learn and progress. “Reflection, by its nature, fosters self-awareness as it challenges you to process the past with the aim of developing insights and taking positive action in the future,” she explains.

“There needs to be more reflection time, which generally means some days together, some time out, which is a little bit less structured,” says Low.

“Boards can spend so much time on the board meeting. There is always a very full agenda, and particularly when a company's not doing very well, you almost focus entirely on the operations. It can become like a juggernaut, but that other time is important for growth.”